Colour analysis: throwing up my hands - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Dressing

Colour analysis: throwing up my hands

Aziraphale

Veteran

So today's the first day in a while where I've got the time to hang around home and not do much, so I thought I'd browse the web and give seasonal colour analysis a go. The idea that you can give yourself a label is fun, sort of like saying "I'm Year of the Rat" or "I'm a Leo". And so far I've learned...not much. I literally have no idea what "season" I'm supposed to be. (The only one I'm for sure not is winter). I can't even tell if I'm warm or cool. This may be because I'm an idiot, but it doesn't help that I don't seem to fall neatly into any of the categories.

I have questions:

1. Is colour analysis complete bunk? (Let's face it: astrology is complete bunk, but that doesn't mean it's not fun).
2. Assuming there's some truth behind it, can anyone give me a bit of guidance? Is anyone any good at this? I don't feel comfortable including a picture, but this is what I can tell for sure:

- I have medium to light brown hair and eyebrows/lashes

- I have light skin that seems neither obviously pink nor yellow
- I suit blond highlights
- I look bad if I dye my hair darker than its natural colour
- I have very light grey-green eyes with dark limbal ring (if that's important?)
- I have both blue and green veins on my wrists
- I like both gold and silver against my skin (gold might be slightly more flattering?)

I tried holding colours up to my face in natural light. I don't have a lot of colours in my wardrobe, but of the ones I currently own, I think that grey-olive, warm-olive and cornflower blue are the best. I could also tell that royal blue wasn't great, and I know from experience that very pale dusty purple makes me look ill.

In the past, I've been complimented repeatedly when wearing mustard/dark goldy-yellow (sigh) or kelly green. People also seem to comment if I'm wearing purply-red lipsticks. I look gross with icy pink lipstick.

Any ideas? Anyone else feel completely at sea with this sort of thing? Are there any deal breaker colours -- like, if you look bad in colour x, does that mean you're definitely not season y?

Dressing

67 replies

Latest reply was from Aziraphale

rachylou

Veteran

Mustard and Kelly green? Heh... Raising hand as clueless! But I'm dying to know what people with better eyes say (!)

Traci

Veteran

So, I first must confess that earlier today I took a quiz on facebook that told me what tarot card I am based on my numerology, so I'm definitely off the deep end in enjoying these sorts of labels, even if I don't really believe in them.

Last week I spent a day ruminating on my color season and here's what I came away with. I don't think it's complete bunk, but I think it's a very rudimentary system meant to embolden those who are afraid of, or have bad experiences with trusting their instincts on color. If you already know a few of your best and worst colors, I don't think there's much more to learn from knowing your season.

And it's not a perfect system. One category might have mostly good colors for you and a few misses because we don't all just fit neatly in 16 boxes. You may find the box that most closely matches you and maybe some people are squarely in one box, but many of us are a mix up of stuff.

I think I did learn, for myself, that part of the reason I struggle with my color analysis is that I have some warm elements and some cool elements that need to be balanced just so. From how you described yourself, I think you may have the same thing going on.

binkle

Veteran

I don't think it's bunk, It appeals to some and not others I guess. But not for me, personally. Seems like a little too much energy to spend on something when I have other things prioritized. Don't stress it!

Aziraphale

Veteran

Rachy -- glad it's not just me!

Traci -- thanks! I think you're right. Not knowing my "season" isn't stopping me from doing anything. Trial and error tells you what works, right? It would be nice to be able to identify with a label, though, so I could look through the colours and see if I'm getting it right.

This is easier for astrology, because you just match your birthdate/year with a category, and then read through the astrologer's comments to see if THEY got it right! (They never do).

binkle, lol, I'm not stressed at all. I just wanted to know if my "season" would be obvious to someone who's better at colour than I am.

deb

Veteran

In my opinion, the only true way you can tell based on which system you are using is to have color correct drapes. Using the fabric drapes will show how various colors impact your skin colors, eye colors, undertones and such. Do you look best in gold colored or silver colored jewelry?

deb

Veteran

Look at this Pinterest search and see if these are the colors you feel best in.

https://www.pinterest.com/sear.....#038;0=col

Anonymous

If you sort of know what season you roughly fall into, then it's a handy shorthand thing to say of you need to convey to people what looks good on you.

Anyway, just for fun, here is my analysis:
If you look good in mustard that means you cannot be a summer because it is a terrible colour for them.

So the only categories left are autumn and spring. I'm not super familiar with either of these categories.

Sal

Veteran

I agree with Traci- I do think it works brilliantly for some people and provides a method of developing a cohesive flattering wardrobe. If you stick to a palette, the colours will mix and match together nicely. And it is quite fun, if a little self - indulgent. Some people fit very nicely into a category and so it is relatively easy and straightforward.

