I second Suz on you're being an artist and knowing what is good on you.

Like C1 I don't go in for colour analysis and don't know what type I am - I just know what colours work on me (and I worked that out prior to YLF) after some terrible experiments with murky colours as a teenager.

I agree with Alexandra. I think there is some sense in it, but I don't think it ends with the color palette. And I don't agree with Suz about not covering the hair up. Yes, you can pick colors to make a hair color more or less work that isn't your best. But I think you should pick the colors that suit you and then pick your hair color correspondingly if you really want to dye it. Although I think that eye and (natural) hair color say only so much when you determine a season. You need to look at how certain colors influence your colouring instead. I had blue grey eyes as a child, now they changed to a grey green with very little blue and some yellow. Looking just at my eyes you would probably think I'm a warm season, but I'm a Soft Summer. Can you wear solid black? I can wear black too, as long as it's broken up with a pattern in more flattering colors. And I don't look terrible in solid black if there's enough skin showing. It's all relative.

I am an expert at being color typed because I have had it done 6 times!

Maybe this does make it bunk because each time the result was different! Different eyes, different opinions!

My true color typing story:

The first time I was in high school, or maybe middle school, and my mother read a book and decided I was a "spring", She purchased color chips for me and declared that all my clothes should be in those colors. I was less than thrilled, but she wouldn't allow me to purchase anything outside those colors.

Next, I had my colors done when I was in medical school as part of an image program everyone went through. They wanted us to look presentable and professional, a quest I have continued indefinitely. Funny right?! At that point I was typed as a summer. I loved those colors, but sadly, my mother insisted they were wrong. She paid the bills and wouldn't let me purchase any clothes from the new palette. I saved it though.

When I graduated and moved away, I had my colors done again, this time I turned out an autum. I later learned this women typed everyone as an autumn. Most of the colors in the palette didn't work well, so I ended up using bronzers and makeup to supplement my look. Ugh! I also colored my hair! Around 5 years later I had them redone

The new color specialist relied on my hair color and demonstrated how changing it could make me a summer, spring, or an autumn. By then I had no clue what my natural color looked like anymore! It was clear however that I was somehow a color chameleon. I was feeling like the color palette thing was bunk and maybe I should give up. I flitted between spring and autumn depending on hair color and makeup, but I always had to use a bronzer to add warmth to my skin.

I read somewhere that your color type shouldn't depend on hair color. I remembered I could never wear half the colors in the spring or autumn palettes. I had never purchased any of the summer colors because of the strong taboo issued by my mother. I sent a high quality picture to an online colorist who typed me as a soft autumn. It still seemed wrong.

Think I gave up? No, I probably should have, but I finally went to someone in person again, and she typed me as a light summer. I thought summers had blond hair, and my natural color was brown. She explained that color typing has nothing to do with hair color. She covered my hair. She told me that it is particularly hard to type someone like me because of my neutral skin and my eye color is also a tough one. She said they look green or grey depending on what I am wearing, and which drape she held up, etc. I look good in both gold and silver. Apparently I can easily fall into either a warm or a cool season but my skin tends to be slightly more more cool than warm; my eyes are slightly warm but not enough to make me a spring or autumn, and my hair was cool toned but definitely had some warm highlights before it turned grey. The light summer colors made my skin bright and my eyes sparkle. The light spring colors were second best; some were a bit too warm and made my skin appear sallow. That's what you look for, bright skin and sparkling eyes, together. The biggest clue, every single color in the palette works for me. I knew black was an awful color for me and there was no black in the palette. With the light summer palette, I don't need makeup. When I wear makeup, it only enhances what's already there. No need for bronzers. No need for blush.

So, in the end, I think color typing is helpful, but its important to either find someone who knows what they are doing, or to carefully look for the clues above. You should not need any makeup, you should not need to change anything, and all the colors in the palette should suit you well. When it's good, you should feel it's right. The colors will make your eyes sparkle and skin bright.

I think most people can figure out their colors themselves if they are not confused by their mothers! (Mom, if you read this, you know I love you, and I know you still think I'm a spring! You're so stubborn! )

You don't necessarily need to label yourself, but, for the sake of a cohesive wardrobe, I think it helps at least to decide between either cool or warm colours. Even if you feel you are fairly neutral, you will probably look better in, or be drawn to, either one or the other. Which seem to suit you best? and which are you happy to wear?

My own colouring is Cool and Soft, and I've been drawn to colours in that palette since I was a child, so choosing colours has always been easy for me, but I know it's not so straightforward for everyone, and neither does everyone want to be constrained by one palette.

FWIW, I'd say you have Soft colouring. Season-wise, probably Soft Summer or Soft Autumn, but you know your own colouring best, and it's probably better just to follow your own inclinations.

I am always toying with the idea of having my colours done. At this stage, I'm pretty certain that I'm a summer (probably soft or true). But I keep trying to remind myself that the actual outcome I want is to wear clothes that look great on me.

Colour analysis is just one method of trying to get one part of that right - which colours make me look at my best. I also need to balance that against which shapes flatter my figure, which shapes and colour combinations are in fashion, which style suits my personality, and what kinds of outfit suits the activity I'm doing at that time.

I know perfectly well that black is not my best colour and so I avoid it. But it's still useful to have a couple of black items. On the other hand, there's probably a brown out there that would suit me. But I don't wear brown because I hate it - and clothes I hate just won't look good on me, to me.

I've been studying color analysis for quite a while, and think there's something to it but that most people are not going to fit neatly into one category. I also think the color palettes are great for people who have difficulty combining colors or who simply need help figuring out what colors look best on them.

I think the PCA I had pointed me in the right direction, but was incomplete. The analyst handed me a palette of light summer pastels, and although I am a summer, I am obviously not a light summer. This was back in the 4-season days, though, so I don't hold that against her. It was years before I learned about the 12-season color system, and then about the 16-season color system. I still haven't figured out which exact category I fit in, but I'm closer than I've ever been before, and I can say that having a color palette helps me maintain a color-coordinated wardrobe that looks good on me.

There are various color analysis systems, and I'm not sure which is best, but I do think that hair and eye color matter. After all, when you create an outfit, you have to take your own personal coloring into consideration, as those colors are always with you.

Thanks to Angie, I have finally come to the realization that how you combine the colors also matters.

Astrid, to clarify, I didn't mean that people should dye their hair in colours that don't actually work with their skin tones and try to pick their colour season based on the dyed hair. It's just that even if a woman is picking a dye that is consistent with her skin tone (or as close as possible) her best colours will be different (slightly) than they would with her natural hair colour. At least that's been my experience. Not that my dye always turned out great -- it didn't, which is one reason I stopped dyeing. It didn't look right to me any more to dye.

Suz, I never thought you meant that! I probably should have phrased that differently. I agree that a woman's best colors might change with dyed hair even if she picked the right dye for her skin tone in comparison with her natural hair color. But they'd change consistent with the season she is. So she might pick different colors from her palette, but she won't completely switch color palettes. And that's why I think hair shouldn't have any part of this analysis. I think it's very easy to go wrong if you don't leave hair color out of the equation. That's why all the overly simplistic online tests asking for hair and eye color just don't work.

I have had mine done but it didn't help much, because it only increased the range of colours that allegedly suit me, and I had hoped that it would help me narrow down my colour palette. OTOH, I did like discovering Prussian blue as a colour that suits me.

My hair is warm-toned but my skin is cool-toned (except that I get freckles if my skin is exposed to the sun) and my eyes are pale grey blue/pale blue (or green if the colour man is to be believed! no one has ever before thought my eyes green, only blue). Lilac makes me look ill. As does magenta. But so does orange, mustard and olive, and citrus colours. If I am wearing yellow it has to be pale primrose.

When I haven't been exposing my skin to the sun for a while my skin goes very cool-toned and royal blue starts to suit me again. If royal blue doesn't suit you, try Prussian blue, which is warmer.

If lilac makes you look ill, does deep purple also make you look ill? Try a warmer vs cooler version and see if one looks better than the other.

I think many of us have mixed colouring. Have you looked into the Zyla system, in which the colours deemed to suit you are the actual colours in you -- all the colours of your eyes, your skin and your hair. I haven't had him do mine but I have found the concept helpful.

Good luck!

Sarah

Oh, totally agree with that, Astrid. Also because people can't really judge very accurately a lot of the time. Say they are blonde -- they will be looking and saying, hmm am I warm blonde or cool? I don't know! And I do see why they cover the hair for drapings in that sense, for sure.

I think a person's "season" might actually change with natural hair colour as it greys. They say Jamie Lee Curtis was probably an autumn in her youth but now is classified as a winter. (Perhaps the earlier typing was wrong, I don't know.) We do tend to "cool" with age, though.

In my own experience, I've probably moved from summer to some species of winter. (Speaking broadly). I could still never wear the absolute intensity of the clear winter or the absolute dark of the dark winter -- but I need a lot more brightness, contrast, and intensity than I needed with my blonde hair. Soft and pastel were never my best, but now they completely wash me out.

Yes and then they are those who have an atypical hair color for their season...

