I don't have color advice but you are so pretty!

Astrid, from what I can see in your pictures, the mid-tone blues and greens seem to really make you shine. I'm not sure about the dark colors, so little of each color is showing in each picture. And even on your cloudy day, the light differs slightly from picture to picture. I'm not sure what company you got your sample SS fan from, but each company has a slightly different take on them. Here are some color fans that I like. If you click on the fan, you can enlarge it. I use this SS fan on my computer when I'm ordering something online. I figure it's apples to apples, since I'm comparing colors on the same computer monitor, you know? The second link is for Soft Autumn so you can compare them. These are 'close but not quite' for me, and they make my face look oily and yellow, that's why I think I'm a Soft Summer instead.

http://www.shop.indigotones.co.....-SW-08.htm
http://www.shop.indigotones.co.....-SW-09.htm

Like fieldmouse, I diagnosed myself and I am not so sure I look great in all of the SS colors. It's just that it's the best group of colors for me and it gives me an idea of what kinds of neutrals and colors will work on me when I'm adding something to my wardrobe.

Each season, fashion offers us "new" colors, and of course none of them are (probably) replicated on someone's color fan, but asking a few questions can help us determine if we can wear it well or not. After all, even a trained color analyst has to have a controlled setting with exact lighting to be able to determine which hues and tones brighten the skin the best. We aren't likely to be viewed in this type of setting when wearing the colors every day, so maybe getting close is good enough.

I can't make this link very specific (the page is very long, like a roll of toilet paper, lol) but here is some good info on Soft Summers that might clear a few things up for you and help you decide if you were diagnosed incorrectly.
http://www.12blueprints.com/ca.....r-colours/
Somewhere on this site, Christine talks about shopping for an actual garment and how she decides if the color is good (almost like she's admitting that it's practically impossible to match a color on a pre-determined fan). I copied these three questions down that she asks herself:

• Would I adjust the darkness?
• Does the warmth level feel like a match?
• How do I feel about the clarity?"

Thanks Diane. I do think I might look warmer at first glance, but I think the soft summer is the right way to go. Not a big fan of the two warm colors next to my face and I've also tried some gold and silver jewelry and the gold just doesn't work well on me compared to the silver! I think looking at the soft summer colors but then going for the neutral, deeper, medium tones is the right way to go. I definitely think I have more warmth than the typical soft summer, but the soft summer neutrals are still right for me. I might be able to borrow the more neutral soft autumn colors though!

Thanks Alicat.

Thanks so much Claire for your detailed analysis! I love the soft color palette you linked to, it does look more usable than the one I have. Mine seems more light/bright/cool in comparison. I think taking the soft summer colors and going for 'deeper' or 'medium' like others mentioned is a good idea. I'll try to implement that. And yes, I think I would also look slightly yellow in some of the autumn colors, especially in all the camels, yellows and browns. Thanks for the second link, I've already found some interesting things. It says there: Soft Summer is also a Season where the Neutral persons are often quite warm, on the 49/51 divide between the Soft Summer and Soft Autumn. I think that's me! Love your three questions btw, I have to note them down somewhere.

Oh yay! I'm glad I could help. We are a strange breed, we Soft Summers and so often misunderstood. In the end, trust your intuition. You have to look at yourself in the mirror, after all. If you feel like you are wearing an unflattering color, you won't be projecting confidence as you go about your day, and people will subconsciously pick up on that.

Yes, that's so true. If you do a search for soft summer on pinterest you find a lot of super greyed out blues, greys and berry shades. It really looks a bit repetitive. I hope I'm going to find some more examples that I think I would like on me.

I love those questions, too, Claire--- thank you for isolating them for us!! Christine is pretty interesting and well worth reading in full because she has some very astute insights, but ..uh...she does go on at times!

Astrid, I find the "clarity" question particularly relevant to myself. I am never tempted to choose warm colours because they look so bad on me. So that one is not such an issue for me. (It might be more pertinent to you.) Darkness I do have to watch...and in winter I sometimes do feel that I am veering "too dark," simply because of lack of practical options...and yet, as a "true" or cool summer, I can go much darker than a superficial look at me might suggest. So typically, I don't fear dark. As long as it's not all-black, I can usually stand up to it.

It's clarity that tips the scale for me. Too clear, too bright and...oops! It won't work. Even in my most flattering colours. Or, it will only work in the absolute right circumstances.

Take the top I am wearing today. It's cobalt blue. To begin with, it's much softer than the cobalt Sveta or Beth Ann would wear. I don't even know if they would call it cobalt at all (although J. Crew calls it royal cobalt).

