Most women dress in the colours they were told were safe. Black, beige, navy — the uniform of not getting it wrong. But "not wrong" isn't the same as right, and the colours that flatten you are usually the ones you reach for most.
This edit does one thing: it helps you find the family of colours that make you look lit from inside, and name the ones quietly working against you. Knowing your season is the foundation. What you do with it is the wardrobe.
Everything starts with undertone — whether your skin leans warm (golden, peachy) or cool (pink, blue-based). Stand near a window in natural light, no makeup, and run these.
Hold a pure white fabric under your chin, then a cream one. Cool undertones look clearer and brighter against pure white. Warm undertones look healthier against cream — pure white can make them grey.
Look at the veins on the inside of your wrist in daylight. Blue or purple leans cool. Green leans warm. If you genuinely can't tell, you may be neutral — lean on the fabric test instead.
Hold silver jewellery to your face, then gold. One will brighten and lift; the other will dull. Silver flatters cool, gold flatters warm. This is often the most decisive of the three.
Undertone tells you warm or cool. Depth and clarity tell you which of the four seasons within that. Warm splits into Spring and Autumn; cool splits into Summer and Winter.
Warm + bright + light → Spring. Warm + deep + muted → Autumn. Cool + soft + light → Summer. Cool + deep + clear → Winter.
Coral, warm turquoise, golden yellow, fresh greens, ivory. A Spring in coral looks alive. A Spring in black looks unwell — swap black for warm browns and ivory.
Rust, olive, forest, terracotta, camel, deep gold. Autumns wear the richest, most grounded palette of all. Pure white and icy pastels drain them — reach for cream and warm neutrals instead.
Soft blues, dusty rose, sage, lavender, soft grey. Summers suit muted, blended tones — anything too sharp or bright overwhelms them. Soft navy works better than black.
True red, emerald, royal purple, pure white, black. Winter is the one season that genuinely wears black well — and the only one. Pure, clear, high-contrast colour is its strength.
Most women sit cleanly in one of the four. But each season has three sub-types — a softer version, a truer version, and one that borrows from its neighbour. A "Soft Autumn" leans toward Summer's muting; a "Bright Spring" leans toward Winter's clarity.
You don't need this to dress well. The four seasons get you the vast majority of the way. The twelve-season layer is for when you've lived in your palette a while and want to fine-tune the edges.
From now on, your season is a filter you run before anything enters the wardrobe. In a shop or online, the first question isn't "do I like it" — it's "is this in my palette." If it's not, it'll hang unworn, however lovely.
The high-low principle: colour is where high street and high end become indistinguishable. A £30 knit in exactly your season reads more expensive than a £300 one in the wrong colour. Spend on cut, fabric, and the pieces you wear constantly — but never pay a premium for a colour that doesn't suit you.
One. Run the three undertone tests in daylight and name your season.
Two. Open your wardrobe and pull the five pieces you reach for least. