If you have gone shopping with me, chances are you’ve heard me say something like, “no, you’re a summer, that Color is much too warm for you!” Now, if you haven’t heard of the Seasonal Color Analysis, that may just sound like a foreign language. What the heck is my season? But I promise you I am speaking english! Stay with me and I will explain to you how I use this method to help me find clothes and makeup to help me look and feel my best.

Seasonal color analysis is, in a nutshell, a system that uses color theory to divide us into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Based on the undertones and shades naturally found on our bodies, we can find out which colors will suit us best. Basically, you know when you wear a certain color and people say, “wow, that’s your color!”? Well yeah, it helps us find those.

What is it used for?

It’s been eye opening to me to figure out my own coloring and tailor my wardrobe to flatter what I specifically look like. When I consult other pinups on what to wear to events and how to do their makeup, I often incorporate the four seasons. But unfortunately, I can’t be there to talk to all of you all the time! So I will do my best to explain this process, how to find your type, and then what to do with that information!

*A small disclaimer: This is only one theory on how to dress, and although seasonal color analysis is widely used it isn’t the be-all, end-all. There is no hard and fast way to dress to look pretty, but this does serve as a starting point to understand what looks good on you. I also think that in terms of beauty, you need to know the rules before you can properly break them. Just know that this is only my opinion and you are not obligated to do anything on this list. It’s just for fun!

Basic Color Theory

Fun fact: I went to college for painting. Heck yeah! Which not only means that I can tell a Rembrandt from a Kandinsky, but that color theory is totally my jam. I am going to talk about how colors can be influenced by three characteristics. AKA the color aspects, which are: value, chroma, and hue.

Value

Value is just how light or dark a color is! It’s pretty simple. Colors get darker when they have black added to them, and they get lighter when they have white added to them.

As with colors, your features will be either light or dark. Probably somewhere in the middle, but they tip one of those ways on the scale.

Hue / Temperature

Hue(or the temperature) describes how warm or cool a color is. Just think of it like the sun or the moon. Is it more yellow or blue? If there is more yellow added, it’s warm. More blue, and it’s cool.

And that goes for you too! All colors will be able to be classified as either warm or cool, including the ones in your skin, hair, and eyes. This is a big part of finding your season.

Chroma

Last but certainly not least is chroma. Chroma is used to identify whether a color is bright or dull. When a color is clear(or bright and saturated), it is pure color. As gray is added, it becomes more muted and subdued.

I am sure that already you either prefer one of these extremes and tend to gravitate toward one. That will help you determine your place in seasonal analysis.

The Four Seasons (and their Sub-types)

I made this handy dandy diagram to showcase all four of the types! We have spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each of the seasons is divided by whether it is light or dark, then whether it is warm or cool. Here is the full breakdown!

Light + Warm = Spring

People with a spring complexion have warm undertones and light features such as golden blonde hair and green eyes. Some famous pinup examples include Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe, Ann Margret, Grace Kelly, and Jayne Mansfield.

Light + Cool = Summer

People with a summer complexion have cool undertones and light features such as light brown hair and icy blue eyes. Some famous vintage examples of summers include Lauren Bacall, Ethel Waters, Doris Day, Jean Shrimpton, and Lana Turner.

Dark + Warm = Autumn

People with an autumn complexion have warm undertones and darker features such as chesnut brown hair and hazel eyes. Some famous pinup examples include Rita Hayworth, Dorothy Dandridge, Sophia Loren, Hedy Lamarr, and Katherine Hepburn.

Dark + Cool = Winter

People who have winter complexions have cool undertones and darker features such as jet black hair and deep brown eyes. Some famous vintage winters include Audrey Hepburn, Hattie Mcdaniel, Elizabeth Taylor, Eartha Kitt, and Vivien Leigh.

And believe it or not, there are even sub types within each season that narrow it down further. But that doesn’t matter currently, we are just talking about the four seasons in general and how to find out which one you fall under!

How To Figure out Your Season

Seasonal color analysis seems hard, but it’s actually pretty simple. To determine which season you are, first you will need to find out whether you have warm or cool undertones. How do you do that?

Warm or Cool?

