The Controversial History of Color Season Analysis

The trend of finding your color season has produced dozens of filters on tiktok, various fashion KZbin videos, and angst for countless people just trying to decide on their next shirt. But where did it come from, and how does it work? Or does it work at all? There are plenty of mentions of the origins being found in the 1980s, but the story of color seasons goes back a little bit further. In fact, the history of color analysis has a much older origin story that may take you back to your Art 101 class. It may also answer some questions about how the system does, or doesn't, work. The rules had to come from someone- and the answer may be a 19th century Frenchman.
Harmony & Contrast of Colors- Chevreul (English reprint): www.google.com/books/edition/...
Contraste Simultané des Couleurs- Chevreul (French 1839): archive.org/details/Delaloidu...
Color and Line in Dress- Hempstead (1945): archive.org/details/colorline...
Color Me Beautiful Makeup Book- Jackson (1987): archive.org/details/colormebe...
Color Me a Season- Kentner (1978): archive.org/details/colormese...
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00:00 Finding Seasons
06:09 Undertones & Lipstick
10:18 Victorian Rules
13:30 Color Theory
18:26 Self Analyzing

[@TI3RU]

honestly the "$10,000 for color matching supplies" set off major alarm bells for a certain illegal style of marketing 😂

[@dawnssful]

It definitely can, but the reason why some of the analysts will charge that much is because the drapes and the supplies needed to do the service cost a lot of money.

[@Scootfairy]

Panton has a monopoly on colour cards.

[@wellesradio]

Worse still, that type of marketing you alluded to is not even illegal. It just should be.

[@beckstheimpatient4135]

Replicating pigments exactly is a costly thing. Your process must be flawless at every end, every piece of the final product must be 100% consistent with every other piece in order to make sure that everyone around the world sees the exact same thing when looking at your colour swatches. Now, it's not worth $10.000, but it is worth at least 1/10 of that, because of the high quality standard that's needed. Pigments also lose potency with time. Each pigment has a certain degree of 'colour fastness', and if the reds in your swatch palette begin to slowly degrade after a year, and your yellows after 3, then by year 5 your entire palette is absolutely useless. Hence the need for extremely expensive and stable pigments, which increases the cost.

[@redwoodcottageart]

Definitely screaming a certain shape to me too... Lol

[@juls_krsslr7908]

I always assumed this came from color theory. I'm glad to know I was right! Incidentally, I had my colors done by David Kibbe himself when I was a teenager in the early 90s. I am what he called at the time a "vivid autumn" which was horrifying to me because I typically dressed entirely in black and dyed my hair black, too. At the same time, I was taking an "Intro to Design" class in which we were studying color theory and doing experiments with color, so it did make a certain amount of sense to me. And I could see a difference when Kibbe did the draping. I've come to realize, the thing about color analysis is, it depends on what look you want to achieve. Now, I like wearing "autumn" colors because I want to look warm and welcoming to people, but when I was 18, I wanted to look kind of pale and sickly, so wearing a "wrong" color, like black, was not necessarily a bad thing. That color analysis was also the first time I realized that I had green eyes. Up to then, I thought I had brown eyes because they're dark, but Kibbe pointed out that they're actually dark green, not dark brown, and when he draped me in certain colors, you could actually see that they're green. That was kind of cool to discover. I don't know why no one noticed this until then.

[@agimagi2158]

This is kinda random but your eyes sound super pretty! How cool to have made that discovery by draping some fabric around you!

[@sarebear483]

Some iridiologist told me I had green in my eyes because there was blue behind the brown. 🤷‍♀️

[@alexisasheep6554]

Ok so you're telling me it's not common to stare at your eyes in the mirror for minutes at a time trying to see every detail and shift in color??

[@augustsnowfall5189]

@@alexisasheep6554 lol, I think it’s more common than you know. My daughter: mum my eyes are green Me: no they are brown. Daughter: no they are green… I think it’s safe to say she’s having a frequent look at her eyes in her mirror.🤭✌🏼

[@m.maclellan7147]

It's called "Hazel" ! I have Hazel eyes. And though I hate the name (there was an annoying sitcom in the 60's with a character by that name!) I LOVE the color. And it is seldom the same between 2 people. My eyes were MUCH darker when I was younger. The outer green was a deep forest, and the inner a green moss color. Now, at 61, the colors are paler. The brown is almost a tan, and the green lighter as well. Wearing greens or browns really plays up the colors. I am wondering what color Nicole's eyes are, as they seem to be quite intense in this video. But, her green/blue top means she might also have blue/green eyes. It's hard to see on a phone.

[@calihhan4706]

Another thing to consider: sometimes people want to achieve a look that is "wrong" for them. For example, my best friend as a teenager was very into gothic style. She has almost golden hair and pretty warm features, but by wearing the "wrong" colors, she got that paler, fairy look she wanted. And she looked stunning, because she felt herself and was happy.

[@Aelffwynn]

I would love to know how she achieved that! I'm a dark blonde with a round, innocent-looking face. It took a lot of effort for me to ever look edgy, and even then I still looked fairly soft. I would have loved to be a goth girl but it would have meant maintaining lots of hair dye and makeup.

[@shockofthenew]

​@@Aelffwynn There are definitely ways! First of all I think you should wear whatever you want without worrying about whether it looks 'right', but I can also understand wanting to find a style that's harmonious with your natural looks. I think the key might be looking into the wider range of goth styles out there, such as 'witchy' or folk-lore inspired styles rather than 'punky' styles. You can even have goth-inspired fashion using lighter colours, like imagine a lacy white dress with chunky black boots and layered cross necklaces and rings. Rather than heavy goth makeup you could go for a softer more grungy look with smoked-out black eyeliner, and keep your natural blonde hair. That's just one example. Blonde hair and soft features might also fit well with a victorian-inspired or gothic lolita style. Or if you want the punkier 'trad goth' look you might just need to really commit because that will take a lot of upkeep no matter what. Black hair is not a necessity though, there were blonde goths since the 80s! Business goth, fairy goth, cyber goth, pastel goth, there are endless possibilities. There's really no 'wrong' way to be goth, so the best way is to keep experimenting, adding a little bit at a time, and search for your own unique version that feels right to you.

[@Aelffwynn]

@shockofthenew aww, thanks for the ideas! I have a large frame-- tall with broad shoulders (I think I'd be classed as a flamboyant natural?) I try to go for a Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin- inspired witchy aesthetic, but oftentimes I end up looking more like a shapeless, unkempt hag. (I'm not necessarily complaining about that. It is very effective for keeping annoying people away from me. But it's not what I'm going for.) Part of the problem is that I'm lazy/tired a lot and I don't have the energy to care for finicky fabrics. I just want to machine wash, dry, and go.

[@MissCaraMint]

Exactly. The “right” colors are the ones that look harmonious on you, but you might be looking to achieve a more contrasting look so the “wrong” shades might actually be the ones you want.

[@leahnichol6665]

“Wrong” colours work really well. I remember trying on coats as a young woman, and tried a red approaching purple coloured coat. I looked like I had consumption and a bad night’s sleep! It would have been perfect if I had wanted to be a goth.

[@MildlyRabid]

The opposite advice definitely reveals differing ideals about how the skin should look. The 1930s columnist actively tries to bring a faint yellow cast to cool skin that the 1980s and 1990s books say looks bad. Some 19th century columnists want to decrease contrast, while others want to increase it. It’s pretty wild.

[@madeleinerose7090]

Unless it has changed in recent years, the Bobbi Brown makeup brand has yellow undertones in all foundation, concealer, and powder based on her assertion that nearly all people are improved with a slight bit of yellow added to their face. I have no idea where she got that idea. I could absolutely NOT wear any of the foundation or powder (I’m like a little pale pink lab rat 😂), but the lightest yellow tone cream concealer was the BEST at hiding my purple under eye circles. I had so much trouble finding foundation I gave up early in life and stuck with sunblock, a bit of creme blush, concealer, and illuminating setting powder.

[@melanieg.9092]

Kind of reminds me of the MAC foundation system in wich you were supposed to use your opposite undertone to equalize your complexion?

[@happytofu5]

Yes! This! Its all about understanding how color works with your skin, hair, and also with other colors you wear. Then you can do an informed decision on HOW you want the colors to work.

[@myragroenewegen5426]

We're really dealing with this history of things starting out presenting themselves as style and art advise and slowly trying to present themselves as scientific, whether or not they actually incorporate real colour science. I love the thought of rich 1800s women heading to their favorite painter to be like "I like your understanding of colour. Could you suggest what colours look good on my and paint me a little pallet sampler?"

[@jillianmaloney3798]

So true!

[@grannys_sinister_corn_matrix]

honestly the idea of "real color science" is itself kind of moronic. If aesthetics could be "beaten" through raw scientific rigor, the world would be a lot more homogenous than it is now. Beauty is far too subjective for such a thing to work, and "season-based" color analysis doesn't even factor in the ways in which different color choices can be used to present a different public front. (This color makes you look washed-out and sickly! What's that? You want that?) Like, I say this as a painter. Art doesn't have rules, it has theory. You learn these guidelines so that you know how and when to "break" them later. If you follow them religiously, you're only going to make safe, boring shit.

[@emmao6578]

​@@grannys_sinister_corn_matrix also no one sees colour in the exact same way as each other which must surely affect how any of this works. For example my mum and I have a particular disagreement about dark green/blue/teal colours, we'll be looking at the same colour and she always sees them as more green while I see them as more blue.

