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Anyone had their colours done and it’s been wrong?

17 replies

FoxChops · 11/05/2025 12:10

Or right even! Just have you had it done?

I paid a relatively small amount for an online service and I was always a little bit dubious at being told I am a deep autumn. I’m definitely an autumn but deep seemed wrong. Turns out I’m a soft autumn which fits much better

Do you find you stick to ‘your’ colours or do you still venture off into what you fancy?

OP posts:
Kiwirose · 11/05/2025 13:06

i have had this done in person by House of colour and it has been a fantastic experience. I don't understand how you could do this on line because even buying clothes online it is difficult to tell what the colour will be since everyone's screen is different.

the initial outlay did seem very expensive but now a few years on I fond it really helps with shopping and overall I spend less on clothes. Also everything goes with everything else whereas previously I shopped in complete outfits.

I would say go for it but do it in person.

anonymousanonymouse · 11/05/2025 13:34

I haven’t but the friends I have that have had it done often don’t look as good as my friends that haven’t!

henlake7 · 11/05/2025 13:36

I dont think Id want it done TBH....too worried they might tell me I shouldnt be wearing a colour I love (Id rather live in blissful ignorance!).

Phunkychicken · 11/05/2025 13:47

I have online by two people and was told once I'm a Summer and once a Spring. I lean more towards the second, in 'normal' colour terms I'm a true neutral, suit silver and gold. Veins are blue and green.

So, I think only an in person service with draping will be accurate. Unless you have quite obvious colouring I think an in person one is World's away from online but is soon much more expensive

ARainyNightInSoho · 11/05/2025 14:05

There's no real right or wrong though, because it's not maths. It's just something made up. I don't mean it's not useful, I think it really is, it's just that there are lots and lots of different versions of it and it also depends on subjective interpretation, lighting, type of fabric etc. etc.

I find Trinny Woodall's system much simpler, you don't have to pay for it and it really works. She says to decide if you are cool, warm or neutral. An easy way of doing this is if you suit silver (cool) gold (warm) or both silver and gold (neutral). This has really helped me decide what suits me and what doesn't.

TheOGCCL · 11/05/2025 14:25

I had my colours done about twenty years ago and whenever I stray from them, it turns out to be a waste of money. But I do think that it’s most beneficial for very fair Caucasian skin that can easily look washed out. And in winter time when that’s even easier. My point of reference for winter is the sick kid out of The Secret Garden. I’m very rarely actually tired but always look it. In the summer with a hint of a tan I’m not so strict.

You can basically wear all colours, it’s just what shades of those colours harmonise with your colouring. As PP said it also means your clothes harmonise together so it’s a good way to get a capsule wardrobe going.

Geneticsbunny · 11/05/2025 14:36

I had mine done a while back and I came out at as burnished winter but I have a sneaking suspicion that I am actually a weird sort of neutral person. Paler colours don't suit me hugely but I can definitely wear a lot of colours which are warm toned and they still work.

AlphabettiTouretti · 11/05/2025 14:59

One of my schoolfriends "had her colours done" by her mum when she was a teenager, and a load of clothes in the corresponding colours for her birthday to follow. She's been wearing Autumn tones religiously ever since (more than 30 years).

The problem is, I'm pretty sure her mum got it wrong and she's actually a Spring. She really doesn't look so good in Autumn colours at all. I've never, ever had the nerve to mention this.

If you think your colours haven't been correctly classified (even by a professional), then please take that feeling seriously...

Ruthietuthie · 11/05/2025 15:18

I think doing it online can be problematic. I already knew that I was cool not warm. Online, I was analyzed as a summer. And, actually, as I have naturally white-blonde hair, blue eyes, and don't tan, that should be correct. When I took quizzes online, I always came up as a summer.
After the online analysis, I tried to wear some of the pale summer colors, but always felt washed out.
I was then analyzed in person by House of Colour. I am actually a true winter (some systems say you can't be a winter blonde, but I most definitely am). I always knew, actually, that these tones - navy, jewel-toned pink, blue, and green, ice pink, blue and green (but not for a whole outfit - I need more depth) and true red suited me. So it affirmed that.
It also explained why marled fabric looked, well, scruffy on me. I had a coat - an amazing sort of French navy, which had a white marl in the fabric. I LOVED the cut of that coat (I found it second-hand at a market in France), it really was a beautifully made piece of clothing. But, whenever I put it on, I looked, well, sort of scruffy. In contrast, my deep solid navy coat looks expensive. I could never explain that before.
Now I have far fewer clothes, but I love them all, and they all mix and match perfectly. Opening my wardrobe feels like looking at a rail in a shop where I love every single piece.
So, in-person analysis is the way to go, I think.
(And those who look worse after color analysis, I think, tend to be those who only wear their colors and try to wear them all at once, ignoring how colors are being paired at the moment in fashion. As a winter, high contrast suits me, but I would never wear black trousers and a bright top, because that's a very dated look (in fact, I don't have any black trousers at all, as navy is my key neutral). Tonal is more in fashion at the minute, so I might wear mono-tone, or tonal but in a small range of deep colors with some contrast (so orchid pink skirt with indigo thin cashmere sweater).

