Do You Need to Know Your Colour Season to Look Stylish?An Honest Take
This isn’t a blog about how to find your colour season.
It’s not a step-by-step guide or a pitch for colour analysis. I’m not here to tell you to throw out your black tops or carry a season palette on your phone like it’s gospel.
What it is...
...is me, sharing some honest thoughts on the world of colour analysis based on my experience. Because a bunch of you on Instagram asked me to! (If you're not following me, find me here)
To begin, let me brief you on my experience with colour analysis! Yes, I’ve had my colour analysis done. I was trained in it, actually. And I get why it appeals. At the start of finding your style, you're seeking a lens or a filter to apply to decide what’s “right” for you to wear, and a beautifully curated seasonal palette is exactly that kind of filter.
You could most likely walk into a shop and almost disregard at least 50% of what’s there as not being for you because it’s not “your season”. And that could be great, but it could also leave you staring down the barrel of a variety of things that are the right colour but you don’t love the style or shape of them or vice versa!
I’ve also seen how it can go sideways. How it can make people feel boxed in, scared to scribble outside the lines, or worse, like they’re “getting it wrong.” Or even women clearing out entire sections of their wardrobes because they didn’t fit their season, only to deeply regret it later when they realise they could have styled items differently.
So this post is more of an exploration, a bit of high-level geekery and reflection, on where colour analysis can help, where it might not, and what I actually think matters when it comes to choosing colours that make you feel f*ck yeah!
Where Colour Analysis Can Be A Useful Nudge
Like I mentioned, I’ve had colour analysis done myself. And at first, I found it really interesting. It gave me a bit of a nudge to revisit colours I hadn’t worn in a while. like pink tones, which I’d kind of ignored. It was fun at the beginning, looking at the palettes and matching up shades.
But after a while, honestly, it got a bit faffy.
Pulling up my charts while shopping to try and match every item to the right “season” ( I did have a brief time of thinking I was "getting it wrong if I strayed off season) or trying to fit the top half of all my outfits into my season started to zap the joy out of getting dressed!
And that’s why even though I was trained in colour analysis, it’s not something I offer now. Because it’s not how I work.
I don’t want to give you a set of colours and send you on your way. I want to help you develop the skill of noticing. Of tuning in to what a colour actually does to your face, your energy, your confidence. And discovering what you actually like.
As a personal stylist and style coach, my work is not about helping you to follow rules; it’s about teaching you styling skills to help you put together outfits you love and to help you build trust in your own taste.
When Colour Rules Get In The Way
As with most things in this great life of ours, not everything works for everyone. Some people find colour analysis genuinely helpful. Others? It just makes them feel boxed in.
Depending on the practitioner, you might walk away thinking you can’t wear black, or that you’ll look completely washed out in certain colours, so you MUST avoid them at all costs!
And sure, not all colours are equal in the impact they have on your face; some shades worn on their own might not light you up the same as others, but that doesn’t mean you can’t wear them at all.
There are always tweaks that can be made, like adding a necklace, a scarf, lipstick, or playing with a clever layer like a shirt under a top (one of my fav tricks) that changes the impact of a colour.
So it’s not about banning colours. It’s about understanding how to use them in ways that feel good for you.
When Style Gets Too Technical
There is a point for me (and probably for most of the women I work with), when style systems like colour, or others like Kibbe, get too bloody deep in the weeds!
Too many charts or too much analysis, and I’m suddenly right back in senior school maths with Mr Manners, staring at algebra in despair and wondering what the hell I’m meant to do with it!
And I don’t know if you’ve ever ventured onto Reddit, but my god, you only have to spend five minutes on there to find people deep, deep diving into “true” types and micro-classifications and God knows what else. And for me, that's just exhausting and results in my brain shutting down because it's overwhelmed!
And when that happens, we default to what’s familiar.
That’s what your brain does when it’s overwhelmed. It pulls you back to the easy stuff. The habitual choices that don’t require effort or thought. Which is a totally human response, but it’s also where style ruts live.