[@vaiyt]

And later on, it moves from being scientific to being some kind of all encompassing spiritual philosophy

[@annepoitrineau5650]

I agree with what you say, since I too paint. However, I want to add that there is plenty of science in the chemistry of how colours are made, and in the wavelengths of lights as with rainbows. But art is using this to create, and when we are in the creative area, science takes a back seat. @@grannys_sinister_corn_matrix

[@merrygrammarian1591]

My Grandmother gifted me a Color1 analysis for my birthday when I was in college, and it made SO much more sense than the seasons. The theory is more about finding colors that are already present in your body, even the yellow flecks in one's eyes. The woman who did my analysis had been trained in California, where they were required to match people of all skin colors. It was one of the most encouraging and body positive experiences I've ever had. She would say, "if you are looking to wear black, this kind of black will highlight your natural colors best" But Color1 fell out of popularity and the weird seasons thing is all people know about.

[@ohhellobethany]

I've searched everywhere for this and can't find it, which is a shame because Color1 sounds really cool!

[@lydia1634]

I love the idea of this! Instead of a list of "here are the only colors you can wear", a list of "here are the colors that are a part of you" is so cool! It's like all of those color matching videos, where painters mix paint to an exact shade of a banana or a terracotta pot. I think it would be much more helpful in the long run. I had one shirt from Limited Too way back when, that somehow captured two different golden tones in my hair and both colors of green in my eyes. I loved it so much because it wasn't just colors I liked, it was a reflection of me.

[@clairekurdelak2913]

Wow great job digging into the available literature. I’m impressed! On the topic of color, your look glorious in the setting you have created of greens and reds.

[@bitrudder3792]

anyone can use their phone or a camera to take pictures of their eyes and their skin and lips etc. and gradually blow up the pictures enough and do screenshots that result in a gridwork of color in your photo section. A screenshot of that is your color palette. very handy when shopping, but not necessarily the be-all end-all guide to how much contrast you need or what kind of fabrics and lines look best, etc. David Zyla talks about how to wear your true colors in different situations. Very interesting. His book is called "color your style."

[@ellenwynne5037]

​@@lydia1634I find that you find more of this understanding when it comes to makeup. Like, there's an Idea that a red lip can look great on anyone, and it's just a matter of finding the right red for you.

[@ManuelaPatzel]

I had two ‘professional’ color analysis done . Two totally different results. Ever since, I wear what I like and feel good in. Works for me.

[@MossyMozart]

@ManuelaPatzel - Good for you! Goes to show that when you give someone a little dab of knowledge / pseudo-knowledge, they get to bill themselves as an expert without wasting all that time and money on a university education or buying pesky licenses.

[@vvitch-mist20]

I wear black almost exclusively. I would only be doing it out of curiosity bc I would 100% continue to wear black over any other possible color. (Especially white, and pink)

[@wanderingspark]

My elementary school guidance counselor in the 1990s believed that your color season was linked to your personality type. I remember her trying to sort my classmates into a simplified version of Myers-Briggs by looking at color season palettes. Even as a 6 year old, I was skeptical about the claim that your skin tone correlated to your personality.

[@happytofu5]

That is such a horrifying worldview to have. Especially for a teacher.

[@jessical4866]

Yeah, that kind of thinking is a pretty slipper slope to eugenics. When you think you can determine good and bad people on sight, you are inevitably going to be subject to your own internal biases about beauty and race.

[@kmdn1]

Wow that's horrifying. I wonder why no one was alarmed at the guidance counselor for little kids being completely misguided and out of touch with reality. That's really crazy stuff

[@leslieinadress]

That sounds like Dressing Your Truth

[@lucifera313]

Good lord. There are so many ways to mess with kids.

[@bawi5883]

My mom forces herself to wear colors she hates 30+ years after reading Color Me Beautiful. She self-diagnosed as an autumn and cried, but still took the rules like gospel. She encouraged me to read it, then resented that my season contained colors I like and already wore.

[@cb9825]

wow, she really was expecting and maybe even hoping that you will be upset with the recommended colours 👀 wth

[@danyf.1442]

This feels so wrong, that's not the spirit of color analysis...yes, scientifically there might be colors that look more flattering on her (assuming that her result is correct) but it's not gospel! Nobody forces you to wear colors that make you feel uncomfortable and don't like! Moreover...she may be an "in between" season and can pick from various palettes. Just tell he to wear what she likes lol!

[@beckstheimpatient4135]

That sounds like a lot of issues on her part...

[@Ashley-xu1lk]

Even if certain colors best flattered a person's complexion, if those colors make you unhappy, don't wear them. Part of clothing and makeup is to feel good about yourself, something that lifts your spirits, it's more than just looking good on the outside. It probably will never happen, but I hope your mom eventually goes "Fuck it" and wear colors/clothes she enjoys wearing and genuinely makes her happy.

[@e_viola]

Some people take the stuff way too seriously. Depends what look you're going for whether you wear harmonious colors or contrasting colors. I mainly wear winter colors even though I'm a summer. I like to look dramatic

[@amberdulay7238]

There was a moment in the book Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She speaks of Pa bringing home calico for Ma to make the girls new dresses, and laments that her calico is red, because her hair was brown. Mary, on the other hand, got a lovely blue, due to her being a blonde. I remember as a child wondering why the heck it mattered, but now I’m sort of impressed that, if this passage is true, even Pa had some sort of understanding of the “color theory” that may have been prominent at the time.

[@EmelieWaldken]

There's also a moment when Ma accidentally exchanges the ribbons in Laura and Mary's hair and the two girls are delighted to wear the "wrong" colour for them - as Laura always has to wear pink and Mary blue.

[@nolwennprodhomme4618]

I though about it too, I'm glad I'm not the only one! It's fun to realise how such details in the life of my childhood's heroin are linked to History... (I hope everything is understandable, english is not my first langage...)

[@pompe221]

The one caveat to remember is the Little House books were written in the 1930s and 1940s and there's a fair amount of other details that deviates from autobiographical to fiction (the fate of Jack the bulldog, how Walnut Grove was completely left out, Nellie is an amalgamation of at least two girls). The pink/blue dresses and ribbons may be more in line with the color theory of the 1930s than the 1870s.

[@janetrichards5353]

I was thinking of this scene! I lived through the Color Me Beautiful 'revelation' (my mother actually owned the book even though she isn't a book owning person) and I remember thinking of this scene back then too. 😄

[@amberdulay7238]

@@pompe221 oh, I do know that the stories are a fictionalized romanticization of her story. I’ve actually been to De Smet, and seen the homestead, schoolhouse, and the graves of the majority of the family. But it’s still a fun anecdote that applies to the video subject matter!

[@QueenOfTheNorth65]

My one-time stepmother worked for Color Me Beautiful in the late 80’s - early 90’s. She would tell people their “seasons” much like fortune tellers tell your fortune. People hung on every word. This company would also sell you clothing in your “season.” You could buy separates in your colors and build a wardrobe.

[@redwitch95]

It's wild to me, since most colour consultations in my country are by fashion consultants. They don't try to sell you clothes or enforce the idea these are the only colours you can wear, they're very upfront that you should wear whatever makes you feel comfortable and confident since that shows just as well.

[@lilolmecj]

I the 80s my mother did color seasons, as a free service, marketing make up for Amway. I found it really helpful, and the Artistry makeup line, at that time was based on warm and cool base. It made everything easy. But after maybe five to seven years they veered away, and it was no longer easy. That was probably 45 years ago, and my season Spring, has been really helpful to me throughout the years.

[@jasminv8653]

The MLM connection doesn't surprise me whatsoever

[@KaliKali-hv9bt]

@@redwitch95exactly…Too me it’s just suggestions of your best colors

[@maryeckel9682]

They had makeup for a hot minute in the 80s, too.

[@lizzygreenhood9631]

I analyzed my own colors in high school in the 80s in a 4-H sewing and fashion club, and it actually gave me "permission" to wear the rich earth tones that were no where near as trendy as electric blue and neons were at the time.

[@jasper3706]

When I was in a high school fashion class, we got one of those "seasons" charts, and all of the categories were describing white skin while one of them listed "Most people with darker skin are in this season." I was honestly kind of shocked they were allowed to use that in school, this wasn't that long ago.

[@Oliver-765]

Oh that's so weird. I've seen newer versions that talk about how darker skin tones can fall into any season.

[@susanrobertson984]

That is what the colour me beautiful book actually said. I remember from the day.

[@tiredoftrolls2629]

That is what the Color Me Beautiful book said, but I bought a book that broke down the system for women of color written by a woman of color that negated that notion. I was in college and a Color Me Beautiful consultant did several of us. She started to do one of my friends who was from Okinawa Japan, started to explain that Japanese were all winters...and then had to backtrack as Sanoko was judged to be a fall. Actually, I never could see what all the differences were.

[@Freaky0Nina]

You know, would have been nice if your class had included it as a historical source, to show how concepts of fashion and beauty standards are tied to gender and race. And then they could have given you the updated version for comparison. Give a little knowledge about the tiny yet important racisms that have formed society. I think these tiny side infos are just as important as an honest and sincere history class.

[@kalig.4982]

Would you make the same "criticism" if a japanese person wrote a popular beauty book and didnt adresse the indian people?

