Costume Adoratia: Seasonal Color Analysis

SEASONAL COLOR ANALYSIS

I have been reading recently about Seasonal Color Analysis, and based on what I have learned so far, you have certain colors that pick up a brightness in your look and certain colors that wash you out, do you no favors. Duh, right? But in the 80's there was a "science" behind this called Seasonal Color Analysis. Technicians used to "drape" women with different colors in daylight to find out what colors suited them best. Eventually, a set pattern seemed to develop of eyes/hair/skintone that calculated you to be in one of the 4 seasons. And within those there are subcategories of Soft, Light, Bright, Warm, Deep, and Cool, depending on the season. This is a very interesting concept for designers, because it really can be a useful tool in analyzing what colors do and don't work on your client/actress/self. If you are trying to find your season, the biggest tell is the eyes, as defined by the first chart. Its fun to find your color, and the technicians who do this for a living actually "drape" you with colors to find your look. Below I grouped several models according to what I thought is their seasonal color. I tried to find subjects who hadn't appeared to alter their natural hair too severely, with neutral lighting to the photographs. It is fun to find your color, and it opens up a whole new realm for your wardrobe when you realize how the colors you wear really do affect how you look! The clothing color palettes included are skewed towards the Clear/Cool/Warm/Cool categories, but are colors of clothing that will brighten your appearance the best.

Clear Spring

Light Spring

Clear Spring

Warm Spring

Clear Spring

Light Spring

Clear Spring

BEST COLORS FOR SPRINGS

Warm Spring

Clear Spring

SUMMER-Cool and Delicate

Summer is defined by cool, cool, cool. Cool eyes, cool tones to hair and skin (no peach/red) and neutral eyes with the delicate eye pattern of cracked glass and a soft outer rim. Generally I have found Summers to be ashy brunette/blonde with blue eyes, but hazel and green eyes are common also. People with brown eyes/gold eyes are rare to fit into the Summer category because they have to be a cool brown rather than a warm brown tone. Light Summer is the blonde category for summers, Cool Summer has a cool skintone with some contrast to the combination of eyes/skin/hair, and Soft Summer is the same tonality with less contrast, (but not as light as a Light Summer.)

BEST COLORS FOR SUMMERS

Cool Summer

Light Summer

Soft Summer

Light Summer

Soft Summer

Cool Summer

Soft Summer

Cool Summer

AUTUMN-Warm and Rich
Autumn is the companian season to Spring, meaning the undertones are warm. Warm skin, warm hair, and warm or neutral eyes. Since spring and Autumn overlap, many Springs can wear Autumn colors, and vice versa. The difference between spring and fall seems to lie in the colors: Fall will inevitably be a deeper, more earthy hue and not have the brightness to their color combination of a true spring.

Soft Autumn

Warm Autumn

Soft Autumn

Warm Autumn

Soft Autumn

Deep Autumn

BEST COLORS FOR AUTUMNS

Warm Autumn

Deep Autumn

Warm Autumn

WINTER-Cool and Brilliant
Winter has the highest contrast of skin/hair/eyes and is the companion season to Summer. Many summers/winters can overlap their colors depending on their chroma. If we look at true Winters, however, their contrast is quite dramatic and their skin is generally white or cool with pink/blue undertones, and they have a heavy contrast to their look which allows them to wear jewel tones so effortlessly. Their skin is often translucent. Winters often attain salt and pepper hair as they grow older.