And, it is on the verge of being too strong and clear for me, IMO.

Now -- you wouldn't know that, based on the compliments I get when I wear it. People love me in this blue.

IN SUMMER. I spend a bit of time outdoors in our warmer months and always get a bit of a tan despite sunscreen. So my complexion deepens, possibly it neutralizes a bit -- and suddenly this type of clear intense blue works. So do clear aquas. Typical "spring" colours, in fact. (Note, I am using the word 'clear' in relative terms -- as I said above, this blue is already not as clear or intense as the ones that would suit a "winter." )

I don't tend to wear this clear or intense a colour in winter. It just doesn't feel right on me at that time of year.

Thanks Suz! Yes, I think too clear and bright might be an issue for me too. I feel like I'm easily overpowered by a color if I don't pay attention. I think you can see that with my bright blue cardigan in I think it was #5. I haven't found a soft summer deep palette online for comparison, so I can't quite imagine how that would look, but it sounds better to me. You look fantastic in your sweater btw, I don't think I could pull this color off successfully! There's definitely an adjustment from winter to summer for me too, but it's not a big difference because I don't tan much. You might see some color difference on my arms and face after a lot of sunny days, but it's not very visible. My legs stay pale all through summer.

Hi Astrid --

First, the natural look suits you! Hardly in need of a warning tag, ha.

My .02 is that Light, not Soft, is your most important factor.

I think the SoSu diagnosis is probably right on in terms of neutrality -- you can't go too cool or warm -- but off in terms of clarity.

I look for shades that make you look rested/glowy, while intensifying your hair and eye colors. To me the darker and lighter greens are winners (# 6-7), with the light blue (#5) very close but just a bit too cool.

ETA I'd look at Light Summer or Light Spring and play....

Thanks Vix! And wow, another option entirely. I don't think I'm a soft summer deep btw, at least not with the colors I just found online. It's interesting that you think the clarity is off with the soft summer. I always thought soft was most important.... I don't think I'm a spring, but the light summer looks interesting. ETA So I thought the bright cardigan in #5 didn't work as well because of clarity, but from what you say it's because it's too cool? How do you see the difference? I don't think I have a good eye for color... The light summer colors all look very cool to me though.

Hi again Astrid --

I'm afraid I just wing it/use intuition!

Below are the Light Spring/Light Summer palettes from one of the 12-season systems.

[Forget which one, but as monitors, flat color, photos etc all distort color it doesn't really matter.]

As you can see there's a TON of overlap between shades (or at least very, very close-on-the-spectrum shades) between the two.

After I dug them up I compared your blue/greens with them on at a time. At first I thought, "Huh, all the shades are LSu, not just the blue." Then I brought up the LtSp and noticed the greens really fit in there as well.

[It's not really that shocking, I can get away with murder as long as I stick to "Cool" as my primary factor though I can't go too bright-cool, muted-cool, or deep-cool.]

Since we read all greens, even the very cool ones, as warmer than blue it may just be a matter of you needing to stay on the slightly warm side when you wear blues -- if in fact you end up feeling best in those shades.

Elea Blake cosmetics -- The Light Spring (lots of photos, not just makeup product shots)

ETA I'd love you to add the Light Spring palette to the ones you popped above. So wonderful that they create their swatches with actual thread.

I had another look at the one site Claire linked to and with the summer city look examples I do like the light summer better, I have the feeling like I would feel blah in the soft summer look... This one is the soft summer. This the light.

ETA

Thanks Vix. You're right, they do look fairly similar in part. Somehow "light" never featured in my thoughts, I have to look further into that. I always thought I needed softness because too much clarity overwhelms me, but it might just have been the case of trying too clear colors which were too cool at the same time.

ETA2

Added the light spring.

Yes, that could be it.

I always knew I looked like a corpse in warm shades, but people would give me bright cool shades -- "you're pale and dark-haired, you need jewel tones!" -- and I looked bad in those, too, so I just thought I couldn't wear color. [Don't ask, ha!]

Once I dialed back the clarity I feel in love with color-color.

I went back and checked #4, the deep blue you say looks better than darker blues when you're tired, against the light palettes.

It looks like it mates up with LtSp and isn't far from the LtSu deep blues. I liked it on you initially but felt it was a bit heavy-looking. I have a feeling if you wore it in a print, *with* a print, or with a lighter color I'd love it on you.

As I need to anchor my very lightest shades with darker ones, especially if the light shade surrounds my face, you could probably benefit from doing the inverse.

