Your True Colors Are a Fashion Trend (Again)
A crash course in color seasons – and why I’m adding a kaleidoscope of color to my closet.
Welcome (or welcome back!) to Multifaceted, a weekly newsletter about finding delight and direction in a creative life made up of many different interests. If this email is too long to display in your inbox, click “view entire message” to expand your view.
Our kaleidoscope-themed June issue wraps up with this week’s “Creative Living” segment. Let’s put the “style” in “creative lifestyle” and turn our focus to fashion in all its confusing, colorful glory.
(And, real quick before we dive in – I can’t talk about a rainbow of color in June without wishing a happy, safe, and celebratory Pride Month to my incredible LGBTQ+ friends and readers! 💖🏳️🌈)
I’ve been paid to pick clothes for people. I studied theatrical costume design and I have a master’s degree in fashion history. But somehow, I was wearing all the wrong colors.
My wardrobe consisted of a few hues that I now realize didn't do much for me. Black and gray, burgundy and plum, dark teal. The kind of muted colors that are easy to gravitate toward when you want to look nice but you don’t really want to take up too much space.
Post-COVID, mainstream fashion got a fresh start. Youthful, 90s-inspired, Gen-Z-influenced trends reintroduced an explosion of color – a departure from the beige and black millennial minimalist palette.
To help us all safely find our way over the rainbow, an army of color analysis gurus hit the Instagram feed.
Their color assessment system has the same magnetic appeal as a viral personality quiz. One minute you’re mindlessly grabbing another black tee, the next you’re wondering, wait, what's my color season?
Color analysis 101
Color analysis has come a long way since the 1980s, when it was first popularized by the “Color Me Beautiful” book and cosmetics brand.
Back then, everyone was sorted into four categories named after the seasons of the year – Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. The groupings were based on fairly limited, very white criteria that didn't really account for the full spectrum of human beauty.
Those basic ideas eventually got a makeover. Today’s color seasons are based on a person's features and how they relate to each other.
Color analysis involves examining three main qualities:
Undertone: This describes the warmth or coolness of your complexion. Cool colors like silver harmonize with cooler complexions while warm colors like gold flatter warm complexions.
Chroma: Also known as color purity or saturation, chroma describes the intensity and brightness of a color. Someone with high chroma features like bright green eyes will glow in vivid, saturated colors. Meanwhile someone exhibiting low chroma features like gray-blue eyes will shine in softer, more muted shades.
Contrast: This describes the relationship between light and dark values across your features, including your hair, skin, and eye color. High-contrast beauties can flaunt bold, contrasting color combos. Meanwhile, low-contrast folks can easily pull off subtle, tone-on-tone looks.
Examining your undertone, chroma, and contrast will lead you to one of the four seasons – and more specifically, one of the three sub-seasons within it. There are 12 subseasons in total, capturing more specific variations in undertone, chroma, and contrast.
Compared to the 1980s iteration, today's color analysis is a much more inclusive and personalized process. The season system includes a wide variety of color palettes that work for all skin tones and features. The framework is designed to help each individual find colors that harmonize their natural appearance.
Here’s a great example showing how different celebs shine in the same Autumn colors:
And another duo of Bright Winter celebs:
Why does it matter? Well, knowing your season can help simplify shopping and styling. You can reach for a limited array of colors you know you’ll look and feel radiant in. It can be a big confidence booster. Plus, if you enjoy fashion, it’s just plain fun!
Although you won't necessarily look bad when you wear clothes and makeup outside of your season’s color palette, your natural beauty really does radiate in this inexplicable way when you're wearing your colors. Your eyes pop, your skin glows… your no-makeup face doesn't seem quite as tired.
It's kind of crazy how swapping a gray sweater and burgundy lipstick for a bright green top and a kiss of coral can transform your look!
The whole concept reminds me of how interior design details work together. When you decorate a room, you’re usually working with, not against, the bones of a space. You’ll choose paint colors that play up the natural light. Furniture that complements the wood trim. Accents that provide balance and cohesion.
It can be the same when you’re getting dressed. When you dress in your season’s palette, you’re choosing clothes that work with, not against, your features. You're choosing colors that create balance and harmony while leaving out colors that will clash, overpower, or dull you down.
(Sidebar: It should go without saying, but I strongly believe anyone can wear whatever they want and whatever they feel their best in. Maybe you like to clash and mix it up – that’s cool! Do you. As with all advice, take what works and leave the rest.)
So, what are the color seasons? Think of them all arranged in a circle, like the color wheel. Here’s the breakdown:
Spring
Clear, warm, bright colors make up the Spring season. Springs have warm undertones with a bright, fresh appearance. Vibrant greens, coral pinks, and true blues can bring out their higher-saturation features and natural glow. The subseasons are:
Bright Spring: Vivid, warm colors with high intensity and clear contrast.
True Spring: Warm, fresh colors with medium brightness and moderate contrast.
Light Spring: Light, delicate colors that combine Spring and Summer qualities with low contrast.
Summer
Soft, cool, muted colors define the Summer season. Summers have cool undertones with a softer sensibility. Dusty blues, rosy pinks, lavender, and pastel shades enhance their more muted and delicate natural coloring. The subseasons are:
Light Summer: Light, cool colors with low contrast, blending Summer and Spring traits.