[@doris1826]

And when shopping online,, one company's deep emerald green will not be the same as another, though they may look the same on the computer. We have truly tossed away a way of shopping that really was lovely. My grandmother would go to her dressmaker, be served tea and be presented with opportunities to touch and see the fabrics or at the very least, swatches. 😢 [sighs]

[@Muttonchop57]

These days I prefer shopping online for clothes and food. It lowers the risk of running into someone with a transmissible virus or a semiautomatic weapon. I prefer staying alive and well to handling swatches.

[@doris1826]

@@Muttonchop57 I'm not trying to tell anyone what should or should not be. I am only lamenting a time that was and now is not.

[@gryphonvert]

Not to mention, the company's "deep emerald green" on their website looks very different in person. Of course a lot of companies include disclaimers somewhere about colors being affected by your monitor and so on. But what they don't admit is that the professional photography (and lighting!) of their products affects the look of the colors, and what you receive in the mail may be very different. I ran into this just today, as I was looking at a sandal that showed up on a website as a reasonable forest green, but then I saw it in person in the store, and it was much more of a dusty sage. (The product itself is *called* "forest green" on the website, too. And as much as I sometimes mock the way companies have to come up with exotic-sounding names for colors, there's something to the idea that our perception of the color may be influenced by the word used to describe it.) I also noticed this happening with a flannel shirt on another company's website, which has gorgeous photography of their products. When looking for the company's shirts on eBay, poshmark, and so on, I noticed that this one particular plaid flannel shirt showed up a LOT, far outnumbering some of the other patterns. That is, people were buying the shirt based on the catalog or website photo, then seeing in person that it actually didn't look as good; the colors were more garish. (I don't know why some of them didn't just return it, instead of listing it at a discount on eBay.) And that of course brings us to the second-hand clothes found on sites like that, and the truly wide variety of photos that non-professional individuals take of items to sell. This can be a real "blue and black vs. white and gold" dress situation, and I'm sometimes just stunned that someone took such badly lit, dingy photos, and then posted those to try to sell an item. (I think it probably comes from people thinking that prospective buyers will already know what the color/pattern "really" looks like in person. If they put even that much thought into it.) When I've listed clothing for sale, I will take most of my photos indoors, but I make sure to take at least one photo outdoors to show how the color looks in natural lighting (since I know that my indoor lighting is warm, and will affect the perception of the colors.)

[@happytofu5]

I have a similar "problem" with my phone camera. It seems to be confused by some colors. My olive dress looks more like a khaki brown on photos (no matter the lighting), it seems as if the camera does not catch the green tint. @@gryphonvert

[@lizblock9593]

I rarely buy clothes on line because, among other things, the feel of the fabric is so important to me

[@MeMe-Moi]

The recommended colors for a person since 1900 (based on my limited reading, anyway, so I could be wrong) seems to be designed to play up the "fashionable" complexion. So, pre-1930 seems to be angled towards making a person look as pale as possible, while the 1930s-1940s played up a "healthy tan/glow" complexion. Then the 1950s happened and the look was again paler but with more vivid makeup and clothing colors. Them the tan look came back in fashion, and so on. So my theory is that color analysis as we know it sine 1900 is meant to make one look as much like the current beauty ideal as possible.

[@mermaidstears4897]

I remember someone strongly suggesting “having our colors done” when I was 13-14, so circa 1977-78. I went home, held up some of my clothes and discovered some really made me look glowing while others made me look like I’d been dead three days. Lol. I look great in cool pink tones, so I still build on that almost 50 years later. By the way, that deep green looks fabulous on you

[@MossyMozart]

@mermaidstears4897 - So many people chose to wear black even though it can drain the life out of human skin. But then, some wear black just for that effect. ^_^

[@fbiagentfrank]

Same here. Cool pinks and heather grey make up 90% of my wardrobe lol!

[@erinchristman2669]

My Girl Scout troop did a color analysis thing once. I cried. I couldn't see the difference different seasons supposedly had on my complexion. Doubter ever since.

[@elizabethsommer7248]

A color analyst who knows their job would probably say you're likely either a "bright spring" or a "warm spring" (you probably don't have olive skin either), as those types show the least dramatic alteration when compared to warm or cool color drapes. This is because a blue based cool color can only make warm, bright toned skin look warmer; in contrast to someone with blue dominated skin: which can only look bluer or gray in contrast to yellow based colors, making them look sick.

[@Jane-ss1pg]

I adore seasonal analysis personally, but people misunderstand something: it's not for people who already know what they like. It's meant to be for people who are unhappy with their wardrobe and don't like how they look in certain colors, but they don't know why. Discussing very real color theory topics of undertone, value, and chroma is not a scam, it's physics! It offers an explanation as to why you don't like how you look in that green dress you never wear, or why you look great in mauve but others look sick. But if you're happy with your wardrobe, keep on keepin' on. No one is saying to do anything different, and if they do, they should mind their own business.

[@JeantheSecond]

I remember self identifying my season back in the 80s as a teenager. It was helpful because it said I should wear jewel tones and I wouldn’t have considered wearing those colors because I would have thought they would wash out my pale skin, but I tried jewels tones and they do look good on me. But I never took it very seriously. It was more like I should try this color I wouldn’t have tried, but not I CAN ONLY WEAR THESE COLORS.

[@velvetbat]

This spring I had my colours done by a colour analysist virtually and I have 0 regrets. After wearing black for almost 2 decades, when I started wearing colours again I felt kinda lost and didn't know what suited me. I went down the rabbit hole on colour seasons (and kibbe types) for like the last 5 years, tried draping myself with my fabrics from my own fabric stash, but I just couldn't tell what looked best. I did however notice when I bought clothes online or finished sewing my own garments that while I loved some colours, they just didn't look good on me. So that's why I felt that "just wear whatever you like" didn't help me personally. Now that I got told I am a warm autumn (or sometimes called true autumn) in the 12 colour seasons, I feel a lot more confident when I shop for clothes or fabrics. I also don't feel it's too restricting - the analysist told me I could even borrow some of the colours from warm spring palette too (minus the brightest ones) if I wanted. And while my palette doesn't include black, even if black isn't my best colour I also don't feel like it's bad on me either. I got black eyelashes so black mascara looks way more natural than brown for example (I've seen some websites say that autumns shouldn't wear black mascara, only brown lol). For me my palette is like the pirate's code: they're more like guidelines, not strict rules. :D

[@mishaaudis2693]

I really like and agree with the idea of borrowing colors from other seasons…I’ve never had my colors done, and have struggled with getting a little too locked down and obsessive with finding my season. I’m trying now to just pick the palette that works best overall, but not feel like I have to wear particular shades (like yellow) that I just don’t like.

[@MzShonuff123]

I recently found a great KZbinr who tackles this for Black people, as we have like 220 different skin tones before you even get to the undertones and she explains why something is good on one person and not another, which is fascinating. I think she’s a graphic designer in her offline life so knowing colors is legit her job

[@mayalynch]

What's the channel? It sounds great!

[@celestialbunny6935]

Is it Micah Lumsden? I actually got a color analysis by her and I loved the results.

[@mojitochica]

​@@mayalynchit's probably @cocoastyling

[@stahppls2293]

I've always rejected assigning color palettes to people because for me, it all comes down to what the lighting is wherever you're gonna be seen in/ photographed in

[@grutarg2938]

There’s a discussion of this in Jo’s Boys (sequel to Little Women). The sisters have started a sewing group for young women in college. “Mrs. Amy contributed taste, and decided the great question of colors and complexions; for few women, even the most learned, are without that desire to look well which makes many a plain face comely, as well as many a pretty one ugly for want of skill and knowledge of the fitness of things.” There are no exact rules discussed, but she does help two girls who bought hot pink and acid green fabric which was too bright- she helps them layer white muslin on top to tone down the colors.

[@agcons]

I remember all the furor, and I also remember far too many people following it far too rigidly. The behaviour was almost cult-like from some people. Generally the warmer pallettes of Spring and Fall worked best for my mother and sister, but not all colours, and not at all for me. The cooler pallettes of Winter and Summer worked best for me, but again, not all colours, and not at all for my mother and sister. That was as rigid as any of us were going to get.

[@prosie1968]

Yes I agree that it is cultish seeming.

[@townsendv58]

Yes, there is something cultish in these fashion trends.

[@happytofu5]

I suspect there may be a few people who fall exactly in the defined range of a pallette, while many people are somewhere on the spectrum, maybe even between pallettes. They still have their perfect colors, but a) are not defined by the season system and b) it still comes down to personal taste in the end.

[@wangofree]

I use the color seasons not so much for clothing but for makeup...until I considered the fact that I might be a "muted summer" I would never find a lipstick that looked good on me. As per the suggestion of a color analyst, I tried mauves instead of peaches, and boom. Perfection.

[@dorooutoftheblue]

Oh yes, when I hit on the system with the true/light/muted categories, it made such a lot of sense to me! A friend, who does the colour thing professionally, thought I might be an autumn. However, I have always been sure I was a summer. I look awful in warm, earthy colours. I have a really hard time bying lipsticks. They ALL look orange on me. I like them to just enhance my natural colouring and make me look a little livelier without looking painted. The colour that eventually does that is a kind of soft reddish-blue plum colour that, seen by itself, does not seem natural at all. My skin tone definitely is cool. But still, my hair has slightly red undertones, my eyes are a soft grey-green. The colours that suit me best, are the muted and warmish tones of cool colours, teals, greens, grey blues, taupe, warm grey. The icy summer colours just don't do the trick. So the muted concept really seems to fit very well. But in the end, while there obviously is truth in colour theory, when it comes to applying it to individual people, it all comes down to developing your eye and deciding individually.

[@blumoon187]

I LOVE a bold lip, and then realized I am a "muted summer" too. Then I started putting on all my cool cherry reds and realized that actually the dark raspberry washed me out less even though it was darker... because it's less saturated. If I want to look paler than I am, I rock cherry red. If I want to look my actual skin tone, I wear berries and burgundies.

[@wangofree]

Isn't it great what just a little knowledge can do for a person? Use those color seasons the way YOU want to!@@blumoon187

[@justlola417]

I love how this explains the origin of what really bothers me about all these classifications: that someone defines what looks "good" on you instead of explaining the effects each colour has. That they "prohibit" whole groups of colours instead of teaching how to balance them to achieve certain looks. The method from what I've seen is just based on looks and on the opinions of the "professional" involved, instead of on an agreement with what the client wants, and on giving them knowledge they can use going forwards if they ever change their minds/styles/colours.

[@Hfin]

wow! Suggesting you go to an artist and have them make your skintone is actually really smart! Because you'd get to see what more odd colors, like reds, blues, and greens, they'd add to really get your exact color, so then you'd be able to see the actual breakdown of some of your colors!

[@Art_911]

Thank you for that ending. While I think a "professional" color analyst can help, they are not the end-all-be-all in what makes YOU happy. You touched on it several times. "What the person wants you to choose". Too many people take this to heart and end up not as pleased as they could be. Thanks again for all your hard work and lovely videos!

[@elizabethclaiborne6461]

In the ‘80’s I worked a a huge high end department store in New Orleans, a majority black city. Everybody was buying the Color Me Beautiful book and passing it around, and yes black women did it too. It was pretty accurate - for all skin tones. If you watch women come in and try on clothes in their “season” vs other stuff it was pretty remarkable. Including very dark skinned ladies. It’s a suggestion, not a dogma. Weeding out a big bunch of stuff helps you get a wearable wardrobe you like.

[@KaliKali-hv9bt]

Exactly!!!!! I love colors that prolly don’t flatter me but I still wear them here and there…I am just more mindful before spending money

[@Noblebird02]

It's definitely changed: like WOC can be soft summer, bright spring, deep autumn, especially if they have a little bit of eumelanin

[@lilamasand5425]

exactly! I like having fewer options, and it helps me think twice about randomly buying clothes that I'll eventually dislike due to the color washing me out/not meshing super well with my skin tone.

[@annadykes7893]

Maison Blanche?

[@dbandia]

Somebody explained it to me this way - light reflects everywhere all the time. Whatever colors you wear near your face are going to have a subtle effect on how bright your face looks because there will be a bit reflected there. If it's not near your face, it really doesn't matter. But if it is, then just pay attention to what colors make your face look the way you want it to - warmer or brighter or more clear, etc. It's all really subjective. One of the funniest vids I've seen was a color analyst who was absolutely convinced a client who preferred soft and muted colors was a bright winter. The analyst finally gave up graciously. The look of victory on the client's face had me laughing til my sides hurt.

[@AngryTheatreMaker]

90s baby here--my mom was in her twenties and thirties during the 80s, and I can tell you she made her Color Me Beautiful Winter palette a huge part of her personality. (Previously her mother, probably influenced by the older texts, put her in a confusing mix of "classic" and more earthy colors. Meantime this same grandmother had vivid auburn hair.) So there was I, a child in the late 90s, being draped with various colors for the first time. I was diagnosed as Autumn. Over the years I've also been told I would look good in stronger colors than I normally associated with Autumn (emerald green, royal purple) which baffled me at first. One undermining acquaintance thought I was a Summer (!!!). It wasn't until I started toggling back and forth between the 12-season system and Caygill's categories that I found the full range of colors I could comfortably wear. (And yes, I've known for years that colors like brick red and teal blue gave me a Renaissance glow--which is an effect I'm more than willing to live with! Although I still wear a lot of black.)

[@blumoon187]

One of the color analysis channels I watch always emphasizes that you have a lot of amazing colors in your "sister seasons." So for example, I self diagnosed as a soft summer, which explained why I look good very muted warm autumn colors (like olive green,very soft mustard yellow, and chocolate brown) but also more vibrant cool colors (I love me a raspberry and a navy). On the other hand, brighter warm colors like strong yellows or orange make me look sick. Sounds like you live on the border of autumn and winter, since black is quintessential Dark Winter territory and you love it so much.

[@AngryTheatreMaker]

@@blumoon187 I definitely pull recs for True Autumn and Dark Winter, since I've found that I can borrow from either without losing credibility (as it were). And yes, I've self-diagnosed as Dark Autumn. Your color palette sounds fantastic!

[@kgbkeyboard7697]

‘diagnosed with autumn’ is KILLING ME besides grandma being a redhead and the fact that i was born in 99 i swear i could have ghostwrote this, im an ‘autumn’ and my mom (now 66) is obsessed with her winter palette and STILL always tells me i should ‘officially’ get my colors done (i always tell her no because im a visual artist and can pick my own fucking colors lmao)

[@AngryTheatreMaker]

@@kgbkeyboard7697 Glad you got a chuckle out of it! My own dear mother would be shocked at the palette I use now--"but only Winters can wear royal purple," she probably would have said right up until seeing the updated suggestions from most leading color analysts. (I have yet to try anything major as far as the purple, but yes, choosing your own colors is great.)

[@kathharper]

Interesting that you were able to trace these "systems" back to studies regarding dyes - it parallels color theory and color wheels used for art in painting or drawing... beyond that though, these heavily-marketed "seasonal clothing color systems" mostly seem ... predatory attempts to get money from insecure folks' pocketbooks rather than anything really useful. I've fallen for a couple of these systems over time so can speak from experience that it is definitely better just to buy clothing that looks and fits the colors and styles that YOU like. Thanks for the historical perspective!

[@MossyMozart]

@kathharper - And in the world of art and design, there are a number of color theories that have gone well beyond that good ol' basic color wheel. It is a fascinating study all by itself.

[@b0thers0me]

Wow. I had my Colors done about 1980 (did not pay for this, I think she was learning so I got a free consult). I think she just had a good eye, and put me as a Winter - which was great because those were my favorite colors anyway. And my mother had forced me to only wear pastels - which I hated. Mom also banned dark purples because of her interpretation of color theory from when she was young in the 30's. Guess what my favorite color is and always was...

[@DawnDavidson]

Hahaha! I think maybe you and I were separated at birth! Because that is EXACTLY like me! My mom also forced a lot of pastels in me, and I also LOVE purple. (See the hat in my icon!)

[@Kahtini]

Many times one's fav colors are the ones that look the best on that individual. It makes me wonder if a color becomes a fav color because one looks good in them.

[@RedPandaHomebody]

My mother never wanted me to wear pastels (she agreed they washed me out) but otherwise this is me. I’m a winter? Yay! (Speaking of pastels though, For some reason pastel prom dresses were popular in the late 90s, and I gave in when I really shouldn’t have - I have photographic proof to last me forever that pastels and I are not friends. I look like a ghost!)

[@RedPandaHomebody]

@@KahtiniI think this is true. At least I’m pretty sure my hatred of the color yellow is because it looks bad on me, and not because I have an irrational hatred of that color.

[@Kahtini]

@@RedPandaHomebody I lucked out in that I looked good in both summer and winter colors when I was younger. Now days I prefer jewel tones. Reds and blues especially.

[@dawnssful]

Great video. One thing I want to add is that people have trouble determining what looks "bad" on them versus "good" sometimes because we might not know how to amplify or detract from certain features. One of the best descriptions someone has ever given for the, "Dark Autumn" coloring group was that the person said that they make "Bright Spring" colors look too bright. I think a lot of us forget that our faces and our skins contain pigment and that means that the way we look is the canvas for when we're wearing colors. Our own individual canvases will influence how colors look just like those colors will influence how we look. That is why some people will harmonize in a blue based red and other people need that orange based red to harmonize with their natural coloring. So for instance I am a black woman with a lot of golden yellow undertones in my skin, when I'm not overly tanned and my skin doesn't start to turn red. This means that my particular canvas is one of noticeable depth and golden yellow colors. Sure I can wear any color I want to wear, but not all colors will reflect the same way on my particular canvas. Some colors will make my canvas look gray when I don't have gray in my skin. Other colors will make it seem like I have more blue in my skin than I do, that's why I am very careful with wearing a lot of black even though I have a darker skin color. Color theory in color analysis gives me the tools to help me amplify that golden yellow glow I have in my skin. There are colors that I can use if I want to detract from that, and I know what colors to use to do that. But in order for me to get that information I have to understand what colors make my skin have that natural glow and enhance it, versus which colors take away from that glow. So for myself because I carry very dark strong colors well, that means that forest greens, dark yellows, rust, and other dark earthy colors help enhance that natural yellow glow. Whereas colors with a lot of gray in them will detract from that glow and I start to have a gray looking cast to my skin that isn't natural.

[@LeafyK]

Excellently put. Thank you for elaborating. I have great difficulty noticing the changes that my skin does to colours and vice-versa.

