dressing by colour seasons

[MariCooyong]

Most of us have ‘colour seasons’: ‘Autumns’ look good in warm colours that complement their warm colouring, ‘Summers’ look good in pastels that complement their pale colouring, etc. But is it possible for someone to look good in every colour?

Also, how much attention do you pay to your colour season, and do you ever break the rules, so to speak?

They tell you that you can wear virtually any colour but the shades within each colour will suit you or not. Eg warm reds versus bluer reds, dark navy versus brighter French navy, yellow based greens versus cooler, minty bluer greens.

Tbh I don't know for sure what mine are

I went to a free thing where a lady with a set of colour swatches went on about the difference between two shades of cream and talked of how much better one was for me. I could see the difference in the shades but thought they were both fine.

I also had a friend (who is big on this) say to me "you are lucky you can wear mustard, most people can't". I don't like it, would never wear it.

my sister had her colours done and sticks to them religiously. I find some of them a bit garish.

I know what I'm happy with and usually stick with that. As a fatty, shape is more important - if I find something flattering but not the right colour, I might still buy it because short + fat = not exactly spoiled for choice!

I’m an autumn and never deviate. Why would you want to look worse than you need to? 😃

I'm a jewel winter and look really unwell in muted browny, beigey colours, yellow, lime green and orange.

Lobelia, emerald green and red really suit me.

my sister had her colours done and sticks to them religiously. I find some of them a bit garish

it could be that what you see as garish are colors that she should be wearing as an accessory or an accent color. The HOC systems takes this into account and will suggest what percentage of an outfit a particular should be.

Sorry. Just to add that I’m a True Summer and when buying something I think of Smokey, soft, blue, rose if I’ve left my swatch at home. But I have loads of colors to work with but they each serve a different purpose.

I'm a self diagnosed summer! 😂 The thing I find most helpful about it is that everything goes with everything else. Even my make up now just goes as its cool colours rather than a mix so its just much simpler.

I think I'm a soft summer and it does make a huge difference when I have a top in the 'right' colour - particularly anything in aqua/mint. But it also has to be quite faded/muted - too intense and it doesn't work either.

And certain colours I know I'll look awful in so avoid completely.

I remember the colour consultant telling me that if you wear the right colours people don't notice what you are wearing, just that you look good. If someone only notices your dress you are wearing the wrong colours.

im a Winter, too. I love wearing jewel colours so I’m pretty happy with my colouring, but sometimes I’d love to wear autumn colours, especially mustard, and I love neon brights but they make me look like like I’m deathly ill. Guess you always want what you can’t have!

Yes, I look bad in orange toned reds but come alive in blue toned reds.

I'm a deep autumn think kim kardashian, j lo etc. and I've learnt to respect the colours that suit me. All the colours that I love don't suit me so they are found in trousers and skirts or bags.

I have wardrobe of neutrals,mustard, salmon etc.

But yes it's worth bearing in mind. Of course sometimes I buy something just because I love it, or it suits me despite the 'rules' but it does make it easier to shop.

Yes, I agree. People say things like “you can wear anything you want as long as you have the confidence to rock it” but why would I feel confident in the first place if I was wearing something I knew I didn’t suit? But then I also agree with EmmaEmerald that a flattering shape is at least as important, so I might make an exception for a less-great colour if the shape and fit are really good for me.

I find it very helpful. Had it done just before my wedding 32 years ago. I'm a summer. I wore white, both brilliant white but white. My going away outfit was soft pinks and dusty blues.

Best thing I ever did.

Same here, also some white and jet black. Oddly I was already wearing my seasonal colours before I realised they were even a thing. I cannot wear grey at all, hate it… clothes, home… anywhere! Also pastels look terrible unless a soft pink. Especially lilac. Can anyone even wear lilac?? Bleugh.

re mustard and yellow, I wish I could wear it as I love it but I can’t.

They also say however that it’s only near your face you “can’t” wear other colours. So for example, I’d consider a pair of mustard trousers and a black roll neck.

Clothes have been terrible for winters recently - lots of autumnal shades in the shops. @MariCooyong I think winters can wear neon though. Lots of PoC are winters and look great in neon, I can definitely rock them when I'm tanned.

I need a bit of a tan to wear them, which I never have! Otherwise they kind of drown me.

I find the seasons hard as I'm not particularly warm or cool dominant. My dominant feature is light so my wardrobe tends to borrow from a mixture of light summer and light spring.

All autumnal colours look awful on me and I can't wear dark colours near my face because they are very aging.

One day I'll get my colours done properly.

I find this whole 'getting your colours done' weird tbh. Outside of MN I never hear anyone mention it.

Self-diagnosed soft cool summer here. Was telling my sister last year about how I was slowly transitioning over as things wore out because my season colours look so much better on me than all the black tops.

She then sent me a photo of her wardrobe - exact same season colours, she'd figured it out without referring to the official stuff. Then we realised a parent wears the same colours too instinctively.

I find this whole 'getting your colours done' weird tbh. Outside of MN I never hear anyone mention it.

I first got my colours done well before the internet, let alone mumsnet. I had them done again in 2019. Wearing the right colours makes such a difference to how someone looks. It lights up your face, and makes you look drianed if wearing the wrong colours.

Mixed race colouring, some people think I can wear neon. I wouldn't want to.

I once bought a brightish pink top that I was dithering about, it was that or a pale pink.

first time I wore it, in a bar - the walls were painted the exact shade of my top!

re colours and ranges - example pp gives of French navy or a brighter navy - I'm happy with either.

I’m an autumn and since finding out, it’s been alot easier to choose clothes.

I once brought a nice black top, ‘because black goes with everything’., I never wore it and after been analysed, realised why, black doesn’t suit autumns.

I stick to it most of the time. I have the odd thing which isn’t quite right, but the majority is.

I find this whole 'getting your colours done' weird tbh. Outside of MN I never hear anyone mention it.
I heard about it offline long before seeing it on here.