[One of my anchoring examples below....]

ETA Thanks for adding the LtSp from Indigo. Again with the disclaimer re colors/monitors/photos, what do you think about the colors you modeled wearing LtSp shades? [Which to me are #4, 6, and 7.] And do you have more LtSu and LtSp fabric to try?

It's funny...I look at the summer palettes and can cherry pick some colours from each one for myself -- so why any of us gets put into any one sub-category is sort of beyond me. Seems to me that we could do better to pick from the full (within-one-season) range but ONLY those ones that work for us, personally. Or, um...just winging it.

In that palette you have for light summer, for example, Astrid -- those orchids are among my very best colours. (They don't show up at all in the corresponding true summer palette.)

But I would look awful in those light summer yellows and some of the greys/ light taupes, which look awfully yellowish on my monitor. Also, the pinks look too strong and warm for me on the whole in the light summer. (Though some would work).

To my eye, the spring blues are warmer and clearer at the same time than the summer ones. The differences are slight and don't matter in a pattern or if you balance the colour with something that neutralizes it a bit. But they can matter on a bad day.

Having said all this....I do agree with Vix (and Angie, I suspect) that you would look great in some lighter options. I'm not sure I would categorize you as a light -- not being an expert. And I think it's possible that our judgements are relative to our where we sit ourselves on this spectrum. Vix is dark haired so immediately sees the light in you; I am lighter haired, so don't immediately think "light" when I see you!

Ultimately, you can't go too far wrong if you wear blues and greens of some description, I suspect! Where it might get more tricky is with neutrals.

Thanks again, Vix. That anchoring concept sounds advanced... But I get what you mean in theory. The sweater in #4 is somewhere in the middle of both palettes I would think, and I feel it always looks a bit different depending on light. So if you say you found it "heavy" what would that mean? Not clear enough? I like #4, #6 and #7 and wear them regularly. I never thought of #7 being light spring, but you're right that if fits perfectly into the palette I showed above. I do like the color on me, but it is a bit much sometimes. I like that jacket best left open and with scrunched sleeves so that some skin is showing. But, I wouldn't put #6 next to #7 into light spring, for that they would have to go together and they don't. The combination looks awful, placed next to each other. I'm not sure if I have a lot of light summer/spring to test this further, but I can have a look tomorrow to see if I can manage to take some more pictures.

Thanks Suz! That's true of course, you can always pic what you like best and I really admire people who can do that. But I don't have an eye for color... At least I don't think so. Before I had the rough guideline about soft summer I just bought whatever I thought was okay and I was a hot mess colorwise in my teens. No sense for color at all. So I think a direction that helps me to identify what to try would be really helpful.

Hi Astrid --

You definitely know best because you're seeing how the colors relate to each other in person.

I *will* say that while sure, a huge chunk of my closet mixes and matches easily, I have colors that I know look good on me individually but don't look good together. For instance I can wear slightly muted cool blues and those can look off next to the deep cobalt but awesome with the brighter navy.

If I'm unsure I try to pair a color with a flattering neutral and then evaluate.

The "heavyness" I mentioned re #4 was just that it seemed a bit dark for you though objectively the color did good things for you. It being a high-necked chunky-textured sweater wasn't helping!

Were you wearing it with skin showing, or combined with lighter/brighter solids, or in a print with lighter or brighter elements I'd no doubt love it.

Probably anchor was the wrong word for you (right for me since I need to add darker tones when going light) -- I think you may need to "lift" or "froth" the darkest shades with your flattering lighter ones.

ps Re Suz's statement above: I think it's less that I see you as Light and more that I *don't* see you as all that Muted/Soft. Which leads me to wonder about Light -- though not Bright, as those folks have skin with off-the-charts clarity!

Astrid, I found this site has soft summer deep pallete.

http://expressingyourtruth.blo.....esses.html

Vix, yes I can see how muted/soft not working might lead to light. It definitely is a good option to explore, because all the muted/soft tones I've been wearing were kind of dragging me down. Recently I wore midwash jeans, greyed out navy tee, grey cardigan and my washed out navy utility jacket by chance and I felt horribly invisible. I think there have to be some better options out there. And I think the distinction between light and bright is important - I really can't do bright, that's true.

Thanks Deb!

I had a look through my older pics and found a good color example, I think. The blouse is no longer now...

Where was I when all this great conversation was going on?
@Vix, you have added some amazing information. I am going to delve into this further for myself. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise!