I still see you as a cool summer - that season has some strong colors! I think what you going grey showed is that you never were a Soft Summer to start with, even if you wondered about it a few times (probably also because of the dyed hair).

I'd be a little leery of using compliments on color you're wearing as an indication of your "season". I think sometimes people compliment someone wearing a color they themselves like. The fact that you have both mustard and kelly green already in your wardrobe is very interesting, though.

I find color analysis somewhat interesting (the artist in me is always looking at the play of color, contrast, etc., in all sorts of situations, not just fashion), but I don't think it's a magic bullet. Like body type, a little analysis goes a long way, and then it's up to each individual to adapt the "rules" to their own personal preferences, tastes, and flattery priorities.

I was typed as a "winter" way back in the 80s when this first became a thing. I still remember sitting around my friend's dining room table, with her mom and some friends, doing the Color Me Beautiful routine. My two best friends (still my besties to this day) are very obviously winter -- olive skin, very dark hair (although one has now gone completely grey in a most stunning way), very dark brown eyes. With my pale, freckly skin and light eyes, a "winter" diagnosis didn't seem so obvious to me, but I've always assumed it to be right -- I believe I look best in clear, deep jewel tones and colors that bring out the blue or green in my eyes.

Sometimes I think my coloring is actually *warming* a little bit with age, contrary to what Suz said, but maybe it's just my perception and willingness to wear colors and shades that are JFE. I still look horrible in yellow, and orange does me few favors as well, but I do like a bit of rust or cognac. Weirdly enough, that dusty pale lavender color you mention, Elisabeth, also looks like death on me. Most pale shades, especially in the warmer colors, don't look good on me. Pale blue and mint green are the exceptions, but even then, the murkier the color, the less likely it will work on me. If it's clear and pale, chances are better I can pull it off. However, I'm typically just not drawn to pastels because they don't appeal to me aesthetically.

I am betting that since you are an artist, your own judgment is nearly as good as any professional analysis. However, sometimes it's really hard to self-evaluate as well as we can evaluate others.

Astrid, yes, it's possible I'm still cool summer. But, the thing is -- I can't wear any of the lighter tones in that palette. I never really could, except for a lighter blue -- the analyst ripped many of summer's light colours out of the wallet she gave me, and gave me colours from the "cool" wallet (which is a blend of winter/ summer -- some systems call it true winter or absolute winter or tinted winter. --- oh the myriad names!!! --Basically, I anything lighter than the 3rd swatch out is too light except for true white, which looks good, and soft white, which still looks good, and really light silver or grey. These work now because they are represented in the hair.

It's possible that more icy pastels will work -- I haven't tried as they never looked good on me before.

In the end, I don't really care -- my eye tells me what works and what's too strong and what's too light, so that's good enough -- and as you say, it's all in the same general family. I think what's most important in my own case is that the colour be absolutely cool -- no warmth to it. For others, softness, brightness, or lightness might be the key.

ETA, sorry to highjack, Elisabeth!! I think in your case, it wouldn't be "coolness' (obviously) but it might be warmth or softness that you are looking for, i.e. if you wear black, maybe a soft black works better? These are the things you can ask yourself.

I will add that maybe the most useful part of this is it can help people narrow down their range of colours and pick a consistent palette. But you prefer neutrals anyway and don't have a lot of colour in your closet. So in a way, this is all moot for you!

And Janet, you look beautiful in jewel tones. And I also understand that perhaps some people get warmer in skin tone -- I do think that changes and could get warmer if people spend more time outdoors, etc. even with sunscreen-- esp. if your hair is not grey. The grey hair makes a big difference.

Wow, this thread went nuts while I was asleep! Thanks for the comments, suggestions, and personal experience with colour analysis, everybody!

JAileen, I'm not so sure. Most people don't like mustard and gold (the colour, not the metal), yet I always used to get compliments when I wore either of those colours. (I actually don't have them in my wardrobe anymore because I don't like them much. However, I did once have a gold sweater and a mustard sweater -- both gifts -- that never failed to draw compliments when I wore them).

Haha, Staysfit, that's one bossy mother! I'm sure she meant well.

Suz and Janet, I'm sure I read that one's colour can get cooler or warmer with age, especially if your hair goes grey. (And no worries about thread hijack; clearly, this is an interesting topic to a lot of people!).

MFF, I have no idea if deep, true purple works on me -- I've literally never tried it on! Same goes for magenta. I don't like it. Aubergine works very well, though, as does merlot. Muted brownish-purples.

