What is Your Perfect Color? Find Out Tonight

When Norcross resident Sara Levy opened up her closet to local jewelry designer , the ladies found two things: black and white. When Levy went shopping, she stuck to the dull and the classic, she said… She was afraid of color. 

Now, she browses from plums, cranberries and peacocks with stunning results. Levy is one of several volunteers who read David Zyla’s book “Color Your Style: How to Wear Your True Colors,” which walks you through the process of finding your completely unique color palette. “It really did change my life,” she said.

Zyla met Levy and several other volunteers yesterday—and will have a public . The event is in celebration of her one-year anniversary in downtown Norcross. “I believe everyone has the right to look and feel fantastic,” he said yesterday over coffee. “We all deserve to be the best version of ourselves.”

Zyla, who splits his time between New York and LA, worked for 20 years in soap opera costume design, winning an Emmy for his work on “All My Children,” and also had his own clothing line. The whole time he was developing a theory on color that is the central subject of his book.

The idea that your completely unique style comes from your personality is refreshing and empowering for many. “You are a painting,” he said, “You can choose the textures and colors that make you the center of the painting—or not.” 

The most interesting colors to find are your dramatic and your romantic color: The dramatic is the look-at-me color that is often purple, green or blue. To find it Zyla has you look at the color of your vein at your wrist. The romantic color comes from the flesh on the tip of your finger.

Zyla also believes that every person has a version of black. For him it is a deep olive green. Someone like Penelope Cruz would use charcoal as her black, he said, and would have a classic poinsettia red and turquoise as her romantic and dramatic colors. 

Watching Zyla in action is like witnessing a shaman, a scientist and artist at once. “For you, I definitely see cinnamon red, a spicy red,” he says. “And a bittersweet chocolate brown—no oranges.” He doesn’t just see color, but textures, length of dress, sizes of bags.

“If I were your worst enemy, I’d put you in a white top, red belt and black pants,” he says. Good to know.