[@rebecca_stone]

For starters, I'm biased, as I think people with black skin are so lucky and seem to look incredible and striking in all colours! But I think rather than thinking in terms of looking "bad" and looking "good" - it's more about looking "expensive" or "exciting" when you're in your correct colours, that's how my colour analyst put it. And especially your 3-4 "star colours" (which they tell you about, for when you want to wear a special evening gown or invest in a new suit etc). It's hard to tell objectively which undertone you amplify will be best for you overall. Another way to look at it is also, when you're in your best colours, there's a harmony with your entire look, and rather than the focus being on your clothes when you meet someone, they see "you" glowing and healthy. You also need hardly any make-up because the colours are flattering your natural features. Amplifying the yellow glow may be the most flattering, or it may not be. Eg I'm an autumn (golden undertone) and even though I can wear the spring pallette I look more "expensive" in the deep autumn colours, and there's also a winter green that I mistake for warm but isn't, and when I wear it, it highlights a very yellow look in my face but it's not a flattering yellow. For this reason, I strongly believe (respectfully! To you any to anyone else attempting to analyse themselves) that this is something you really do need to have an analyst do for you, in person. You clearly have a deep knowledge of this and can perceive the undertones in your skin in detail. But I'd consider seeing someone to do it for you, it's the best $ investment you'll ever make for yourself in terms of your wardrobe and beauty routine. :) I got this done 9 years ago and have never looked back. All the best.

[@nightembergrl]

Watching sewing channels more this year that have trie believers in the color charts, its think its crazy that people treat it like law rather than suggestions. I think its good if you are overwelmed and need something to narrow down the choices. But it kinda has vibes of having to always optimize yourself for beauty/attractiveness which is something we shouldn't feel required to do.

[@EmelieWaldken]

This season colour analysis has always smelled half-astrology to me - aka based on very subjective tastes and highly variable depending on who does the analysis. I realized on my own that a colour that makes me look good when I am otherwise unprepped (hair dirty, not done, no makeup, whichever light) is a good colour for me. I've always looked absolutely regal in dark, deep blue and cold green tones make my eyes pop and my skin look more even. While if you put anything remotely orange, pink or purple close to my face, it's like I just came out of the grave ^^ Even white isn't so good for my complexion. I have light skin but with a heck lot of yellow and green undertones that make anything but dark, cold colours look weird on me. Which is great, because those are my favourites anyways ;)

[@christajennings3828]

More or less the same for me. Despite being a fair skinned, dark blonde, with blue eyes, I can't wear black or anything with yellow or orange tones (like peach), or I look like I have jaundice. I have very sallow skin.

[@mmmmmmmmaria]

i’m an olive toned light skinned person too but dark colors wash me out. i’ve phased black out of my wardrobe completely (save for my docs and a few select pieces for when i want to go for a specific edgy vibe which occurs once a year lol) and it was the best decision i’ve ever made for my personal style. my winning combo is beiges and creams with a dusty light to mid blue or green (pistachio/sage)

[@m.maclellan7147]

I agree. I LOVE jewel tones !

[@KaiOpaka]

​@@christajennings3828what do you mean 'despite'? It sounds like you have a cool skin tone and are a Summer. Of course you're not going to look good in yellow or orange. Looks like color analysis is actually doing exactly what it should be doing.

[@christajennings3828]

@@KaiOpaka a lot of people think all blondes look good in black. I actually do better with winter tones, jewel tones in the blue range. No true red, but burgundy, etc.

[@MichelleSMV]

I’m an artist and honestly I love that the origin is basically colour theory because that’s what I use when choosing colours for myself 😂. I found seasonal colour analysis to be way too limiting as a black woman tbh

[@carolynwilson7806]

I really tried to not believe in color analysis because none of the colors I loved were in “my season.” Then, one Christmas my mother bought me a red dress and I was so mad because I only liked warm earth tones. But, I wore it to a party and everyone told me how great I looked. The next day, I wore my favorite tan dress with peach colored cosmetics and everyone asked if I was getting sick. After this I noticed that every time I wore earth tones I was asked if I was tired or sick. I finally gave up and have embraced my winter palette. Now I’m now asked if I’m tired or sick all the time.

[@tinyelephant7689]

I worked at an upscale dept store in 2009-2012 and we used to make fun of getting your "color done" or your "season done" because we associated it with outdated concepts from the 80's. So funny to me when it started popping back up in my feed.

[@mayalynch]

A form of Face Blindness runs in my family, so I mostly use Color Seasons as a way to narrow down certain traits in people so I can recognize/remember them better

[@sheleavitt06]

I always got annoyed when I told people that I love red and it’s my favorite color and has been my favorite color since my earliest childhood memories of two. Only to have them dismiss my love for the color by saying, “well of corse you like it because it looks good on you.” I find that diminishes why I like the color. I wear it because it makes me feel really happy. If it looked “bad” on me I would still wear it because I LOVE this color. I think people say it looks good on me because they are accustomed to seeing me in it and it obviously makes me feel happy wearing my favorite color so they translate that into their heads that it fits my color palette or something. But I chose red thing’s apart from clothes all the time because the sight of red fills me with so much joy🤩

[@SatipatthanaSakuraDragona]

Thank you for stating very clearly that color analysis is about CREATING AN EFFECT. That's what makes fashion useful and is the basis for creating a personal style. I can highlight the personality traits I value the most in myself by making specific color and fashion choices that advertise them. I don't care what colors make me look warm, inviting, and approachable because I'm not a warm, inviting, and approachable person. I don't care what lines make me look "hot" because I am not interested in that attention. I want to look capable, respectable, and like I don't suffer fools. I'm sure some other women out there also want to look like that, but how we would go about creating the same effect is going to be different because we have different skin tones and lines.

[@jasminv8653]

Honestly if more of us studied COSTUMING instead of fashion, we'd all be happier with how we dress ourselves

[@amghinistar4582]

I had my color analysis done and it was a great, positive experience.The analyst walked me through the hue, value, and chroma of colors and color families. She walked me through what colors caused shadows, what colors hid me. I stuggled for years finding makeup, turns out I'm a neutral skin tone. So starting with the question of warm or cool for foundation was part of the problem. I also struggle with a lot of body anxiety shopping for clothes, and I've never been good at fashion. Understanding my color pallete has helped me with that, I have a general understanding of what I'm looking for when I go in to a store. Its way less overwhelming and daunting. And I have expanded my wardrobe to colors I was never brave enough to try like mustard yellow that looks fantastic on me. (I'm a dark Autumn).

[@sammyranyx6710]

I love the conclusion to this. This is what colour analysis should be about. Knowing what colours accentuate or downplay our features to create the effect we want 😍

[@marilynleslie472]

My sister told back in 1981 that I was a winter and should only wear certain colors. I was furious with her. Then I went home and tried on the clothes in my closet. Sure enough, the clothes I felt pretty in were all winter colors. I then bought Carole Jackson’s book. Through the years it helped me build a wardrobe that gave me confidence and worked well together. I even did some color analysis sessions ( for free), using fabric swatches that I had purchased. I think sticking to my colors through the years has saved me time and money. I never let myself be persuaded to invest in the “hot colors “ ( like khaki green) which were very popular, but washed my color out. In short, color analysis was a very helpful tool that helped me find my style.

[@MildlyRabid]

Thank you so much for this! I always wanted to know the prehistory of color analysis - I also have had a hunch that “harmonious with your skin” has changed a bit over time with beauty standards for skin as well.

[@MossyMozart]

@MildlyRabid - Yes, as well as with fashion trends, interior design trends, and lighting technology.

[@amb163]

I remember trying to figure out my colour season in the late 80s, when I was still a kid. It never seemed to work well for me. The newer sub-seasons are slightly better, but I figured out in my 20s that the vast majority of colours just don't suit me. Anything with even a hint of warmer tone (yellow/orange) looks awful on me. Heck, it took me until my 40s to find a foundation that worked for me -- I'm very pale and very cool-toned, yet my cheeks are always naturally flushed. I wear a lot of blue. But not even all blues suit me.

[@cb9825]

In the 1990s I tried to define my colour season with the help of a magazine for teen girls. I discovered that it could be only winter because I had dark hair😂I actually AM a winter type, but there were so many brunette girls with warm tone skin in my school. Imagine if they used all the wrong colours in their clothes and makeup.🤦🏻‍♀️

[@MiljaHahto]

I'm brunette, and I'm spring type... The worst colour season for me is winter!

[@lisakilmer2667]

Back in the 80s, I tried to sell Beauticontrol cosmetics. They had a simple version of the color analysis and it was quite accurate. They draped a woman in white, and held strongly colored fabric swatches against the face: it was usually obvious if fuchsia or orange was more flattering, for example, or black vs. brown, etc. Going for warm or cool tones mattered then, because cosmetics were so bold and bright, but no one was ever told to get a whole new wardrobe! (Oh - analysis was usually done in a group, and decisions were made by consensus.) I already knew that I couldn't wear a navy suit well, but could wear a grayer postman's blue. When I wore dove gray I was often told, "I didn't know gray could be so pretty." Over time, I've realized that 3 colors suit everyone: Hershey Bar Brown, Coral, and Turquoise. Why? - because they sit between the warm/cool divides!

[@BlueRoseFaery]

It's so interesting that you say those three are universally flattering because those are 3 colors that look absolutely Horrible on me, lol. They make me look sickly yellow-green. But I do have a less common very pale olive skin, it's extremely hard to find foundation because even if it's pale enough for me, it usually pulls too pink or yellow. So maybe I'm just the outlier to the bell curve, there.

[@thegoosegirl42]

@@BlueRoseFaery No, turquoise washes me out too, and I don't have olive skin. There just aren't universally flattering colors.

[@lisakilmer2667]

@@BlueRoseFaery - You're special! I worked in shops for years, and I've never met anyone like you. It's a good example of "throw away the rules."

