Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Battle of Star Wars and Star Trek p.s.

first posted 7/14/13

Sometimes I think that the Four Type Systems* and Seasonal Color Analysis are like Star Wars and Star Trek.

(And please don't get upset as to which I associate with which, I'm going to try to go with historical longevity).

So why am I saying this?  Well, I woke to a reader's email that struck a cord of one of the most irritating dilemma's behind this blog, right after secondaries.  What is that you ask? Ok, the question is whether the 12 seasons match up with the Four Types at all.  Believe me, I come down on both sides of this argument in my head all the time, flip flopping like I'm an insomniac.

Remember one thing. I am not an expert.  I am not trained.  I am just obsessed, likely as you are, or you wouldn't be reading this.  I am merely writing what many of you might be struggling to work out.  Maybe some of you are past this.  Maybe some of you haven't hit it yet.  But many of you know how irritating this is.  But I will also say, that this question must be asked and attempted to be answered or none of us will really sleep well.  Wait, not that.  I should be able to be answered without being trained.  It should be an answer available to the masses!  Let them eat cake.  Wait, I should be on a diet, let the Emperor have some clothes!


Oh, this blog post is already a headache.


Seasonal Color Analysis
If you're anywhere near my generation, you too grew up in the 60s watching Star Trek - and in the 80s you got your Season done.

I still have my gold and silver lame' tester cloths.

I can remember the small boutique where I got my colors done.  What I can't remember accurately is whether I was told I was a Winter or Summer. I also don't remember it changing how I dressed, certainly not to the point of neurosis that this current journey has put me through!

So, fast forward to finding Seasonal Color Analysis now that it has 12 (or more) seasons, and for me it has always been about trying to answer the question of why I don't fit neatly into Type 2 or Type 4.  Sorry, hardly fair.  Almost feels like cheating.


The Four(ce) Type Systems
If you're like me, you came to the Four Type Systems accidentally.  And then later (after becoming obsessed researching online and participating in FB groups), you discovered that the Four Seasons had blossomed into 12 while you were doing other things.

To be quite honest, there are times I'm still mad at the person who brought this tangent into my awareness).

But anyway, again, if you're like me, you stood in one of those lines that wrapped around the block to watch the original Star Wars when it came out in the theatre.  (I've heard parents nowdays are agonizing about which order to show the films to their kids!)

And I was certainly an avid devotee of the first of the Four Type Systems that I found.  Addicted!


Notice the one fan who hasn't drank the koolaid yet... but is still watching the movie.


But back to the original question: can you be a fan of both?  (I'm not talking Star Wars or Trek, I'm not quite nerdy enough to know whether their fans commingle at conventions or have turf wars.)  Wait, that's not the original question!  Can you be analyzed in one system with a completely unrelated outcome to how you are Typed in the other?  That is the question.

Here's another person I'm still occasionally mad at, the person who said the two MUST correlate.  I have it totally memorized how it is SUPPOSED to go.  If you're a Cool Summer, you're supposed to be a 2/4, and that is all there is to it!!!!!!!!!!!! (See the Evil Chart below)   Let's call this supposition A.

Or is it?  The reader said she is a Warm Spring and a Type 2.  She referred to the 12 Blueprints author, Christine Scaman's work and polyvores combining any Season with any Type.  Let's call this supposition B.

To be direct, my first reaction to Scaman's polyvores was to want to faint like a Baptist if someone used profanity in church.  So what does tha say?  First, she is brazen and brilliant, she can't be all wrong.  Second, either I know the four type systems better, possibly true, or I'm full on brain washed, also possibly true.  You be the judge.  Just don't tell me, or I will write another tirade.

Supposition A

Sorry, coloring does matter.  If you are a Summer of any variety you must be a Type 2 with any secondary.  And no other Seasons can join in the calm peace of it all.

But it's more than that, this supposition is based on believing a few specific tenants.  Ironically, these are tenants that I thought Scaman agreed with herself, unless I'm hopelessly wrong.

I'm not sure I can fully articulate all of what I sense is connected, but the main thing that comes to mind is that if you read Scaman's book she does a beautiful and amazing job of indicating personality features associated with each of the 12 season.  In fact, accidentally this correlation gets overlooked or even forgotten in the fast food deliver and consumption of Seasons online.

So Supp. A says that the personality of a Soft Autumn will best fit in the Type 3 category... especially if you allow for secondaries, come on!

Ready for another mind pretzel?  The Four Type systems generally say that other factors than color draping determine your type.  Most describe personality factors (though IE only brings that up after to confirm), or facial features (not all of them include that, I'll give you that).  But then they give you a color palette (not what they call it) that is supposed to express you!!!!!!!!!!   If it somehow clashes, what are you supposed to do then?  But even still, you can directly see how the four types came from the four seasons.  Girrl, pleeze!
Supposition B

Here's where I paraphrase the comment from the email.  She essentially shared her own experience being one Season and another Type.  But then she said that trying to correlate the types and seasons is "play" and "simplifying" and ultimately doesn't work.

Ouch, is there a slight slam in there? :) (She didn't mean it). Or is it too early in the morning and I am obsessively writing this before I've even eaten...? yes.


Ok, here's what happened also to me recently, I was talking to someone who really and truly felt that they were a Season that didn't match up with their type (sorry, wish I could remember more of the details).  And I support that person and any person who wants to bend the rules.  Hell, the rules of the evil chart may be complete hogwash anyway.