Vix has such a keen eye for color, and now has me thinking. Maybe I'm not excited to wear color-color because I'm not trying the correct ones. The self-test that I took:
http://www.thechicfashionista......olors.html
only asked questions about contrast, clarity and warmth levels. There was no draping involved to see what colors actually appeared to be perfecting the skin. I'm wearing a navy dress today, and I'm just noticing that when I look down at my legs, they're a veiny mess, and I didn't notice that yesterday when I had on a denim skirt in a softer blue...hmmmm...I never thought about my "lower half" being important, just my face! ETA, it could easily have been a function of texture in the denim skirt that "quieted" the topography of my legs.

Astrid the outfit you described wearing above, with the greyed out hues, would totally make me feel the same way. In fact, I have experience with a similar outfit where all the hues are sort of "medium" in tone, mid-wash jeans, mid-grey turtle neck and medium-dark khaki trench. I just thought I needed more contrast within the outfit, ie to take some medium away and add a dark or a light neutral for some punch. What do you think? Do you think you are (and perhaps I am) misdiagnosed?

Claire, the web site you posted does not work for me. I had the Sci/Art system done and it does not take hair nor eye color into consideration. I think there are variations that make it very difficult to tell without actual draping.

I haven't read what the other ladies have to say but - I wonder... Are you sure you're a soft summer? Because what I'm seeing is autumn as a dominant season but you flow to summer (sorry, I don't exactly know what that's called in the 12 season system)! I can't be sure, of course because I'm not doing the colour analysis on you under good lighting. From the photos you posted, the greens/teals seem to stand out best. The first thing I look at is the "shadows" of the face and notice how those greenish colours almost eliminate the shadows under your eyes? Also - notice how your (gorgeous) eyes look clearer? The right colour brightens the face - making you look as if you have makeup on when you're not wearing any

Have you tried sort of a burnished orange red on you (not too vibrant)? also - observe which metals look good on you: gold or silver?

By the way, you look lovely sans-makeup even more so in those teal colours!

@Suz, that sweater is indeed a gorgeous color on you. I would call it a deep cornflower blue. And I think you have a very good handle on what works on you. I tend to wing it too.

@deb, I forgot that I was draped about 30 years ago, but maybe I should look into doing it again. Hair and eye color was not discounted. I have read some of Sci/ART and some similar companies' philosophies and I just don't see it when I look at some of their examples. Some use a lot of make-up on their subjects and that makes it hard to me to determine how well the color is actually improving the skin tone. But I will explore this some more if you are happy with your results!

I originally had my colors done by my mother when she was a consultant with Color Profiles. Each person has their very own swatches selected (there were no seasonal categories), and even though I no longer have my color fan, I have a pretty decent color memory and can remember most of them. I pitched it finally when my hair started to grey, I acquired the Phoenician year-round-tan and when the glue behind the fabric began to discolor the swatches. My mom is in her eighties now, with white hair and mottled skin and still steadfastly adheres to her "colors for life", which IMO are now much too dark and no longer suit her. Some how deep eggplant, terracotta and sage green overpower her present coloring and I didn't want to make the same mistake. Also I always wondered if Mom wasn't just a little bit biased. She labeled me a "light" perhaps because I was light in comparison to her and the rest of the family. Maybe she gave me some colors that she had always wanted to wear and maybe I was the closest one of her girls to be able to wear it (I'm thinking of a particular apple green).

Astrid, after looking at your pictures again, it's 3 and 9 that stand out as good to me. See how fickle my eye can be? I always wonder if it's responding to the color itself, or the effect of the color on the wearer. In light of Vix's and now MsKatieKat's comments, I will be really curious to see what you land on for a palette. I always thought you were some type of Autumn back in the beginning when I first "met" you.

Claire, I was also draped in the early 80's using the 4 season analysis but only remember that the gal had a hard time with my coloring. I have always looked really good in jewel tones which did not fit with her method because my hair was naturally a lighter blond. The 12 season method I had done last year really clarified my colors. My hair was covered in grey fabric as was my clothing. Then the draping began. It did not take long to identify that I am a winter and by the end it was very clear I am a dark winter. The analyst did do my makeup but she used mostly what I had. I brought all my makeup as was recommended. She was very impressed that I was already using the colors that suited me best and took notes for her own use. I thought this was funny. Maybe it was because I use various brands and this mad it easier for her.

OK, something is happening with the web site. I could not edit my last post but I want to add the link to my thread on my analyses.

