Your Color Season: a How-To Guide

By: Sophia Johnette

I don’t know about y'all, but I’ve been trying to find which color season I am and I couldn’t figure it out for the longest time. If that sounds like you, read on and find out what color season you are.

Step 1: Finding Your Undertone

What is an undertone? Your undertone is a subtle hue beneath your skin…what does that even mean? Let me explain.

So imagine this like a spectrum going from two extremes: cool undertones and warm undertones. Your veins on your wrist are a good indicator of which one you are. If you have blue or purple, you’re a cool toned girl. If they’re more greenish, you’re most likely warm toned.

You can also do this using silver and gold jewelry: silver looks best on cool toned skin, and gold on warm.

However, these are not full proof. Again, this is a spectrum. For me, I’m cool toned in the veins but my skin pulls yellow, which is warm (pink being cooler). And you can look good in both silver and gold. All this means is that you're neutral, but I believe that you can be neutral leaning cool/warm.

Step 2: Hair and Eye Color

Typically, winter and summer have cool tones. Winter has darker features and summer has lighter features.

And, typically speaking, spring and autumn have warm tones. Spring will have lighter features while autumn usually has darker, rich toned features.

Step 3: Find Your Flattery

Another way you can find out which season you are is to figure out what colors flatter you (aka: which colors don’t overpower you or make you look ghastly). I’ll create a characteristics list for each season, along with celebrity examples. I think sometimes finding your celebrity twin is an easy way to discover your color season. This chart will be the overarching categories without the specifics (such as bright, cool, etc).

WINTER
Characteristics	cool undertones dark hair, often with ashy tones high contrast between hair, skin, and eye colors cool, clear, bold colours are best for this season
Celebrity Examples	Lucy Liu Kendall Jenner Catherine Zeta-Jones Anne Hathaway
Best Colors	jewel tones black and white cool blues and purples true red icy pastels charcoal grey
Avoid These Colors	Earthy tones (oranges, yellows, and browns)

SUMMER
Characteristics	cool undertones soft, light, or muted clothing often has light hair (like an ash blonde or soft brown) and cool eyes (blue, grey, or green)
Celebrity Examples	Princess Diana Gwyneth Paltrow Margot Robbie Reese Witherspoon Kate Middleton
Best Colors	soft pastels dusty, cool shades pale or icy tones soft neutrals muted blues (not too dark or harsh)
Avoid These Colors	warm, vibrant colors like oranges, yellows, and bright reds

AUTUMN
Characteristics	warm undertones rich, earthly coloring often has golden or auburn hair with hazel, brown, or green eyes tends to look better in warmer, rich, and deep tones
Celebrity Examples	Julia Roberts Beyoncé Emma Stone (with red hair) Debra Messing Olivia Wilde
Best Colors	earthy tones warm reds and oranges rich browns golden yellows deep greens warm neutrals copper, bronze, and gold
Avoid These Colors	bright, cool colors like bright blues or pinks

SPRING
Characteristics	warm undertones light, clear, and fresh coloring often has light hair and bright eyes (blue, green, or light hazel) best in bright, warm, clear colors
Celebrity Examples	Blake Lively Emma Roberts Drew Barrymore Michelle Williams (with blonde hair)
Best Colors	bright and warm colors like coral, peach, and salmon soft, fresh greens clear blues warm pinks golden yellows ivory or cream colors instead of white light and bright neutrals like camel and light beige
Avoid These Colors	dark, muted colors like charcoal grey or a deep navy

Once you know the concrete foundation of your color season (winter, summer, spring, and autumn), you can find your subgroup (bright, light, clear, etc) much easier (which are dependant on if you can carry bold colors or if you prefer softer colors).

However, it is important to note that you may be a mix of seasons. Not everyone falls into this cookie-cutter color season. Find out what colors make you feel like you’re shining and stick with that.

Once you’ve found your colors and your season(s), check out this guide to building a capsule wardrobe (so you have timeless pieces that fit your style while still fitting into your closet). It’s also important to also keep finances and sustainability in mind when you’re building a new wardrobe. Check out this article on how to create your new wardrobe without losing your mind (and your money).