I think it's good to look in your closet and what you reach for most often in terms of colors as a starting point. If I refer back to this myself I know that I love many of the cool summer colors with the exception of most of the pastel or lighter shades within that palette. My closet consists of mostly the darkest and then the second darkest of the shades in Astrid's cool summer palette. If I buy too far out of the range I end up regretting the purchase and not wearing the item.

Kelly Green and Mustard are definitely warm sounding colors so I'm guessing you are leaning towards a warmer palette.

I'd say that while color analysis is not total bunk, you do have to be careful not to fall down the rabbit hole, so to speak. Definitely stay away from reductionist 4-season approaches, because they won't tell you much of anything useful, especially if they're trying to determine season based largely on hair and eye color. The more useful methods are the 12-season "Sci-Art" type approaches.

And yes, even 12 categories is reductionist; it's a lot more useful to view color as what it is -- a spectrum. You can be a winter who leans towards fall or spring and can tolerate certain warm colors; you can be a summer who tolerates some depth and saturation. The key is being comfortable enough with the system to personalize, rather than trying to slot yourself into a very rigid category. (The astrologer's analogy would be looking beyond your sun sign and getting a handle on your ascendant sign and the whole rest of your chart. A Leo with Virgo rising might act more like a Virgo than a Leo, just as a Bright Winter who leans toward Bright Spring might dress more like a typical Spring than a Winter, just a touch cooler and deeper.)

It's also worth asking yourself why you want to identify "your" season. Do you feel you don't look good in the colors you're currently wearing, like something is off? Or do you feel your wardrobe isn't cohesive, and you want to narrow it down to a harmonious palette? If these reasons don't apply, and you're happy with the colors your wearing and how they play together, then you probably don't need to spend too much time on color analysis. Anyhow, if you are still searching for your season, it sounds like dark autumn might be a useful place for you to start, if you like black but feel you probably look better in charcoal and aubergine.

La Pedestrienne, I want to identify my season for (a) fun, and (b) validation -- i.e. to be reassured that the colours I think are bad are the ones that should be bad, based on what (I hope) is a kind of empirical system. I think this whole thing was sparked by me putting on a royal blue top that I suspected was unflattering when I bought it, but I bought it anyway because I liked the colour ...and now every time I wear it, I feel vaguely out of sorts.

textstyle, that approach won't work, because the thing I reach for the most is black, and only winters are "supposed to" wear black, and the one thing I'm definitely NOT is a winter!

Hmm, I'm thinking reassurance plays a huge role in the popularity of color analysis. As Janet says, it's harder to figure out if something is flattering on ourselves than seening it on others.

I've always been dubious about color analysis because it downplays so many other factors which seem to affect my color choices--occasion, fabric, lighting, style, design, proximity, prejudices, instinct, personality, mood--the list goes on and on.

If an outside jury deemed chocolate brown and mustard worn together were my most flattering color combination, I'd never wear it because those colors worn together make me feel physically ill--a totally irrational response, but a very strong one! If that same jury told me amethyst purple was a no-no, I'd ignore them because I adore that shade. My skin tones vary from season to season, as well as through aging, and so do my colour choices. Some iconic garments just look better in certain colors to my eye--a tan trench, a black velvet dress, a navy peacoat with brass buttons, a soft white linen shirt, a cream and navy Breton; even if they come in other colors, I'm drawn to the magic of the "original" version. Misty colours in the rain, sun washed shades in the desert, bright colors in the tropics--if I'm travelling or living in certain places, I'm happiest when my wardrobe "fits" the geography. Edgy, angular clothing designs look weird in soft pastels, while ruffles and dainty prints adore those colors.

Nope, color is too personal to hand off to an arbitrary fan deck; I'd prefer to make a mistake now and again.

Gaylene, you're not the only one who loathes mustard and brown. That colour combination embodies everything that was bad about the 1970s!

I think you'e right that certain iconic items look better in certain colours. Perhaps the "original" colour contributes to the overall vibe of the item, which gives it its iconic status?

Mustard fan reporting in. Especially with red lipstick- but not with brown. I wear with denim but purged my top as it was a style I had grown less fond of.

This is what I think of colour analysis:

http://youlookfab.com/2013/09/.....-you-back/

And a few more points:

• Colour is the most emotive part of your wardrobe and style.
• You CANNOT see colour in isolation, which makes the "drape colours over your bare face to assess your best colours" process a futile exercise.
• Of course, the changing colour of your hair affects the colours that look best against your complexion. How can it not! So does make-up, and the colours you wear with other colours.
• Some items look best in certain colours.
• Certain personal styles look best in specific palettes, like "Hard Edge" looks good in black and grey.
• Your most flattering colours are always in style.
• My late Mum wore mustard and brown with the best of them. Absolutely sensational on her. She had a mustard suit in the '70s that was Killer. She had brown hair, blue eyes, and wore brown shoes with the suit. Very memorable.

