[ssm]

As an asian, my color contrast is high - light skin with black hair - but I always have a buzz cut at or below a 1; that is, I shave my head with a hair clipper without the guard.

Normally, I would want to wear colors that match my high contrast but I've noticed that with my hair being so short, dark colors don't look as sharp on me if my hair was longer. For example, my dark navy suit worn with a white shirt and reddish tie seems to look better on me when my hair is grown-out versus freshly buzzed.

Is it just me or does hair not look as dark when freshly buzzed due to the top of the head being visible? Is so, would an individual have to treat his skin-hair contrast accordingly?

Or am I just overthinking this?

Thank you for the replies.

 

[FLMike]

Two possible scenarios. You’re either:

a) trolling
or
b) overthinking

 

[Bjorn]

It’s just you. The contrast is till there.


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[momsdoc]

Stop the insanity.

 

[Charles Dana]

You’re overthinking this (I’m choosing to assume that you’re not just messing with us).

Wear the navy blue suit, white shirt and quiet necktie regardless of the length of your hair. That’s a good-looking rig for anyone.

 

[Orsini]

Grow some hair. Enjoy it while you still can.

 

[Flanderian]

AAAH?

 

[eagle2250]

Join the club...my Barber uses a #000 guard on the sides and back of my head and a #3 guard on the hair on top. Enjoy the freedom of not having to comb your hair every time the wind blows! Welcome to AAAC.

 

[ssm]

I'm not trolling, I tend to overthink everything. I asked because it's been something I've wondered and never heard anyone else ask before (which probably isn't a bad thing now that I think about it...).

Thank you for your responses though, serious or not. I appreciate the help. I'm still learning on this fashion journey of mine...

 

[JBierly]

Actually I don't think you are trolling nor overthinking it. More like spot on. I think you can overdo it - in effect worry about it too much. But to be cognizant of it isn't the same as saying you are only going to wear dark suits when your hair is grown out. That's when you are overthinking it.

 

[JBierly]

Take a look at Flusser's literature on it and welcome to the forum.

 

[ssm]

Take a look at Flusser's literature on it and welcome to the forum.

Reading Flusser has inspired me to coordinate my clothes more in lines with my complexion, which inevitably led me here. I'm reading the chapter "The ABC's of a Personal Color Strategy" in his Dressing the Man and can't help but feel like many of the examples he shows with high contrast individuals won't necessarily look as bad in their muted wardrobes if their hair was practically all buzzed-off like mine - as in, their clothes won't "sap away" the boldness of their contrasting features because their contrast literally won't look as dark in the absence of their hair.

But apparently that's me overthinking this.

 

[JBierly]

Reading Flusser has inspired me to coordinate my clothes more in lines with my complexion, which inevitably led me here. I'm reading the chapter "The ABC's of a Personal Color Strategy" in his Dressing the Man and can't help but feel like many of the examples he shows with high contrast individuals won't necessarily look as bad in their muted wardrobes if their hair was practically all buzzed-off like mine - as in, their clothes won't "sap away" the boldness of their contrasting features because their contrast literally won't look as dark in the absence of their hair.

But apparently that's me overthinking this.

Flusser lives in NYC not Portsmouth. I think your thoughts are very reasonable for those without hair and is probably something Flusser didn't consider as much for his writings. I don't think hair alone makes for high contrast but the classic japanese complexion of very white skin and very dark hair is the extreme and certainly dark colors do favor that complexion. As for your situation, I am not saying everyone in Portsmouth has a buzz cut, but still just sayin'...

 

[FLMike]

As for your situation, I am not saying everyone in Portsmouth has a buzz cut, but still just sayin'...

What ARE we saying here? I mean, really, what the frick ARE we saying? Momsdoc said "stop the insanity". That, I understand. Everything else....just, what ARE we saying, people?

(Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.)

 

[Bjorn]

What ARE we saying here? I mean, really, what the frick ARE we saying? Momsdoc said "stop the insanity". That, I understand. Everything else....just, what ARE we saying, people?

(Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.)

You could read Flusser, he has a few pages on complexion. Not bad pages, IMO.

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[FLMike]

I’m just a 4th generation, sunburned fish-bum Floridian who cleans up ok when he has to (ok, that’s a little bit of an exaggeration....I’ve always presented myself fairly well due to my upbringing). I don’t know if Flusser would have anything to say about me, as I’m awfully generic, looks-wise.

By the way, when I hear Flusser’s name (I know who he is, of course), I can’t help but immediately think of the Steinmart up the street from my house, which stocks a bunch of private label, Flusser branded men’s apparel, the overwhelming majority of which is pretty awful stuff.

 

[3piece]

Ok, I'll believe you that the haircut makes difference. But by how much? Does it warrant adjusting your wardrobe based on it?

Also keep in mind that you still have the same color of eyes and eyebrows.

 

[JBierly]

What ARE we saying here? I mean, really, what the frick ARE we saying? Momsdoc said "stop the insanity". That, I understand. Everything else....just, what ARE we saying, people?

(Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.)

Funny - well my point was that there is a large contingent of Naval military in the Portsmouth area which likely shave their heads with regularity. My guess is Flusser probably didn't consider this as a factor in assessing hair/complexion contrast. It's an interesting point that is worthy of discussion and not insane in my opinion. Actually, I find it to be an astute point and meritorious as a first post. That someone would anecdotally notice this in his own appearance I believe is fascinating and is neither trolling nor overthinking things. This is clothing forum - certainly more interesting than the typical first post of does my ass look fat in this?

 

[ssm]

Ok, I'll believe you that the haircut makes difference. But by how much? Does it warrant adjusting your wardrobe based on it?

Also keep in mind that you still have the same color of eyes and eyebrows.

These questions are the exact reason why I started this post. I knew it made a difference but I wanted to know from other more experienced individuals the magnitude of this difference.

I'm assuming from the majority of responses that it isn't as much as I initially thought, but great to know nonetheless. Thank you all for clearing this up for me.

 

[Matt S]

Hair does not make such a big difference. You still have a high-contrast complexion without hair because of your eye colour and eyebrows. But what is actually more important is the tone of your skin, which I would assume is a very clear, cool tone. Generally only people with your skin tone have a high contrast complexion. If you dyed your hair and eyebrows blond to try to give yourself a low-contrast complexion, it would not look right with your skin. And when you're old and grey, your complexion will not have changed much. Flusser places a bit too much importance on contrast and not quite enough on the actual tones of the skin.