[@KristenK78]

Nope, not coral. Anything that vaguely smells of orange looks awful on me! I am far too pale to wear anything in that range. Turquoise, a true blue-green, can be ok depending on how saturated it is, and how much it tips blue or green. My mom dressed me in a lot of blue growing up, probably because I have dark brown hair-but I think I look terrible in most blues. I much prefer green, so if a turquoise leans more green, it’s acceptable. But anything that resembles a turquoise gemstone is too blue. There are people who can wear browns, people who can wear black, and people who can wear white. There may be folks who can wear two of the three, but no one looks good in all three.

[@lisakilmer2667]

I'm glad to stand corrected@@KristenK78

[@deen1843]

My mother had my color analyzed back in the mid-80s. I've still got the card somewhere with all the swatches...mostly pastels as I recall. In the end, I just wore what I liked and didn't worry about it. The interesting part was the analyst struggling because I have red in my hair and loads of freckles, but my skin tone runs toward olive and not pink. Just goes to show...there is no one size (or season) that fits all.

[@mmmmmmmmaria]

it’s definitely not a one size fits all. i have cool coloring (dark blonde/light brown hair with no red in it, there’s no word for this color in english + my eyes are a grayish blue green) but my skin is distinctly olive. i identify as a cool summer lol but gray as a neutral feels cold and sad to me. my best neutrals are definitely beiges best paired with pops of a dusty cool shade. same with my friend who looks very dark autumn to me but looks amazing in a cooler dark sage green

[@MossyMozart]

@deen1843 - The allergist I see was originally from India. She had long, straight black hair, but it was shot through with many 1,000s of individual red strands. With every movement of her head, you could see the red glints coming and going. It was truly stunning and a hair coloring I had not seen before nor since. ------------- Now that she is older, she dyes her hair black. But I really miss those myriad red highlights, as must she. I hope she passed the trait down to her children. The natural, unmanipulated appearance of Humans is amazing.

[@neatoburrito3170]

​@@mmmmmmmmaria There is a word for that, actually. It's "mousy", most commonly paired with "brown" or "blonde", but also frequently used on its own. Like, "I have blue eyes and mousy hair."

[@neatoburrito3170]

​@@MossyMozartThat sounds like henna'ed hair.

[@mmmmmmmmaria]

@@neatoburrito3170 i suppose but that has just always sounded very derogatory to me so i don’t consider it a valid term. it’s a beautiful hair color just like any other

[@claracamilotto]

the big thing that drives me mad about this new wave of colour analysis is that many people who are offering these services straight up post pics of (women) celebrities wearing something and saying "look how bad she looks in this color, she HAS to wear that to look pretty" literally just calling them ugly because they're wearing a lipstick, dress or hair color that they love, by that, they start profiting off of people's insecurites instead of just assisting them with some some silly colors. It's just ridiculous and honestly harmful for women and it sucks that the people doing that are also 99% women. It's 2023, you'd think women could wear whatever they wanted to.

[@Ripplesinthewaters]

I was a young child when Color Me Beautiful came out. When I was a teenager in the late 80s and early 90s, I was assessed as an Autumn. It makes sense to me and allowed me to avoid colors that made me look sick. I cannot wear petal pink or very many pastels at all, save yellow. My grandmother was not a very good listener, and would always try to put me in colors that suited her, a summer. However, I have Italian lineage on my dad side, so I have a darker complexion than she did. However, she listened to what she read. It really helped her to back off if I simply said, “ That is not an autumn color. It won’t look good on me. “

[@janel.8921]

I went to color analysis class where the consultant draped us in front of the others. It was fascinating to what a difference a color can make in a person’s appearance. Some colors could muddy the complexion, while others make the face sparkle.

[@victoriabergesen6775]

I had my colors done in San Francisco in 1987 for maybe $75. It was a great investment. First I learned that just because I loved the color did not mean it looked well on me. The whole concept of me wearing the clothes and the clothes not wearing me. I sat in a room with skylights and each piece of fabric (12" x 12") was held against my bare face (no makeup). I didn't need to replace clothes, but I had many khakis and sage greens. Ideally I would not wear these colors near my face. I had a new sage raincoat, but found that I looked much better wearing a bright colored scarf. Shopping was easy, I didn't need to look at every item, I just spotted the colors I now preferred. Nearly 40 years later, I still find that these colors complement my skin tone. I didn't have a season, just a book of color swatches.

[@AKMorehouse]

I remember doing a color analysis in 7th grade home econ back in the late 90s and feeling slightly icky when all of the African American students were labeled as the same season.

[@EmL-kg5gn]

Oh that’s horrible. Why bother testing people if you’ve already put them in a box? I’m happy it’s not done like that anymore! (Or at least it’s not supposed to be, I’m sure there’s some people who do that though)

[@ouicertes9764]

It's somehow became trendy to dismiss any type of colour system theory for "freedom and anticonformism", as if someone would come knock on your door and tell you to never wear the color you like. In its simplest form it's a consulting service, like an interior designer offering professional advice, and while the tiktok filters and many self diagnosis are a bit silly, I don't understand why people are so "against" it. The "business" aspect of it is a separate problem that doesn't invalidate the principles of it. People do it instinctively anyway, as they try on clothes, most often they see what suit them and what doesn't. People's closets are generally quite harmonious, even if they dont know the theory behind it. I find it empowering to understand why a color I would have been scared of before actually feels right on me, I can experiment more and not fall back on safe "neutrals".

[@VeretenoVids]

Another sign I am getting old... When I saw the "seasons" thing coming around again recently I half expected to start seeing reprints of Jackson's book. I had my colors done twice in the 80s. (Both times it was a "prize" I had won--definitely not something I could have paid for as a teenager!). Both analysts put me in the cool winter category, which luckily coincides with the colors I have always preferred to wear (not the pastels in that grouping). It was pretty easy for me to see at a glance what color I'd be "diagonosed" as because I'm one of those people who is so pale they're practically blue. No yellow tones at all. Anyway, even back then I remember thinking what about non-white people?

[@harmlessweirdo5205]

I got diagnosed as an Autumn back in the early '80s, under the original CMB four-season system. Some of the colors I did agree on, even though I was in my black-red-purple proto-goth teenage phase. But my mom and grandmother (both Winters) kept buying me clothes in muted midtone shades of mustard, burnt orange, olive, and beige, which I didn't like, and I looked like hell in them, even though they were supposedly "my" colors. Same with ivory; it just made my skin look like concrete. The 12-season update cleared up the issue: I'm a Dark Autumn, which looks best in the darkest Autumn shades, but also the clearest, most saturated colors. I can get away with the darkest charcoal gray and black, and "borrow" from the Dark Winter and Bright Autumn palettes (though as I'm getting older I'm steering away from black because it's getting rather harsh). I was probably a bit culty about it for a while, at least until I'd figured out my personal palette. But I was an awkward kid for whom clothing, and looking right, and fitting in, had been a real source of pain and misery. I was the tallest girl in my class by far, and kind of chubby, so finding age-appropriate clothes that fit, that looked good on me, that I liked, and that wouldn't get me teased at school was a challenge. After figuring out my palette, I could at least pick out clothes in flattering colors, even if they weren't the most fashion-forward. When I began sewing so I could have the clothes I wanted, and that actually fit, having a color palette kept me from buying beautiful fabrics in unsuitable colors and trying to force them work. It also kept me from falling for the latest fads, because usually the colors weren't right. And, funny, enough, it helped me avoid pressure from relatives to take office jobs and climb the corporate ladder, because acceptable business wear at the time was overwhelmingly gray and navy, pure white and light blue, all of which look like absolute shit on me, LOL. So, over the long haul, it was definitely worth whatever my grandmother paid for her, my mom, and myself to have our colors done.

[@Fey3690]

In addition, everyone perceives color differently. Especially when adding color blindness into the mix of perception. I definitely recommend learning color theory as a base. I didn't realize I was utilizing color theory in my wardrobe this entire time and I almost always get compliments on my outfits.

[@iflan09]

My mother worked for Stretch and Sew, a fabric/sewing store chain in the 70s and 80s and 90s. She taught the whole Color Me Beautiful color charting to people. I'm a winter. So is my sister Katherine. There are 10 of us. 7 girls 3 boys. My mother ran our house very strictly. She was very serious about it. And on the day she died, Katherine was wearing a brown suit to work. NOT her color. When she learned of my mother's heart attack, she had to decide whether to go straight to the hospital, or change first, so Mother wouldn't see the suit. She went straight to the hospital. My mother gave her a side eye and said "well, with that shirt, you can make it work". She died later that evening. We still laugh_cry about it 30 yrs later.

[@RachaelTheRed]

I think the important thing to remember about color analysis is that it shouldn't be taken as hard and fast rules but should be used as a tool to create the desired effect. Its the same with the kibbe body system. Just because you are a certain color season or body type doesnt mean you're stuck in a box. What it does mean is you know now have the knowledge of how certain colors or shapes with play with your appearance and you can use that knowledge to craft how you want to present yourself.

[@MiffoKarin]

I was classified as a winter as a tween, back when my hair was a natural platinum blonde. Then puberty hit and turned my hair brown, so I'm probably some other season now. I always went for what colours make me happy anyway. Lately it's been a lot of dark green, which I think means I'm entering my 'moss witch' era. 😅

[@sarahrosen4985]

Moss Witch! I love it! This could explain my hunger for dark green shoes (but no light / medium green) and purses the last few years. Also all my green turtlenecks (roll necks).