From what you have said, and your pictures in the past, I agree with yourself that you are not winter, nor summer. If olives, mustards and clear greens work I could see you somewhere in the spring/autumn category. However I know you like and look good in black - although it may not be your very best colour.....At a guess I would go with warm spring or warm autumn but I am not an expert.

https://www.google.co.nz/searc.....440&a

I am loosely one of the springs and look best in warmer clear colours..yet today I am wearing blue denim, black boots, black jacket and black sweater. For me three things help me look okay in this dark combo: the sweater has sequins adding light, I am wearing warm pink lippie, my hair is looking shiny and nicely coloured. Take those aspects away and I would look tired, sallow and uninspired. I love black - and will continue to wear it - but I have to compensate a little especially in winter especially now I am into the 40s..... I suspect you could be similar Az.

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Color analysis is not bunk, at least not when done by an experienced (well trained) analyst with an excellent eye and a reliable set of drapes or color swatches or whatever tools they use. Those people are few and far between.

What happens in color analysis, even when a client is actually put in the right season, is that there's this sense that that's all there is. That's the bunk part. Seasonal color fans give you a set of colors. Most people cross at least two seasons so the one color fan they get is usually the one that has the most of their colors. In other words, the color fan is just the beginning, not the end-all be-all. You pick you favorite colors or color combinations from it and start there. Over time, you'll add to them, sometimes colors from another season, because it goes well with your main colors.

A personalized color analysis, like the kind John Kitchener (of PSC) offers, provides a shortcut in that you get all the colors that work for you and none that don't. Even within that color lineup, there will be colors you prefer and some you could do without, but all will work well for you.

Some people can pick their own colors quite instinctively. Most can't. Not because they never could but because they have lost their eye for it. There is far too much disharmony both in the real world and on the pages of glossy magazines and most people simply become habituated to it without realizing it. They no longer know what harmony looks and feels like so they don't have a good way to recognize it for what it is or to recognize when they're looking at a disharmonious picture.

Aziraphale

Veteran

deb, it's pretty close -- maybe slightly better in gold jewellery? But they both work. Maybe I'm one of those "neutral" autumns. I don't think I'm light enough to be a spring -- or at least, my hair isn't. My eyes and skin are very light.

That's where I get confused. I keep reading that autumns can't have light eyes (I do), but springs must have light hair and look terrible in black (I don't). Whaaaaaat.

smittie -- OK, check, not a summer. I didn't think so, since I look so bad in pale lavender. And you're right, I don't think golden yellow/mustard is a summer colour. Thanks for the tip!

Sally -- yes, I think I look pretty good in black, but it's probably not as good as aubergine or charcoal or navy. It doesn't seem to make a huge difference, though. Those colours are all dark. Black doesn't give me that immediate "ugh" reaction that I get if I put on royal blue or lavender!

Alexandra -- you have an interesting perspective. I think I agree that your "seasonal colour fan" shouldn't be all there is. I mean, I know bright white is not my best colour, but I really, really like how it looks on me if it's just a white collar popping out of a navy sweater, or a strip of white t-shirt showing underneath a black blazer. So I wear white, with caveats.

DonnaF

Veteran

I'm thinking your eye color may be why certain olives and cornflower flatter you. . . and your skin may be mostly neutral if you wear both silver and gold well and your veins are both blue and green. (I can wear both shiny silver and shiny gold and have neither terribly warm nor cool colored skin that gets warmer toned in summer.)

Since we all can't wear all colors well I don't think color theory is hokum, but I do think there's a lot of ifs, ands, and buts to get it really finely tuned to a specific individual.

Gigi

Veteran

Hmm, all I can offer to this conversation is to say that I have quite a few characteristics in common with you, and I consider myself a Deep Autumn (Autumn going into Winter). I too can wear gold or silver, but gold looks a tad bit better. I can wear black, though it's not as good as charcoal or aubergine or navy. Olive and mustard look great. Unlike you, I have dark eyes and a yellow undertone to my skin. I would check Soft Autumn or True Autumn and see if either of those resonates with you. I think that Soft Autumns in particular have softer features, which might work with the light eyes.

Aziraphale

Veteran

DonnaF -- I get more yellow in the summer too, which makes sense because a tan is made by yellow pigment. But I'm not as golden-looking as other people. I look English when I tan, lol.

