For years, we’ve heard that fashion isn’t one size fits all. We look for the most flattering styles for different body types and we’re familiar with words like apple, pear, and hourglass. These rules about shapes and lines aren’t the definitive answers to finding flattering fashion. Sometimes we can do all of this right, yet our clothes still don’t leave us looking, or feeling, fabulous. So, what’s missing? It could be that you’re choosing colors that just aren’t quite right for you. Let’s take a dive into the world of color analysis. See how a few simple choices can truly transform your wardrobe and find an answer to the question you may be asking yourself. What is my color palette?
Table of Contents
Why should I know what my color palette is?
- Creating your personal style in a world filled with seasonal wear and endless Instagram trends is far too tricky. Between micro trends and fast fashion, it is becoming more important than ever to ditch the fads and focus on what looks best for you.
- Too many of us blend into the background. We all pick up ‘wardrobe basics’ in black, white, and grey. Did you ever stop to think that these neutrals might not be what’s best for you? Maybe pick up navy base layers or opt for a subtle orange. Basics and neutrals don’t have to be boring.
- Most importantly, when you look good, you feel good. Create timeless looks and develop your own sense of style tailored to flatter you.
How do I find out what is my color palette for clothes?
Choosing to look at color analysis can sound intimidating. It’s true; it is certainly more effort than figuring out your body shape with a diagram. But that doesn’t mean it has to be complicated. Let’s walk through some simple ways you can find out what your color palette is.
The color palette analysis is split into four seasons, the seasons of the year. The colors that suit each season fall in line quite nicely with the colors we already associate with each one. Oranges and burgundy? You guessed it, autumn. Icy blues and navy? Yep, that’s winter. This is all about getting a springboard to find colors, shades, and tones that will bring out your sparkle.
Figuring out undertones in your skin:
Your undertones are the ever-so crucial, step one to answering your question: ‘what is my color palette?’ There are a few methods out there so it’s easy to get muddled. The aim is just to figure out if you have warm or cool undertones.
The Vein Test: Look at your wrist in natural light and look at the color of your veins. Veins that look on the greener side indicate warm undertones. If your veins look blue or purple, that shows you have cool undertones.
The Paper Test: Some people find figuring out the colors of their veins a little tricky. Another option is to grab a sheet of plain white paper and hold it by your skin. If you’re seeing yellows, greens, or gold hues beside the paper, you have warm undertones. Equally, cool undertones are present if you see pinks, reds, or blues.
The Jewelry Test: This one’s a last resort to try and figure out your undertones, as it’s far less reliable. However, it is interesting to see what you’ve already figured out about your color palette. Most of us, even if we mix and match, will tend to lean towards either silver or gold jewelry. This is one example of us subconsciously using color analysis; most of us can acknowledge what suits us best. Typically, people who stick to silver jewelry have cool undertones, and those of us with warm undertones lean towards gold.
So far, you should know if you have cool or warm undertones. There are two seasons that people with cool undertones fall into, winter and summer. Whereas those with warm undertones are either spring and autumn. Time to venture onto the next step to find out which you best belong to.
Figuring out your levels of contrast:
The next pieces of the puzzle look for your natural hair and eye colors. It’s all about the contrast between your features.
When there is a significant variation in the brightness of one or more colors, the contrast is great. If you have really black hair and bright blue eyes, your have a lot of contrast. Blonde and blue eyes? Less so.
You need to know if you look good in bright, medium, or dark hues. The answer will be determined by the degree of contrast between your features.
You can find out your own contrast by converting your photo to greyscale.
Do you have low, medium, or high contrast?
You probably have warm undertones if the overall contrast level of your features is medium and no feature is extremely light or extremely dark in comparison to the rest.
You probably have cold undertones if your overall contrast level of your features is medium to high and you have dark hair in contrast to a lighter skin tone.
So, what is my color palette?
The next step has a fair bit of conflicting information out there. The main thing to remember is that this is about finding what makes you feel and look your best. Your intuition is stronger than you think, so if what you love and feel the most you in isn’t in your season, it’s worth noting that this isn’t an exact science.
Winter: people who fall into the winter season have cool undertones and a high contrast. You’ll rock crisp colors, icy tones, berry-like colors, and even jewel tones. It’s suggested that you avoid colors that seem very obviously warm, such as olive.
Summer: Summer season people have cool undertones and medium contrast between their skin and their hair and eyes. Light, muted, icy, and dusty tones are all said to look great for summer color palette people. However, it might be worth steering clear of colors that are too dark or too saturated.
Autumn: People with autumn color palettes have warm undertones and a low to medium contrast between features. This often creates a seamless blend between hair, eyes, and skin. Autumn is perhaps the easiest season to picture colors for, with bold and deep, and soft and warm colors looking fantastic. Try to avoid colors that are particularly wintery, those cool, crisp tones.
Spring: Our spring season people have warm undertones with a light to medium contrast between their features. Light, bright, airy, warm colors are the way to go for you. You can rock those overly saturated tones and pastels. The dark, deep colors are more of a no-go for you though!
Again, these are just the basic color palettes. Each season actually has 3 subtypes! You can download your free PDF to read all about them:
It is important to remember that if you are a bright, bubbly person, wearing only muted tones just might not suit your personality, regardless of what the analysis suggests. These color palettes are a guide, not a steadfast rule. It’s worth paying attention though; it just might help you find what you love and wear it with pride. The aim is to buy staple pieces that are going to flatter and compliment you, letting you get the most out of what you wear. Finding your color palette is a great first step to elevate your look. Never again do you have to wonder “what is my color palette?!”. Wohoo! Happy styling!
What is my color palette quiz
This seasonal color analysis quiz will find your color palette.
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