If you want to reconnect with your personal style (really reconnect), you’ve got to gently stretch beyond that. Nudge the edges of what feels safe. Try things. Get it wrong. Play. Because that’s where the magic lives.
Yes, I’m a style geek and love figuring out why outfits did or didn't work (see outfits that didn't work here ) and how I can improve them next time. But I’m also a free spirit. For me, style should feel expansive, not restrictive.
So, how I work with clients it’s not about rigid systems. It’s about helping you build your own style. Helping you build personal filters that help you make choices and help you find your fuck yeah style.
And one of the most powerful filters you can use is tuning into what you actually like! (And you might be thinking I don't know what I like, and if that's you, spend 5 minutes on Pinterest looking at outfit inspo through the lens of "do I like that?" If yes, "Why do I like that?" If no "Why not?"!
What Actually Matters with Colour
So if we’re not doing seasons and palettes, what are we doing?
For me, it’s about noticing how colours land on you both physically, mentally and emotionally and assessing whether you like the impact they have.
Here are three things to observe and experiment with when it comes to the physical impact colours have...
1. Warm vs Cool
This is about undertones. Your skin has an undertone (warm, cool, neutral) which doesn’t change. And colours themselves also lean warm (golden, yellow-based) or cool (icy, blue-based).
My undertone is cool-to-neutral, so I notice if I wear something that’s very warm right by my face, it doesn’t totally wash me out, but I do notice I look a bit less fresh. Cooler, dustier tones usually give me more of a glowy effect!
That said, I’ll still wear warm tones, I just might tweak it with lipstick, jewellery, or how I layer it.
So have a play with warm vs cool and observe what happens to your complexion, eyes, and general glow when you wear colours with warmer undertones versus those with cooler undertones?
Also, how do you feel in them? I notice when I wear outfits that run the full gamut of a traditional "autumnal" palette, I don't feel great in them!
Sidenote: Colours don't give two hoots about seasons, so give yourself permission to wear summer in winter and spring in autumn if that's what makes you happy!
2. Colour Intensity
After undertones, the next thing worth noticing is intensity, basically, how strong or soft a colour is.
The simplest way to break it down is into four groups:
Light → softer, paler shades (like pastels or airy tones).
Dark → deeper, richer shades (think jewel tones like emerald or burgundy).
Muted → colours that look softer, slightly greyed or dusty.
Bright → bold, saturated colours that really pop.
“Light” and “muted” sit on the softer end of the scale. “Dark” and “bright” sit on the more intense end.
The experiment is simply to notice how different intensities land on you! (Enjoy an assortment of bad passport pics to demo my point!)
When you put on a softer or lighter shade, does it feel easy, like it blends with your features, or does it just leave you a bit flat?
When you put on something deeper or brighter, does it sit comfortably, like it belongs on you? Or does it feel like the colour’s wearing you, either swallowing you up or sitting awkwardly on top?
And sometimes, you might just feel neutral. That’s useful too. The point isn’t to rank colours as good or bad, it’s to pay attention to how they interact with you.
I also observed that washed-out pastels are not for me; they're too wishy-washy and make my face look weirdly yellow-green sometimes! And that colours like a deep, intense jewel green or wine red have this overpowering, jarring impact on my face. Like they're fighting with it!
So for me, the Goldilocks and three bear shades, the ones that are not too intense and not too light, are the ones I like best!
Back when I worked as cabin crew, we had to wear bright red nail polish and lipstick. I hated how that colour looked against my skin. It felt too harsh. So these days I would opt for a softer red shade, which works much better.
So that’s another little test you can try. Pay attention not just to clothes near your face, but to things like nail polish or lipstick. Notice which intensities feel “ahh, yes” and which ones feel like they’re fighting you.
Neither is right nor wrong. It’s just another filter you can use to notice what feels good.
3. Contrast Levels
Here’s a little experiment you can try if you’re curious about whether you might prefer brighter, more intense colours or softer, more muted ones.
Take a photo of yourself and put it in black-and-white.