tobee · 11/05/2025 15:50

ARainyNightInSoho · 11/05/2025 14:05

There's no real right or wrong though, because it's not maths. It's just something made up. I don't mean it's not useful, I think it really is, it's just that there are lots and lots of different versions of it and it also depends on subjective interpretation, lighting, type of fabric etc. etc.

I find Trinny Woodall's system much simpler, you don't have to pay for it and it really works. She says to decide if you are cool, warm or neutral. An easy way of doing this is if you suit silver (cool) gold (warm) or both silver and gold (neutral). This has really helped me decide what suits me and what doesn't.

While that's true, and I was correct in the colours I was always gravitating to that I'm a jewel winter, I actually found it very difficult to tell if I suited silver or gold best.

The thing with looking at your veins colour is also more confusing than you'd expect for some people.

EuclidianGeometryFan · 11/05/2025 16:38

As a redhead growing up, I had no idea what to wear apart from green or brown. I was really in a rut and looked drab and dull most of the time.

Had my colours done a couple of decades ago - I found out that as a Autumn I can wear at least a dozen colours I would never have thought of: golden yellow, orange, greyish navy, brick red, shades of peach, ivory, some purple, turquoise.

Literally life-changing.

RedCrochetedWigFace · 11/05/2025 16:42

I had it done by HOC years ago. I just don't "get it" though. Ive tried to stick to the colours but with the exception of 2 of them, I don't "see it".

Those 2 colours I knew I suited anyway and tbf they do put me solidly in the season they said.

I used to get lots of compliments on my clothes but I don't now. Someone suggested it was because people noticed the clothes, not me and now it's all much more harmonious but I'm not sure.

I've never really got how to use the colours either eg the claim that you can put any of the colours together and they'll look good is a lie. 🤣

I am tempted to do a shopping trip with a HOC advisor but need to save and get to a healthy weight first.

I'm a summer with strong leanings towards winter apparently.

sueelleker · 11/05/2025 17:10

I did mine years ago, when Colour Me Beautiful first came out; and confirmed I was Autumn. Since the palettes have become more sophisticated, I did it again; and I am a Soft Autumn. A lot of the brighter Autumn colours are too strong for me.

madaboutpurple · 11/05/2025 17:43

I had my colours done and was given info on putting clothes together that suited me. The lady also did my make up and gave me info on what colours to look for. I also had an afternoon where I went to shops with her and I tried on lots of things . It was a few years ago when Debenhams shops were open. It was really worth it as I now don't waste money on buying colours and styles that don't suit me.

TiredArse · 11/05/2025 17:56

AlphabettiTouretti · 11/05/2025 14:59

One of my schoolfriends "had her colours done" by her mum when she was a teenager, and a load of clothes in the corresponding colours for her birthday to follow. She's been wearing Autumn tones religiously ever since (more than 30 years).

The problem is, I'm pretty sure her mum got it wrong and she's actually a Spring. She really doesn't look so good in Autumn colours at all. I've never, ever had the nerve to mention this.

If you think your colours haven't been correctly classified (even by a professional), then please take that feeling seriously...

Maybe suggest that as she’s matured she might need it doing again? As skin tone and hair changes as we age?

AlphabettiTouretti · 11/05/2025 18:42

TiredArse · 11/05/2025 17:56

Maybe suggest that as she’s matured she might need it doing again? As skin tone and hair changes as we age?

Ooh, that's a good idea!

Honestly she could be wearing MUCH better colours for her...

CharlotteCChapel · 11/05/2025 19:44

I'm neutral, apart from my grey streak my hair has reddish tones, especially in sunlight, but I have blue eyes. My veins are neither blue or green and most colours look fine on me.

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