Gigi, I was thinking I was a "soft autumn" too, but then I read that you have to have warm-toned eyes, and i don't. They are icy green. I don't think I'm a deep autumn because those people are supposed to always have brown eyes and dark hair. Mine's only medium brown, and my eyebrows are light brown.

rabbit

Veteran

I think it mostly makes sense especially if someone is further out on the edge of the cool or warm spectrum (because then it's more obvious). Personally I think eyecolor could be less important for excluding or including someone into a season, because it's such a small visual area to match too, as opposed to the area taken up by your skin and hair for example. So for example I know from experience that the clear winter colors mostly look great on me (they work really well with my skin and hair), but I don't have light blue/green/gray eyes which is indicated for that category, I have hazel-brown. I think figuring out where you are on the muddy vs. clear/bright color spectrum helps too, because it can make a dramatic difference in my experience.

That's why what Alexandra says about straddling seasonal color categories or picking and choosing mainly from one, but taking a few individual colors from another one makes sense to me.

eta: adding on to what deb said, my hair has been the same color since I was a baby, so that might be why it fits with a color family, where hair that has gone through changes over time might not.

deb

Veteran

You really cannot use hair color as a determining factor, especially if you color it. Usually the hair is covered when an analysis is done. When I had mine done, I wore a neutral grey smock and my hair was covered with the same neutral grey fabric. It was amazing how the various colors changed my skin and eyes. I am a dark winter with dark blond hair and hazel green eyes. The funny thing is, I was born with coal black hair and very dark eyebrows. The black hair all fell out and grew back in red which then changed to almost white. A total toe head. I kept the very dark brows though so I think this has a lot to do with the colors that look beat on me. I have always gotten the most compliments when I wear stark white. But when I looked at the online sights, my hair color always put me in any other season but winter.

Gigi

Veteran

I wonder if, along the lines of what rabbit and Alexandra have said, it is worth having a primary season and a secondary season, like we do for body types?

Anonymous

I think green eyes, even if they're icy, are still warmer than blue eyes.
It's really neat that you have light eyelashes and brows.

deb

Veteran

Take a look at this site.

http://expressingyourtruth.blogspot.com/

And this one.

https://12blueprints.com/author/admin/

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I am pretty terrible with color typing, but your description makes you sound neutral and therefore, I guess, not so easy to lock down color wise. I do think these things are more pertinent to people who are more extreme as Rabbit said. And certain things about color theory don't make sense to me - I know I look good in winter colors despite my skin and eyes being warm tones.

SandyG

Veteran

AZ, I'm a Rat and a Leo so have to chime in. I've got neutral skin, a gray ring around my eyes, and can wear a lot more than most soft summers. From what consultants have told me, skin tone determines your season, eye color is a wild card and hair color is quite variable after childhood.

If you wear your eye colors, you'll be irresistible with your neutral skin! And then wear whatever you like, whatever goes with your vibe and personality. Life is too short to limit yourself when you have so many possibilities.

MsMaven

Veteran

I've had several color analyses done by professionals and they are usually a bit confused. I am not a winter, but I am a spring/autumn/winter. However, I do look just fine in black--the texture matters here.

Some people definitely fall into a category. Others are more difficult. I am one of those neutral people, but soft autumn fits me best.

My Mom was definitely an autumn, but she wore summer colors the last few decades of her life. Well, it was polyester pantsuits and lavender and light blue for her generation. I always thought she lost a certain amount of herself in these colors, but you know what? They fit who she was--a product of her times. A woman who wanted to look fine and appropriate, but not stand out in a bold way. She was a timid feminist.

Currently I follow this scheme: Does the color make me feel good? If so, I wear it. Can't stand rust, and since my hair has been let go to gray I don't like many browns, but I don't rule them out. There are many beautiful colors out there, but if it doesn't feel right to me to wear it, I don't.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Not hokum...but the categories are quite reductive, and it's most valuable to those with no intuitive sense of colour. And Elisabeth, as an artist, I would bet you do have an intuitive sense.

Plus, colours are always seen in relation to one another. This is why I don't really buy the idea that we should cover the hair when doing an analysis. I understand that dyed hair could skew an analysis (because of the reflections and the way it could confuse an unskilled analyst.) Yet if a woman is going to continue dying her hair, surely she wants to know what looks best with that hair colour and her skin tone? The fact that she would theoretically look good in Colour A if she weren't dying her hair is moot, isn't it?

Having said that, I also think that colour analysis is a huge amount of fun and I enjoy playing around with it.

Before YLF I actually went to have my colours "done." The poor analyst had a tough time with me. When I walked in, without makeup, she thought "autumn." I started talking and she thought "spring." Then she put a yellow drape next to my face. Hahahahaha!!!!

I could have told her not to bother.

In the end, I paid $150 to be told to wear the colours I already gravitated towards. She did remind me that I look good in purples and plums, which I had sort of forgotten or failed to register.

