What started out as a simple guideline to help people figure out which colors flatter them most has morphed into a convoluted beast.
Of course, I’m talking about seasonal color analysis, the color-based styling craze sweeping the globe (and TikTok). If you’ve heard about it, you’ve probably tried to guess if you’re a winter, spring, summer, or autumn during casual chats with your friends. Maybe you’ve looked into it more seriously—performing DIY analysis tests or planning a hypothetical trip to Seoul to visit a world-renowned color analysis studio.
For those unfamiliar with seasonal color analysis, the original concept was fairly simple. It was introduced by color consultant Carole Jackson in 1980 with her book Color Me Beautiful. It categorized everyone into one of the four seasons—spring, summer, fall, or winter—based on characteristics like skin undertones, hair color, and eye color. Each season had its own palette of colors designed to flatter and enhance those features, offering guidance for wardrobe and makeup.
In its original form, seasonal color analysis was fun and beneficial. I remember learning about it as a kid, probably through a magazine quiz. I always thought I was an autumn given my warm undertones and dark coloring. Imagine my surprise when I revisited the concept decades later, only to learn there aren’t just four seasons anymore. Each season now has its own subsets—bright, warm, cool, light, cool, and deep—resulting in twelve different seasonal options now, all rife for misinterpretation.
The confusion isn’t limited to me—social media is full of people struggling with the same questions. I often see posts where users are invited to guess someone’s season, and, unsurprisingly, the answers in the comment section are always all over the place. Can anyone really belong to just one season, even with all these nuanced subcategories? Or are humans just too multifaceted to fit neatly into such boxes?
Maybe us non-analysts are confused because we lack the professional expertise of color consultants trained to discern the ever-changing seasons. Or maybe it’s because, at the end of the day, beauty and style are subjective. Over the course of my career in fashion— styling models and mannequins, creating aesthetically-pleasing visual displays, and writing numerous style guides—I’ve learned a thing or two about curating looks centred around flattering color palettes.
That said, I’m not trying to knock seasonal color analysis or say it’s a scam. I get it—we all want to look good, and to find easy ways to do so. That’s why stylists and personal shoppers exist. Not all of us are blessed with the ability to know what colors and silhouettes suit us most right off the bat.
I’ve spoken to people who’ve been professionally analyzed and were thrilled with the results. For many, it’s a worthwhile investment. But while having a seasonal profile can be a helpful foundation for building a wardrobe, it can also be limiting. Personally, I wouldn’t want to deprive myself of a piece I love because it doesn’t match my designated season. I’ve also seen women upset by their results, declaring they’ve spent their whole lives wearing ‘the wrong colors.’ Call me crazy, but I believe that if those colors made them feel good, they were right for them—analysis-approved or not.
Ultimately, I think most of us know when something doesn’t suit us, even without a background in fashion. There will always be pieces that we’re indecisive about, but it’s easy to spot the definite ‘nos’—whether it’s the silhouette, fabric, or color that’s wrong. I know that I could clear up my confusion about my season by going to a professional, or I could simply continue wearing what makes me feel good. After all, I’d hate for anyone to deny themselves an item that brings them joy just because it’s deemed a ‘bright spring’ rather than ‘deep autumn.’
Intuition is a powerful tool—perhaps even more powerful than a professional seasonal color analyst.