[@MiffoKarin]

@@sarahrosen4985 My current aesthetic is long skirts/dresses, cozy cardigans and wool capes. Honestly I just want to go live in a cottage out in the woods and only emerge for groceries and thrift store visits. 😅

[@DawnDavidson]

@@MiffoKarin😂😂😂 Love it!

[@MiljaHahto]

Your season might have changed - or then not! Your skin undertone probably hasn't changed, right? I'm already terrified about getting grey one day (as I'm sensitive to chemicals and dying my hair repeatedly does not feel an option) - as silver does definitely NOT flatter me at all. I'm hoping I'll get white instead like one grandma, that would be easier...

[@tymondabrowski12]

Interesting, I've seen several videos on how a blonde cannot ever be a winter. Which caused plenty of doubts in me, because considering cool undertones, I'd need to be a summer, however the first thing anyone knowing me would say about colors I should wear, is that they should not be light or muted. I can tolerate light blue better than other pastels, but that's it, best colors are darker, intense, with slight preference towards cool ones. But really, what kind of a summer would look better in bright, super intense, vibrant red, than grey or light pink?

[@india1422]

I find this sort of thing stressful. I wear colors I like. If no-one thinks they look good on me I don’t care. I understand Colour theory and at times I use that for particular looks, but again, it isn’t based on what someone thinks I should look

[@nicolataylor6546]

When I was a young adult in the 90s, I remember seeing one of those colour charts from “Color me beautiful” & of course spent far to much time trying to figure out which “type” I was. I remember having a really hard time trying to find out which category I belonged to. Fast forward to about 2005, when I went for a makeup consultation & found out that I have what is called a neutral skin tone, so I could wear all the colours. Now I wear whatever colours I like. 😊

[@desertflowerz89]

Funny I’ve lived to see this, but a fashion class teacher I had and I went rounds about her insisting my project be down graded because I did not stick to my “season” (winter as a dark skin black woman). This was 2015 and I showed her numerous examples of how African Americans can variate beyond winter season colors. Rounds. Anyway, I decided to go my own way on that and take each client as the are. I knew I was right. I stopped wearing pink, gray, or pure white anyway though 😂 That was helpful

[@kitefan1]

Ah, I completely remember the season color thing from the 80s. The problem was they talked about the major color without the secondary tones. One of my friends was very into it. She spent time trying to figure out why my aqua blue blouse looked good on me when it shouldn't. Part of it is either you can learn to see the undertones or you don't.

[@webwarren]

Yes! This is why I got kicked out of what was probably a color-season-based MLM before they even got to the sell.

[@kadybourn7143]

One of my favorite moments in the history of color seasons, particularly "Color Me Beautiful," is in "Roger and Me" when documentary filmmaker Michael Moore is showing the various ways Flint residents are trying to earn money. One woman became a "Color Me Beautiful" consultant and does Michael Moore's colors. So you see him with his head wrapped in a white towel and being draped in different colored fabrics.

[@Hopespringseternal]

My mom was a model in the 60’s and 70’s and she got her colors done in the 60’s! She’s a spring so had a hard time finding clothes in the 70’s. I’ve always have known I am a winter, clear not muted like her, because she talked a lot about it. Decades later, it’s still part of conversation!

[@partyinthecloudkingdom]

thank you for covering this! i was getting sick of seeing color analysis posts from tiktok. in my opinion someone's color season is ultimately what colors they love the most

[@DrinkYourNailPolish]

Exactamundo!! I like olive green cos not only does it look good on me but it's pleasing to my eye and I revolve my palette around that and eventhough I look good in medum to dark browns, I don't FEEL good in it so I eliminate that from my palette.

[@realMacMadame]

I read Color Me Beautiful when it first came out! I thought it made a certain amount of sense but it didn't 100% work for me. I ended up getting a color analysis NOT based on seasons. Instead, they held up fabric samples and built a fan from the ones that worked for you. Then after they picked out the colors, they'd say what percentages your colors were from 4 groups. Picking the colors first instead of picking a season and then giving you those colors made more sense to me and I ended up with colors that really worked with my hair and skin tones. The other thing I liked about this system was that your fan didn't contain only colors you could wear. It was more like a fence. So a color not on the fan should blend in with the colors there. And it shouldn't be duller or brighter or darker or lighter than the stick that it was closest to. But if it fit in, then you could wear it.

[@petapendlebury9024]

I had my colours done in the early 1980s - winter here - and discovered colours that I previously thought I couldn't wear successfully (my first red red blouse as a lete teen had made me look ill so I'd assumed all red would do that). Colour analysis educated me that whilst orange toned reds are to be avoided blue toned reds are just the thing! Also it's not about what you can't wear at all, its about what are the best colours next to your face. And there's definitely an issue where some people are harder to read - hence the confusion. It was easy for me - the gold drape made me look as if i was really ill and the silver drape made my eyes come alive so we knew I was cool toned from then on. Interestingly a re-rate some years later highlighted that although there are a couple of yellows in my palette they just don't work with my particular skin and now as I'm getting older I don't look as good with black next to my face - increase eye shadow - but there's so many other colours I love in my palette that I'm not that bothered. And apparently for me my new black is charcoal grey! I shall definitely see if I can get hold of that original book - looks fascinating..

[@scottschoen3362]

I'm a painter and became skillful at reading a client's color and undertone without draping them.. I used it to make sure that person's preferred colors were included. It worked.

[@thecollectcyn]

This trend of personal color analysis has always made me roll my eyes. Thank you so much for such an informative video on the history behind it!!

[@CalicoBelleHandmade]

I’m an 80s baby and my mother had a Color Me Beautiful theme 12th birthday party for me where we had fancy snacks and she did color analysis for all my friends.

[@BlueRoseFaery]

I have unnatural hair color(s) and I change them seasonally, Spring is neon pink, Summer is pink/purple, Fall is purple/blue, and Winter is usually blue, all cool tones to go with my skin tone. So the colors of my clothing and makeup also changes seasonally. In Fall & Winter, I can wear bold reds (still cool tones) but not in Spring or Summer or they clash with the pink in my hair. But overall I'm goth so a lot of black or black & white patterns, but I do have a fair bit of black based florals & various plaids, and even some great vibrant tie dyes for casual days.

[@robyn3349]

I attended a Color Me Beautiful class at a fabric store in the early 80s. I was skeptical, but seeing how the color drapes affected the others in the group was very convincing. I remember watching a healthy "Spring" go to an about to vomit "Spring" with the switch of a color under her face and then back again. Wear what you want to, of course, but be sure the colors will change how you look.

[@dawnssful]

Yes colors will certainly change how we look.

[@lazygardens]

ROFL "I remember watching a healthy "Spring" go to an about to vomit "Spring" with the switch of a color under her face and then back again" That's me with a whole range of yellow and green shades. Instant hepatitis.

[@DawnDavidson]

Agreed! I had my colors done quite a long time ago, too, and there is some truth to it. That said, people can take things too far. My sister categorically refuses to wear black because of this. Do you know how hard it is to create a wardrobe with absolutely no black in it?? For me at the time, I was a musician, mostly a vocalist singing in large choirs, including professional ones. Most musicians have a dress code that consists of black only, with maybe a bit of stark white. Even though I am also “not supposed to wear black”, I quickly discarded that idea as unworkable for me. Officially, back then, I was a “split winter/fall.” This also made it a bit challenging for me, since I wasn’t “supposed to” wear beige or khaki, for instance, but also not black. It was a bit maddening. When possible, I tried to follow the advice to use navy blue or brown as my “neutrals,” but mostly what I found was I just had to wear black, at least in pants and skirts. Trying to keep something other than black next to my face helps, as does wearing some makeup, which I almost never do. At the time - this must have been the early 1980’s - I had a lot of “spring” colors (mostly pastels) in my wardrobe, and if did take some adjusting, but I found it was true that I tended to look better in more saturated “jewel tones.” And I LIKED the jewel tones better. It was my MOM that had put all the pastels into my wardrobe! As we all aged, we found that our best colors shifted as well. Our mom stopped coloring her hair, and suddenly she couldn’t wear the off whites and warmer tones anymore, and had to shift toward a cooler palette. When I eventually colored my hair a redder shade, I suddenly looked better in more Fall colors, and fewer Winter ones. Since the pandemic, I stopped bothering with the hair dye, mostly, and now I’m leaning more Winter again. None of which means that my wardrobe has really changed much. I just find myself not reaching as much for the more olive greens anymore, without the warmer red in my hair. Fortunately, I’m also a “squirrel,” so I tend not to get rid of things! One useful and funny thing for me this summer though: One of my best colors (and one I had absolutely none of way back when), turns out to be Barbie pink! 😂 So I had stuff in my wardrobe when it came time to join my friends for the Barbie movie this summer. 😂 I have to say, I deeply question the idea that “most people of color would fall into a single type,” too. It’s about the undertones in your skin, and while many Black folks would indeed look good in golds and oranges that aren’t good for me, many others, though much darker overall, still have blue undertones, and look good in jewel tones. No matter what, I think it’s important to wear what you like for yourself, and damn whatever anyone else thinks! “It’s a guide, not god” is a useful concept to employ for any classification system, especially ones that involve such a large amount of personal taste.

[@mmmmmmmmaria]

yep. as a very artistic and visual person i’m in anguish seeing like half of the population where i live (mostly different flavors of summer) wear all black/navy/dirty hunter green all 9 month winter long.

