I’m going to use Emily Blunt to illustrate this post, because she’s a true summer who often wears the wrong colors.
First, let’s observe how beautiful she can be.
This is our reference image. Return to it whenever your eyes need a break from the horrors below.
Orange
Orange is always horrendous on true summers.
Poor Emily. Her outfit looks like a slice of processed cheese.
I think she was going for something like this, but it didn’t work.
Blake Lively is a true spring, so her best colors are entirely warm. She’s an excellent guide to “what not to wear” for true summers.
Yellow
Yellow for true summers is tricky. It has to be light, cool, pastel lemon.
Anything other than that is awful—especially warm yellow, aka orange-yellow. It’s even worse if you dye your hair blonde, and then the too-warm color is right next to your face.
The shiny yellow hair and top create shiny spots under the eyes and on the cheeks. The bronzer, although expertly applied, is sitting on top of the skin, not melding into it. In contrast with the shiny spots, the shadowy areas of the face appear sunken, creating an angular, blocky effect.
It’s all quite subtle—she still looks beautiful—she just doesn’t look her best.
Red
True summers often have dark hair, which makes us think we can pull off the sultry, femme-fatale effect of a black dress and red lipstick.
We cannot.
Not that this looks terrible, but again, it’s not her best.
Gold
Gold is yellow mixed with a bit of red (for warmth) and black (for darkness), so no wonder it doesn’t work.
Notes
Regarding the orange suit: The style works much better on Blake because of her height and proportions. She’s a flamboyant natural, so the oversized lines of a boyfriend blazer and trousers look tailor-made for her.
(As a flamboyant natural, the lines of her face and body are long and somewhat wide, and her features are blunt and somewhat irregular.)
By contrast, Emily is a soft classic: moderate and balanced (classic), with a bit of extra curve (softness).
I’m sure Emily’s suit went through just as many fittings with a tailor, but because she’s a soft classic, oversized styles are always going to look sloppy.
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