Tangent on Secondaries:  from what I've gathered, when incorporating secondary energy in the Types world, you stick to your original palette or chroma, and incorporate a few of the other factors, such as design lines, fabrication, print types, jewelry shapes, etc.  So technically you don't ever get to wear any of the blends of color palettes that the 12 Seasons has given us.  I'd like to find out if this is actually how all the authors of the Four Type systems feel, but I probably won't get that chance.  Recently in my FB group, we've been exploring breaking these two rules. Shhhhhhhhhhh... don't tell.

So are you a Trekkie or -- what do they call Star Wars fans? -- or both?  Are you a Catholic or a Protestant I might as well be saying.  Metaphorically, people!  Are you a fundamentalist or a mystic?  Oops, no offense!!!!!!!!!  Is there a rigid document that will eventually force us all to dress logically? or shall we search within our own hearts and intuitively wear what expresses us? Is there some truth on each side?  Yes.  Stop it.  



Anybody who gets through this post and comments (or uses email form) can have a free Astro Twins done.  

*BTW, I will be saying FTS or Four Type Systems instead of DYT from here on out, since there are so many of them.

Types/Tones & 12 Seasonal Paletttes, 
aka "The Evil Chart"

‎1/3 Warm Spring
warm spring 

1/2 Light Spring 
light spring 

1/4 Clear Spring
clear spring 

2/4 Cool Summer
cool summer 

2/1 Light Summer
light summer 

2/3 Soft Summer 
soft summer 


3/4 Deep Autumn
deep autumn

3/2 Soft Autumn 
soft autumn 

4/2 Cool Winter
cool winter

4/3 Deep Winter
deep winter

4/1 Clear Winter
clear winter

This correlation of Four Type Systems and the 12 Seasonal Palettes is purely hypothetical and not endorsed by either system.  

We wouldn't have the "evil" chart if it didn't work some of the time... how about it with use it as descriptive rather than proscriptive?

... but hey, don't listen to me, EXPRESS YOUR TRUTH! Jane
 EXPRESSING YOUR TRUTH eBOOK Volume I Updated
EXPRESSING YOUR TRUTH: Informed by Astrology



10 comments:

SWriter said...

Well,
F My TS???
I'm confused too. Add some ethnic coloring in the skin if you're really looking for a puzzle. I was told that black skin fell in the Autumn or Winter range; but according to some authors that is false.

I found one rather old skin color system which addressed the variation of skin colors. It was developed in 1991 by Jean Patton. Now that really had my head turning backwards.

Her system was based solely on finding your best "red" lip color and then finding colors that are compatible with that red. The seasons were named after "spices" and tropical colors.

Anyway, if you want to check it out I just found a reference to her book on Amazon, but not sure if it is still in print:
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Guide-Rainbow-Fashion-Beauty/dp/0671693867
It may be available from an antiquarian book seller online. Maybe I should go back and check that one out????
whew...

Jane Leu Rekas said...

That makes a lot of sense... I enjoyed doing lip draping which confirmed that I'm probably a Summer, though I could stretch into Winter...

There was a blogger doing Seasonal Analysis for women of color, but then she changed her focus...

I like Donna Fujii's work on ethnic groups and there's a woman that does a blog Glowing Color or something.

SWriter said...

I checked out Donna Fujii; it was interesting because she felt graying would enable one to wear some summer colors.

I wonder what would happen if you wore your clothes by how you rate out in all the types.(especially since we are all composed of a little of everything)

For example: wear your primary for colors, your secondary for accessories, your tertiary for???
your fourth????

I don't know. But I liked how PSC gave you the percentage ratings for your harmony.

The word is still out for those who are even splits of the TFS.

Maybe John Kitchener or someone who believes in percentages could do an interview for your blog. Just throwing that out there.

Jane Leu Rekas said...

That's an interesting idea about incorporating tertiary etc. as different elements. :)

TFS? or FTS?

Kim B said...

Great post -- I thoroughly enjoyed this ST/SW analogy.

Jane Leu Rekas said...

Thank you!

Simpleart said...

It's all very confusing to me. I am a 1/4 DYT. Depending on which system I use, I am a Soft Autumn (PYW), Firelight Winter (CMAS), or possibly a summer by Zyla's way of doing things. So, I have traveled full circle around the charts. Sometimes I think that personality should correlate and get turned off if the season's personality description is totally wrong for me. I like the idea of using a color palette with some of the lines etc. from something like DYT for style factor. Maybe a sparkly fun Soft autumn? :) Not sure where I fit in for sure yet, but still seeking MY truth!

Jane Leu Rekas said...

It is very confusing. Keep seeking!

Lieslhouston said...

I stumbled on this after 4 days of watching videos( I wish I was kidding) days of going back and forth with my DYT type 1 and 3 until i just want to shave my head and go naked). I love that I have options no matter what a chart says. If I like something I can wear it. Maybe not well but who cares. There will always be someone that looks worse than I do, and someone that is going to make me want to buy everything they are wearing. I guess it's nice to have a guideline but I think I am going to still wear navy blue and pink and brown and turquoise if I want. Thanks for the chart tho. I like it.

Rebecca said...

I wrestled with this briefly when I was blogging; there are some definite mismatches when you start pulling in facial features and they get worse when you throw personality into the mix. (Personality is such a constructed concept.) Of course I struggle even worse with the image archetypes (which are NOT plus-sized friendly when trying to assess ones own archetype). In the end I think that each system is trying to "measure" something different, and that if one were to TRY to combine them all she would find herself with a REALLY limited set of looks. Those looks might be phenomenal but they would make Jackie O, Audrey Hepburn, and all the other style icons look like they had wildly varied wardrobes in comparison. In the meantime, I choose to take my colors (dark winter) and wear the things in it that make me feel comfortable, confident and like me. Anything that feels like a costume is a non-starter, which to date has pushed most of the 4 type systems and the archetype systems out.