[@holzlastname1976]

I’m so glad you did this video, I am a painter so I feel like I have a decent grasp on color theory (also a hairstylist), but I can’t seem to be able to put myself in a season. But, now it just clicked as to why they chose certain colors.

[@foragegrasspause2gotoloop961]

Never thought this made sense since the 4 seasons concept doesn't work in most places. LA really only has wet and dry, Phoenix's 5 month summer (very little fall/spring) can be divided between "dry summer" and "monsoon summer", etc

[@VeretenoVids]

🤣🤣🤣

[@thevirtualtraveler]

This is actually really helpful! I am Very familiar w/ color theory, so knowing that all of these "What's your Season" things are basically just commercialized color theory makes it far more usable.

[@pompe221]

No joke, I still have my mom's copy of "Color Me Beautiful" with the 1990s update about how seasons influence personality and how to accessorize for that and then dabbling into styling your life based on your seasons. Talk about "making it your personality" before that phrase was a thing.

[@ginadelfina5887]

Interesting. I got really into this topic a few years ago & my favorite color analysis KZbin channel was (& still is) Merriam Style. Her Artistic License system is so logical (unlike 4 seasons, in my opinion), and she clearly explains the “why” behind how certain colors are more or less flattering for various people. Also, the channel features people of all types of skin colors, and she points out that ethnicity has absolutely no relation to whether you are cool or warm ( anybody can fall anywhere on the cool to warm spectrum). Thanks for an interesting video.

[@annbrookens945]

I was 27 in 1980 when Color Seasons became a big thing. I bought Color Me Beautiful and found the analysis process interesting. Holding different colored fabrics to my face gave me an accurate idea of which colors DID look good on me, regardless of the recommended colors for my season!

[@werelemur1138]

"Color me beautiful took me BACK. My whole girl scout troop got our colors done as part of earning a fashion badge.

[@clairesmakes]

Thank you for this. Back in the 80s when I was in school, the colour season was on the curriculum for Fashion & Fabrics O grade and Higher (Scottish High school qualifications at the time). I remember thinking it was just colour theory, as I was also doing Art, and people didn't have to fit in to certain categories on what seemed like a whim. I questioned the whole thing as I thought it was too much like astrology - conducting your life because a planet is in a particular part of the sky seemed similar to telling someone they can't wear orange but should wear blue! And of course, it was all aimed at white women! And yes, with online shopping, the resurgence of the charts makes total sense. Not to mention, not everyone has an in depth background (to degree level) in colour theory!

[@oldasyouromens]

Figuring out my season has been pretty okay, but I always go back and forth on a certain shade of deep cool red that I like, that entirely cancels out the yellow in my skin and makes me look very rosy and almost translucently pale. It's not a common color for my season, but some analysts really like it, especially 30s ones. Once I started buying kbeauty makeup and face bases according to my season, I was so surprised at how "natural" and "nude" pink tones of this red looked, even when the colors themselves were very dramatic. I never thought sheer currant red, deep mauve berry blur tint, and bright satin Barbie pink gradient would be my work-appropriate colors, but I get that same velvet, porcelain look when I use them that brings contrast to my face.

[@missanne2908]

I have several vintage books that offer advice on color, including 1932's _The Girl Today the Woman Tomorrow._ What is interesting is that after giving the user a brief introduction on how color works in general, the first consideration is a girl's mood or disposition. The advice the book gives is that a quiet, retiring girl needs to wear colors that will "bring herself out," something that a vivacious girl does not need. It also talks about what colors work best for a girl with angular features.

[@Fantastikitty]

As a teenager working at Stretch n' Sew fabrics in 1985-87, I was required to get my colors done by the one woman who had been certified in Color Me Beautiful, and to learn to help people with their colors. Our entire store was labelled by season, and I had to help people navigate all the fabric. I immediately found out the limitations when I was typed as a "spring" who should be wearing camel as my neutral color. With my dark blonde hair and green-brown hazel eyes, I tried on something in camel and immediately referred to it as "camel-flauge" due to the way it changed every aspect of my face to match it. That led to a conversation about what a teenage girl would want to get out of color analysis that might be different than what her mother or garandmother might desire.

[@merefinl6914]

This was such a satisfying video to watch, the color seasons myth has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time! I'm an artist, and it's not that difficult for me to tell why certain colors look better or worse on someone thanks to my in-depth experience with color theory. Seeing people fall into these overly regimented systems is very frustrating! Especially when it comes at a financial cost.

[@0805jvv]

I was almost waiting for a behind the scenes with you showing different colours to Bailey 😂

[@jeff__w]

Back in the mid-80s, I bought Carole Jackson’s _Color for Men,_ determined I was a “Winter” (easy with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a blue undertone to my skin), and I’ve followed it, more or less, ever since. I really _do_ tend to buy “bluer” variations of colors, rather than “yellower” ones. (I have a cranberry sweater from about that time-red with a bluish cast-that l love to this day.) I’ll avoid golden undertones like the plague. I knew someone (a Chinese-American woman) who _invariably_ wore a “Winter” palette-jewel tones (emerald, ruby sapphire), pure whites and blacks-she always looked striking. I never asked her if she had her colors “analyzed” but her color choices were so consistent that I felt sure that she had.

[@gkseeton]

This was so "in" in the 80's. I remember having my color charts done, more complex and thorough than the seasons in COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL. Had a large chart for in the closet and a pocket version for when shopping. Color charts went way beyond the book everyone was reading, the analyst checked skin undertones and spent time matching each color in your iris. I still use two or three concepts from all that. Another great book was MUCH later and not on color but on design THE SCIENCE OF SEXY. So fun! Our color charts were made from paint chips like you might find at the hardware store, so not painted in the 80's. We had a blast with it all. I LOVE how you follow the history backward in time.

[@melowlw8638]

my philosophy: when in doubt, wear black also idk we should wear the colours we want even if it "looks bad" we live on a rock and if u wanna do that go ahead!! it does seem fun but also if u dont its whatever

[@HeyJenkies]

The Hollywood Museum is housed in the old Max Factory building and the color rooms are absolutely fascinating. I was with a friend who has a very different complexion and hair color and we went through the four rooms taking photos of each other and it was ASTOUNDING how different we looked in the different colored rooms. Like I looked great in the blue room while my friend did not, but she looked amazing in the green room and I looked horrid. Truly fascinating.

[@beckyjohnson3153]

In the late 80’s, for my high school graduation, I was gifted a training to become a BeautiControl Cosmetics associate (MLM company similar to Mary Kay, I believe now out of business). The color draping parties helped you figure out your ‘best’ colors for your skin tones (very important for formal prom dresses, and that magenta thing you mentioned was all the rage and ghastly on everyone. My sister still holds it angainst me she had to wear it in my wedding.). These parties were a lot of fun and sold a lot of cosmetics as they had color specific shades and hues for your season for foundation, lipsticks blush and eye makeup. I truly miss their makeup. It was fantastic. I am a winter, and still wear the colors to this day. In an unrelated job, I did a stint at a department store cosmetics counter, and found that when I did makeovers in their seasons colors, the results were so pleasing to them that I sold a lot more product.

[@melissamarsh2219]

Is this why Anne of Green Gables says as a redhead she can’t ever wear pink?

[@1One2Three5Eight13]

When my husband and I were picking yarn for his sweater, we ended up picking colours online, so "see if you like the colour on you" wasn't much of a option. He wanted a green, and I kept trying to steer him away from the yellow-greens, because I knew they wouldn't look great (he and I have very similar colouring). It wasn't until his sister stepped in, and explained that "the yellow undertones will clash with the yellow undertones in your skin" that I had any luck. The dark green we went with was perfect for him, so I agree that it's useful to have a list of "good" colours for shopping online. But there's no way he would have gone with a list like you get from having your colours done - he needs a reason for the different colours, both so he can decide if he thinks that there's any actual weight behind the call, and so he can decide if that's the effect he wants.

[@espinns5842]

As a natural redhead with pale, cool-toned skin, I’ve been skeptical for a while! They usually classify all redheads as warm and I find it so frustrating. Love the historical info

[@juliatarrel1674]

Online shopping is also difficult because you can't tell what the cut is really like. Even if you know what styles do and don't flatter you, the dress needs to have enough fabric to fit your bust, or hips, or waist. Or to be flattering if your genes aren't quite so generous. I limit my online shopping to some specific stores, because their clothing is typically the right proportions for me.

[@lhoneyb1775]

This is very interesting. I had my colors done earlier this year and I was told it originated from art school. The professor had an assignment to do a portrait using specific colors. The students objected citing those were horrible tones for portraits so the professor allowed them to each use their own colors and wouldnt you know it those palettes fell into 4 color seasons. I wish I could remember more.

[@suem6004]

Mom and I did the color me beautiful. Ours were spot on not just because some book said so but loved ones agree or disagree which colors flatter you. The color fan which I still own is useful for knowing which SHADE of clothing I own so buying complimentary accessories was helpful. That I had a fan of good shades of ie greens would look better on me when I am standing in a store shopping for a good shade of ie green I consulted my color fan. I still own that fan and take it fabric shopping too. You know, there is teal then there is teal. Great for that. So I think of my fan as an accurate and helpful tool. Sure helped my mom was was not my season. All this extends over decades. Building a capsule wardrobe is not overnight. Friends and family are good feedback often which tone of a color is a bit better so dont believe only a book but people who see you in colors and who know exactly what color you rock. And… once you age reexamine your color card and tweek based on natural aging changes.