I think some of us are neutrals when it comes to the warm/cool issue. At Sephora, they can take a close-up picture of your skin to match it with foundation, and that's when I learned I could wear both warm-toned and cool-toned foundations...I guess I swing both ways, lol. It sounds like you do too.

Those color analyses don't work well on us, nor do they work very well on people with darker skin tones.

I love mustard and brown. I still wear them together and don't feel particularly dated. Mustard has been a very trendy color lately, particularly when paired with grey and blue.

See, that right there: mustard and brown. It kind of makes me think that the whole colour theory thing MUST be bunk, because some people love it, and others loathe it. We're obviously not all seeing the same thing.

Staysfit, your colour theory saga also supports the idea that the whole thing is pointless. If six different people get six different answers, something's not right.

Finally, some people fervently believe hair colour is important, and others fervently believe it must be covered up to do accurate colour typing!

...hang on a sec. As soon as I wrote the word "believe", I saw the problem. Whenever belief is involved, we are no longer objective. So I guess there's my answer. There can be no objective way of determining which colours "go" with which person. There is only opinion. Although I suppose it doesn't follow that all of colour analysis should be tossed out the window. I mean, there are lots of things I believe that other people also believe -- for instance, that Shakespeare was a great playwright, that Bill Bryson is very funny, and nothing smells more disgusting than a rotting fish carcass. Many voices add weight to an opinion, but it doesn't make that opinion correct. After all, my childhood dog seemed to very much enjoy rolling in dead fish.

I really wanted a label, though. Pffffthtt.

Hey, nothing wrong with mustard and brown. My loathing is entirely instinctive and totally irrational.

But, that's kind of my point--there is often nothing logical or rational about the colors we love and the ones we dislike, especially when it comes to wearing them on our bodies. I can admire the mustard and brown combo on others, but still shudder at the thought of my wearing it myself. I can also quite happily wear colors that others tell me are "wrong" because I love the concept--my camel duffle being a case in point. Camel definitely does not flatter me, but I find ways to wear my coat with a dark polo neck sweater and a scarf that make it JFE. The whole outfit makes me much happier than if I'd have bought the coat in a more flattering navy blue.

Color is as much about emotion, instinct, and feeling as it is about flattery. We see it through our own lens when it comes to putting it on bodies so that camel coat stays in my closet.

One of the unexpected benefits that came out of my color analysis were the swatches I received. They gave me new ideas for adding colors to my wardrobe in a cohesive way, no matter if I like the color or not. The whole spectrum of colors I received look pleasing with each other. Granted, I could go to a paint store and pick up paint chips, but that is no guarantee all I pick out will be a cohesive whole. And I would naturally be drawn to the colors I like.

I agree with Deb. I think I finally settled on the light summer colors because they were my favorites. They are bright, joyful, happy colors in my life, and they are colors I naturally gravitate towards. As soon as I saw the palette, I knew it was correct for me. The palette helps me coordinate everything. If I get anything outside the palette, it tends to be something neutral that I can mix with the items I have purchased that match my palette. For example, the navy NAS items I purchased are all slightly dark, but will still work because they are neutral. I will just pair them with items from the darker part of my palette to form a lower contrast.

See, now it's funny that you *want* a label! In a way, I enjoy seeking a category that fits me, but then my rebellious streak kicks in and I want to eschew being fit into any kind of box. I'm not even crazy about body shape categories -- especially those likening our bodies to various types of fruit -- even though I see how they can be useful. It almost seems like those of us who are more easily categorized tend to move on more quickly, and those of us who have a more nebulous type wish for a little more clarity. Yet again, the grass always seems to be greener...

You don't have any other colors aside from black that you reach for often? For me it is charcoal gray and navy. I have other colors in my closet but I reach for those most often so I buy heavily in those colors to keep my sanity in the mornings. I also have a small section of wine/burgandy and a section of deep olive gray and coolish greens and white. If I stray too far from those I usually don't wear the items much.

I've never had a color analysis but I've found that if I pay attention to people with my same general color to see what I think looks good on them, it usually will work for me. Suz comes to mind for me but I also use images I see online and really look at what colors they are wearing.

I saw a "street" image just yesterday of a model, Cindy Crawford, wearing a military style jacket that immediately screamed the wrong green to my eye. I think she would have looked much better in a deeper shade with less yellow - so even models don't always get it right.