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ssion-long

Claire, more contrast in the outfit is the way I usually solve this too, but I feel like I shouldn't feel so off in it if it were the right season for me, you know? I'm really starting to think this wasn't quite right. It was a few years ago, but I remember that I was really uncomfortable making my way home with the make up she had put on me and just washed it all off instantly. At the time I thought it was because I just never wear make up, but now I wonder if that wasn't an indicator that something wasn't quite right. I don't think this was Sci/Art btw, although she did cover my hair.

Thanks MsKatieKat! I posted two more pics further down after Deb said she thought I might be warm. Also tested with gold and silver again and I'm pretty sure I'm cool - or not cool, maybe neutral verging towards cool would be better. I don't gravitate towards warm colors in general and I don't wear golden jewelry. The only gold jewelry I have was passed on to me, all of the jewelry I bought myself is silver. I'm also a big fan of wearing my pearl earrings, way more than the amber earrings I have. I often do come across as 'warm' in pictures though. In my earlier WIW posts I often used flash and people thought I was a redhead, which I'm not. That's why Claire said she suspected me to be some kind of autumn when I first started posting.

Deb, thanks for the link to your own thread! You look fantastic in the deep winter colors. I'm wondering if I might not do another analysis sometime. There isn't that much choice out there, but googling about this toptic I came across one system that seems promising. They've been around for almost ten years and seem to have done a lot of consulting for big German firms too. They don't seem to have "seasons", they instead place people in a range of darkness, warmth level and clarity like Claire pinpointed with her three questions and then test colors in that range individually for more flexibility (there are no predefined fans). Of course it's quite an expense, so I want to see how far I can get on my own.

I am going to have to go back and read the other comments as some of them look particularly insightful. I know nothing about color theory, but while it is hard for me to tell the most of the blues from the blacks on my monitor, I love #6, #8 and #9 on you.

Thanks Karie! I actually was quite suprised how great the purple scarf in #9 looked. And for those of you that liked the second 'warm' picture I posted - it just realised it isn't all that warm IRL. Just had it next to the jacket in #7 and the scarf in #9 and they go quite well together. And it all goes with #8, because the colors are in the scarf pattern!

I also tried to take a picture of the two greens next to each other, but the darker one just didn't come out right no matter what I did. I do think it seems more harmonious here than it really is.

Astrid I had my colours done years ago too. She found me a summer. When I asked her to define me she said no, I did not fit any category. Stay away from neutrals which look like death on me and also stay away from substantive pastels. I look best in 3 colours not just one. There was a picture in my colour book of a woman in more than one colour, I believe it was a light summer. She said I wasn't a light summer but to follow that theory. I also look amazing in some of the fall shades...rust is stunning on me (or was, much older and grey now).
When I think back over the years most of my favourite outfits have been patterns. Even the skirt, kilts for a long time, seemed to combine both summer and autumn colours. The summer burgundy being more predominate with a very thin line of camel.
My most favourite outfit of all time was not a pattern but acted like one as the top was raw silk slub knit. It was my absolutely best dusty rose but the slub knit had camelish parts in it. The style was also very delicate and romantic in a subtle casual way. Pair the same raw silk skirt with the plain silk blouse and it was blah, I had to add a silk tie to it.
I also have a very hard time in dressing rooms and florescent lighting but when I get the item home it still gives me difficulty. I think I'm buying a summer blue but it might actually be autumn.
My mother and sister are red headed autumns and as such I do believe that is why I adore warm colours. My absolutely favourite colour combination is loden green and camel which looks like death on me. My house is painted mostly warm colours and I do not sit in it well. In pictures I look sickly but put me at my friends house where the walls are my perfect colour and I look alive and vibrant. I find it sometimes helps my eye to look at a big expanse of colour such as on a wall to see if it looks good on me or not.

Thanks Freckles! I can so relate to dressing room light problems, I always look awful in there. Beige dirty yellow hair, tired face with redness accentuated, sickly looking. Doesn't make shopping more fun! And color often looks very different out of the store in natural light. My sister is also a redhead and I love her coloring, but if I should guess I would say she isn't an autumn. She actually wears a lot of colors quite well, unlike me. I feel like for me the right color makes quite the difference.

I did another pic with the blue watercolor scarf below, I really like this one. What do you think? I'm more and more convinced to give the "light summer" some serious thought, do you think these colors fit into that? I first thought that this couldn't be me, with my hair color, but I found a picture of some light summer celebrity examples with their natural hair color online and they all are actually much darker.

Light summer may be the one. Can you purchase a light summer swatch card? Then you can take it with you shopping. It really does make it easier when looking for good colors.