True Summer: Soft, muted colors with cool tones and low intensity.
Soft Summer: Cool, muted colors with low to medium contrast, merging Summer and Autumn characteristics.
Autumn
Warm, rich, earthy hues make up the Autumn season. Autumns have warm undertones and a golden glow. Burnt oranges, olive greens, and rich browns bring out the warmth and depth in their appearance. The subseasons are:
Soft Autumn: Warm, muted colors with low to medium contrast, mixing Autumn and Summer qualities.
True Autumn: Rich, earthy colors with medium brightness and moderate contrast.
Deep Autumn: Deep, intense colors with high brightness and medium to high contrast.
Winter
Cool, deep, intense colors are characteristic of the Winter season. Winters typically have cool undertones with high contrast in their features. Jewel tones like emerald green, royal blue, stark white, and pure black complement their dramatic contrast.
Deep Winter: Deep, dramatic colors with high intensity and strong contrast.
True Winter: Bold, clear colors with cool tones and high contrast.
Bright Winter: Bright, vivid colors with high intensity and contrast, blending Winter and Spring qualities.
Maybe you already have a sense of where you fit in on the color wheel. Or maybe you’re totally bamboozled.
Well, for a whopping $250 (or more!), you can have a professional color consultant drape a rainbow of fabrics over you in the mirror and deliver your results with gusto. Some color analysis services involve a swatch book of in-season colors you can shop for, personalized makeup recommendations, follow-up consultations, and more.
To be honest, some of it seems a little gimmicky. If you have an artistic sensibility or an eye for design, you can probably figure out your color season for free, after doing a little more research.
Discovering my color season
After doing my own seasonal scrutinizing, I decided I’m a Bright Spring. Definitely not a great match for dark jewel tones and black all the time!
Below, first there’s a picture of me in March, before I knew about Bright Spring colors. I liked wearing the outfit (and I still love the coat), but can you see how the overall palette leaves me looking washed out?
In this image, the cool and dark colors are overpowering. Your eye dances around the dark squares first, lands on the coat, and eventually finds its way to my face.
Next, there’s me in a more recent March at one of my baby showers, surrounded by a palette of Spring hues. See how much more radiance they bring? And no, it’s not just the pregnancy glow!
Looking at the image, your attention immediately goes to my face. My eyes stand out more, and my features look more balanced. Even thought I’m surrounded by some pretty crazy colors, I stand out because they’re backing me up.
In my creative practice, I like working with cool, calm colors and jewel tones, which is why my wardrobe leaned in that direction. But the Spring season celebrates a warm, vibrant palette – very different!
Realizing how well the Bright Spring palette suits me compared to those other colors sparked a sequence of aha moments. It explained why my bright purple NYU graduation gown gave me an unexpected glow, and why I'd always get compliments anytime I wore poppy or persimmon.
It explained why I absolutely loved this out-of-my-comfort-zone-colorful dress I wore for my birthday a couple years ago.
(I’ll never forget – when I stepped out of the fitting room, total strangers ooh-ed and aah-ed. I asked one of the women if it made me look pale. “Peaches and cream, darling, peaches and cream!!”)
Figuring out my color season made me realize how drab and blah I felt when wearing black with dull, muted colors. The effect was even more pronounced when I caught a glimpse of myself next to my sweet, rosy-cheeked baby wearing the cutest, most colorful clothes.
Like a lot of people, I generally enjoy clothes but often struggle to find the right balance of comfort, creative expression, situational suitability, and fit. Figuring out what on earth I could wear postpartum was a huge challenge. My old clothes were too small, my pregnancy clothes were too big, and I just wanted to feel like me.
When one no-makeup postpartum day runs into the next, every little boost helps. So, I found myself reaching for the same few colorful pieces in my wardrobe on repeat – and noticing how I felt instantly better.
Over the past year, I've been slowly increasing the amount of Bright Spring color in my closet, one piece at a time. I’m not following it too strictly, but the in-season palette and “clear, warm, and bright” mantra are helpful guides.
Since becoming more intentional about what colors I buy, I’ve happily shaken that “I have nothing to wear” feeling. Plus, I’m actually having fun with my work-at-home-mom wardrobe. Overall, embracing my color season has been a helpful step toward feeling like an even better version of myself.
Don’t get me wrong – I still love a basic black tee. But my inner Spring isn’t afraid to wear it with a tangerine blazer or lilac sneakers at the park.
More this month from Multifaceted
Here’s what else you’ll find in the kaleidoscope-inspired June issue:
Announcement | Moving to a magazine-style format (week 1)
Shapeshifters | Q&A with collage artist, painter, writer, and makeup pro Carly Palmer (week 2)
Creative Compass | On twisting the viewfinder to examine your creative path (week 3)
Creative Living | Exploring a kaleidoscope of color through fashion (this article!)
Stay tuned for a sneak peek into the upcoming July issue!
I’ve never officially had a color consult done, but from personal research, I know that I’m a Soft Autumn.
I’ve been switching out my wardrobe, bit by bit, this year, to better reflect this, and you’re right… it makes a world of difference in how I feel!
Love that dress on you Jess!!!