NEW PALESTINE, Ind. — I had deeply hoped at some point in writing this story, that I would finally get answers that have been percolating deep in my soul since I first stuck my face into a virtual green screen color wheel last year.
Am I a winter or summer? Perhaps a spring or autumn?
I wanted, at some point in our interviews, for one of the seasonal color consultants to look at my lackluster brown hair, pale skin, and see, not some 30-year-old lady in desperate need of a B12 supplement, but someone truly cut out to wear jewel tones like emerald green or royal blue. Someone who dazzles in jade or fuchsia, stuns in black and white.
I wanted someone, a real professional, to look me in the face and call me a winter.
“Some people are a little bit trickier. It's just kind of the way it is. Looking at you right now, I can't tell,” said the first seasonal color image consultant, mere minutes into our interview.
Well. We are such stuff as dreams are made on.
If this summer, winter, autumn, spring stuff is new to you, I’m talking about seasonal color analysis, a decades-old image styling tool now experiencing a resurgence bolstered in part by social media. Seasonal color analysis assigns you a season — summer, winter, autumn, spring — then gives you colors within a certain palette that suit the coloring of your skin and face.
It operates on the idea that every person has a specific season, or range of colors, that look best on them based on several factors: eye color, hair and skin tone. Seasonal color consultants typically say people have either a blue or yellow tone to their skin and then a contrast level within that that tells their season.
“This knowledge can also boost confidence, as wearing colors that complement your natural features, especially a matching hair shade, can make you feel more attractive and self-assured,” said image consultant Judy Stanisz, who works with the EU-based color consultation company Four Seasons Studio.
Certain celebrities have become associated with certain seasons within the color analysis space. Lupita Nyong'o, Jameela Jamil and Anne Hathaway are usually considered winters (jealous), while Zoe Saldaña, Rosario Dawson and Sarah Jessica Parker are typically associated with being summers. Tyra Banks, Amy Adams are likely springs, while autumn celebrities include Eva Mendez, Julia Roberts and Gigi Hadid.
“The differences between the color seasons are primarily based on the qualities of hue (warm or cool undertones), value (lightness or darkness), and chroma (muted or bright) in the individual's natural coloring,” Stanisz said.
Four Seasons Studio further divides the seasons into a total of 12 subcategories, reflecting a more nuanced approach to color matching:
Spring
Bright Spring: Bright and warm
True Spring: Warm and light
Light Spring: Light and warm
Summer
Light Summer: Light and muted
True Summer: Cool, and muted
Soft Summer: Muted and cool
Autumn
Soft Autumn: Muted and warm
True Autumn: Warm and muted
Dark Autumn: Dark and warm
Winter
Dark Winter: Dark and cool
True Winter: Cool and bright
Bright Winter: Bright and cool
The color season analysis trend took off in 2023, after the introduction of several color filters on TikTok let users put their face in the middle of a color wheel, or several different colors, to see which ones suit them best. But color imaging has been around since at least the publication of the 1980 book, "Color Me Beautiful" by Carole Jackson, and continued as a way for people to find their signature color.
“It made people aware of the fact that looking good or bad in specific colors is not a coincidence, same for makeup and hair colors. Social media has shown to many people of all ages the transformative effects of how wearing specific colors can enhance your looks, and make you look younger, less tired, more vibrant,” Stanisz said.
Seasonal color analysts have noticed an uptick in people requesting their season. Amber Fitzgerald is based at House of Colour in New Palestine, a franchise that has two locations in Indiana, the other one is in Carmel. She started her professional image consultant business a year and a half ago, and has seen an increase in clients seeking out her services.
“I absolutely love all the women, and it's been wonderful to have seen more people getting into this work, have seen more of an interest,” Fitzgerald said.
And, it turns out, I’m not the only one walking around with an incorrect assumption on my season based off what I saw on a TikTok filter. Fitzgerald first believed her red hair made her an autumn by default until she had a professional color analysis assessment and found, lo and behold, she is actually a spring capable of pulling off pastels and brighter colors.
“If I put a black drape on me right now, you’d see that’s not my color. That’s very obvious. But once we get to the warm versus autumn and spring, that’s when it gets a little bit trickier to figure out,” Fitzgerald said.
That information saw Fitzgerald swapping out oranges for bright pinks and coaching others on how to do the same. The draping process is key to this type of consultation, she says, and her clients can expect to be draped in different shades and be given a makeup tutorial.
Seasonal color assessments can help people streamline what clothes they want in their closet.
“I don’t have a closet full of clothes that I never wear anymore because I know what I have is either my style and my color. If it isn’t, it’s gone,” Fitzgerald said.
Services can be pricey: Fitzgerald’s sessions run a little over $300 for a complete analysis and style consultation, while the online style service Four Seasons offers tiered pricing of services that start at 100 euros.
But they’re price points that are typical within the color season space, and Fitzgerald allows clients to do group consultations to lower the price.
If you don’t want to spend the money, but still want an idea of what your season is, there are some easier — though less specific — at-home tests.
“The best way is to compare different colors on yourself from different color seasons. You should be without makeup and if they have dyed hair, should take into account your natural hair color. To determine if you have a warm or cool undertone, you can try on gold jewelry (warm) or silver jewelry (cool) and check which one looks best on you,” Staintz said.
And stay away from this common hack.
“I would also like to address the myth of the veins test — it doesn't work. It is simply not a 100% accurate way to determine your undertone. It depends on more factors,” Staintz said.
Fitzgerald also cautions these types of services are not a ban or strict moratorium on wearing certain colors. If you love a color that’s not in your official color palette, keep wearing it. And it’s wrong to assume one specific season is better than another.
It’s all, she says, about what works for you.
“I don't want to put people in a box, and I'm also never gonna tell them, well, you shouldn't wear that color. Because, you know, you paid for the clothing. Wear what makes you feel good,” Fitzgerald said.
And that’s great news. Because in the chance I do take that professional assessment, and end up being a dark autumn or soft summer, it’ll be hard to part with the winter tones already piled high in my closet…
Where to get a color consultation near Indianapolis:
House of Colour - Carmel and New Palestine
Stephanie Grabow - Style Collective - Carmel, Fishers, central Indiana
Beth Divine Style - Indianapolis, central Indianapolis