First, take a look at your skin. Does it have a more red, pink-y color to it? Or is it yellow? Yellow means you are warm. Red and pink mean you have cool undertones.Oftentimes if you are cool toned, the veins in your wrists will appear blue or purple. If you are warm toned, they will appear green.

Another thing to look at is your hair. Keep in mind we are talking about your natural hair color! If your hair has changed color or dulled over time, you should go by the color your hair was when you were a child. Warm hair will look warm or reddish, whereas cool hair will look mousy or have a blue-ish hue.

Lastly, what you need to look at is your eyes! Whatever color they are, you can see if they are warm or cool. Warm eyes are usually described as golden, tawny, or amber. Eyes that are cool are often called deep, brilliant, or sparkling. These are all just generalities, though.

Overall, you should be able to determine whether your overall coloring is cool or warm! Keep that in mind and we will figure out the second half of what determines your season.

Light or Dark?

Second, are you overall light or dark? If you are light you will have hair colors such as blonde, light brown, or red. You eyes can be green or blue. Skin will be fair or porcelain. Dark complexions have hair colors such as auburn, brown or black, and eyes that are brown or hazel. Your skin will be tan or dark.

Sometimes it is easy for you to determine if you are dominantly light or dark, but for some people it is difficult! For example, I have golden blonde hair and dark brown eyes. Some people are closer to the middle of either light or dark than others.

Something to note: Having light or dark features is dependent on your race. You probably noticed that though Ethel Waters is african american, she is a summer and a light complexion. That is because she has light skin for her race. So keep that in mind when looking into seasonal color analysis.

Based on that information, you should fit in one of the four seasons. It’s okay if you are closer to the middle of the spectrum, and maybe don’t seem to fit perfectly into one category. I will have a complete guide to all of the seasons coming out soon!

What does this mean for me?

Well, based on which season you are, you are able to know which colors will look good on you, which will flatter you, and which can wash you out. There are quite a few lists out there of which colors go with which seasons, and so I decided to make these concise diagrams to show you generally what they are.

Something I think is important to mention is that oftentimes you can feel put into a little box, but whatever your season is, you can wear every color!

For example, all the seasons can wear yellow and look great, but they all have to wear different yellows. Springs can wear a bright sunshine yellow, summers, wear a buttery yellow, autumns suit mustard, and winters look great in an icy yellow. Whatever color you want to wear, you can do it! You just need to find one with the right hue and undertone.

In my opinion, this is a great way to build a wardrobe. Especially for pageants and other pinup events, because who doesn’t want to look their best for those? I can play to my strengths because I know my strengths. Seasonal color analysis helps you identify those. Sometimes I want to wear pastels, but you won’t see me wearing them at events because I know they aren’t my best.

What if I like a color that’s not in my season!?

Well, in short, gurl, do what you want. As I mentioned before, this is just one theory in a sea of others. Seasonal color analysis is awesome, but not gospel. If you think you look good in neon orange and you are a summer complexion, you wear that neon orange! I am not here to boss you around, you educate you on this one way of approaching fashion.

Personally, I like to use this as a springboard and a jumping-off point to my outfits. Instead of focusing on what you “can’t” wear, take a good look at all the colors in your season. When I started into seasonal color analysis, it was fun to try new colors that I never considered would look good on me! Now, burnt orange is one of my favorites, when before I never would have considered it.

If there is a color you love, but it isn’t on your list, do not worry! Maybe it’s the exact opposite of what you should be wearing. There are things you can do to include it. For me, I love lavender. But for an autumn such as myself, I really don’t look good in it. What you can do is find accessories in those colors, such as a purse or jewelry. Or, I will find a color in my season to go with lavender, like navy, and wear a navy shirt up near my face, then a skirt with lavender in it.

In some cases, you could even dye your hair to fit with what seasonal color you want to be. It can change things! Whatever you do though, make sure you are doing it because you want to, and not to fit some arbitrary standard.

So what are your thoughts? And more importantly, what is your season? All this month I will be publishing a styling guide for each season, as well as complete guide on how to figure out your sub-type. I hope this all made sense and you were able to get some ideas on what you can do to enhance your own personal style. If you want to know how to build a pinup wardrobe for cheap, I have a post on that, so go take a look. See you soon!

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