She gave me a "true" summer wallet -- but ripped out most of the pastel options since they looked horrible on me, replacing them with swatches from the "cool" wallet. (A sort of cross between winter / summer with more intense versions of the colours that look good on summers.)

Now that my hair is grey, my guess is that I've crossed over completely to the colours suggested for cool toned people. I seem to do better with slightly brighter and darker versions of my old favourites, along with grey and white. Black works better than before (though it always worked to a degree). And high contrast, which theoretically a "summer" is not supposed to wear. But like you, I've always enjoyed it in certain forms (e.g. collar and cuffs).

Aziraphale

Veteran

Rabbit, you may be onto something when you say hair colour that has changed over the years might make it hard to classify a person, season-wise. My hair started out ginger-blond, and got browner and less red as I passed through childhood. By early adulthood it was plain brown, but I've had it highlighted blond a lot over the years because it seems to suit me.

Deb, I know I read in several places that some winter people are towheads. And yes, I totally dye my hair all the time. When I say I'm a brunette, it doesn't mean my hair is currently that colour -- that's its natural colour It's sandy blond at the moment.

Gigi, good question. You're probably right!

smittie, thanks, but having pale eyebrows and lashes is more of an annoyance than anything.

shevia, maybe you're neutral, too.

SandyG, high five Leo Rats! I learned recently that I'm a Water rat specifically, which is supposed to be opportunistic and dishonest, lol. Quite at odds with what a Leo is supposed to be.

MsMaven, I do the same as you. I wear the colours that make me feel good. Most colours seem fine, a few seem really good, and a few are really terrible (and, since those ones don't make me feel good, I don't wear them!).

Aziraphale

Veteran

Suz, that's interesting what you say about hair colour. I've always assumed that my "good" colours look good on me regardless of my hair colour, but then, I gravitate toward hair colours that don't make me look ill. I've made a few memorable and humorous mistakes (note: do NOT dye hair darker, under any circumstances!) that looked so bad that no clothing colour could make up for it.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Me, too...like the yellowy blonde I got by mistake once...my face looked instantly ruddy and complexion blotchy; it was horrid. I had to go get it fixed at some expense.

The colours that will suit you will be in the same general family regardless of hair colour, I think -- but the specific level of brightness, clarity, intensity will differ, and also which ones within your general range look best will probably differ. So yeah, I always looked good in most blues, and I still do -- but I look better in some blues than I used to, and less good in others than I used to. I still look awful in mustard.

crazyone

Veteran

I don't believe that color theory is all bogus, after all there are particular colors that do and don't suit individuals. But I have to confess that like you, Elisabeth, I've never really made head or tails of it. I just buy what I like--I do gravitate to certain colors, but interestingly I tend to buy both warm and cool shades of the same color. Take red--I wear a LOT of red and it is the color I wear that elicits the most compliments, even sometimes from people on the street. I wear both warm and cool reds, and feel like I look good in both even though color theory says I should prefer one of the other....probably the warm reds due to my overall somewhat yellowish hue. But I actually slightly prefer the bluish reds!

Liz A.

Veteran

I kind of remember seeing some pics of you in the past and thinking you were definitely warm toned.

I've never had my colors done, but Deep Winter is bang on for me. I find it useful mainly for ruling out certain tops off the bat. Mustard and burnt orange, for instance, are no-gos.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Haha, Suz, when you say "my face looked instantly ruddy and complexion blotchy" -- I had that exact thing experience when I bought what I thought was a light grey tee shirt in a darkened Aritzia with no natural light. Turns out it was pale dusty lavender. When I saw myself in it in natural light, I thought, Dear God, I've found my worst colour!

crazyone, your experience with reds is like mine with olive/army greens. I seem to look good in both the greyish army greens (matches my eye colour) and the warm, yellow-toned olives. I wear 'em all.

Liz A, agreed -- some colours are a no-go for all of us! But there seem to be relatively few that are truly dreadful.

Desmo April

(website)

Veteran

One of the stumbling blocks for me is warm vs cool skin tones. I find my skin to be very neutral, both gold and silver work on me. I also can't get past hair color not being important. One of the sites also said it is more important to make your skin look better than your eyes. I'll choose to highlight my eyes every time.

The reality is, there are colors that I dislike wearing in all of the seasons and colors that I can happily wear in most of the seasons. I'm not so sure about spring colors though. I think most analysis would put me in the deep/dark autumn category and it seems to be the best fit even if most dark autumns have dark eyes. Most of the colors actually make my pale olive green eyes pop. I can wear some of the winter colors as long as I stay away from icy and can get along with the deepest of the summer colors.

12 3