If you see that you’re more low contrast, so there isn’t a huge difference between your skin, hair, and eyes, you might find you enjoy the impact of gentler, more blended shades, but also you might not!
Test: Try some softer, more muted colours and then try brighter ones. Notice the impact each has, and which you prefer.
If you’re more high contrast, so there’s a strong difference between your features, do the same. You might notice you like the drama of bolder, brighter colours, but again, you might not.
Test: Try out softer tones versus bolder, more intense ones, and see how they interact with your face.
Or if you're like me, you might be medium contrast, which just means you're in the middle and might not have an overly strong pull in either direction!
It’s not about better or worse. It’s not about right or wrong. It’s just extra information you can use to experiment with colour more intentionally. It’s a lens you can use to notice what’s going on.
But overall, the biggest thing is to learn to trust what you prefer!
A Note on Contrast
Contrast isn’t about light skin versus dark skin. It’s about how your features sit together.
It’s not the depth of your skin tone; it’s the differences between your skin, hair, and eyes. That’s why the black-and-white photo trick works as a quick assessment across all skin tones.
Why "Just Wear What You Want" Isn't Always the Best Answer
When I first asked on Instagram what this week’s blog should be about, I gave two options: colour analysis or body shape dressing. Someone replied to say, “Neither, please, women should just wear what they want.”
And yeah. I get that. I really do.
But the thing is, “just wear what you want” isn’t always helpful because what if you don’t know what you want? That’s the reality for so many of the women I work with.
After years of building businesses, raising kids, and looking after everyone else, it’s easy to lose touch with what actually feels like you. So what ends up happening is that just wear what you want becomes just wear what’s easiest.
Which often means wearing what’s safe, what’s familiar, the same things on repeat. And that’s where the magic gets lost and why things start to feel “fine” instead of fuck yeah!
That’s where style tools, like colour analysis or body shape theory, CAN sometimes offer something. Not as rules. But as stepping stones. Temporary guides to help rebuild the link between how you feel and what you put on your body.
BUTTTTTTTT
The Ultimate Goal Is Self-Trust
When I’m working with someone right at the start of their style journey, we don’t begin with rules or systems. We start with you.
I’ll often ask questions like:
If you had no fear, what would you wear?
How do you feel in the outfits you reach for most?
What part of yourself do you want to highlight?
From there, I’ll get you to start documenting your outfit (because the clues are usually already hiding in your wardrobe)
We look for the throughlines: what’s lighting you up, what’s falling flat, and how you actually feel in what you wear.
Together, we build a base “style recipe” that feels solidly like you. Then I show you how to remix it — how to tweak an outfit for a different vibe or occasion, and how to change the energy of a look without throwing everything out and starting again.
That’s the real goal.
My job as a personal stylist and style coach isn’t to type you into colour charts or style boxes. It’s to help you experiment, adjust, and develop the confidence to trust your taste and trust what you see in the mirror.
So the next time you stand in front of the mirror, the question isn’t “Is this in my season?” but “Do I like what this does for me today?”.
Because honestly, that’s the real magic.
At the end of the day, style and colours impact us in so many ways: our skin, our mood, our confidence. Whether that fits neatly into a category or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that you love it. That’s the real point. So it's not about the formulas or charts. It’s about noticing what you like and what makes F*ck Yeah!
And to conclusively answer the question in the title of the blog, "Do You Need to Know Your Colour Season to Look Stylish?" IMO the answer is NO!
If you’re ready to dip a toe, start with a Style Power Hour, a focused, one-off styling session to help you remix your wardrobe with fresh eyes. Find more details here.. Or if you want more support you can check out my 6 week Style Shift 1:1 program here.
Catch you next time.
Sarah xxx
PS: You can grab some style freebies here
Author Bio
Sarah Duff: Visibility Style Coach, founder of The Holistic Personal Stylist & creator of F*ck Yeah Style.
I help ambitious women find their Fck Yeah personal style so they can show up magnetically everywhere — from big life moments to everyday magic. ✨ Your Fck Yeah Style is calling. Come say hi on Instagram @theholisticpersonalstylist or explore the style tools above.
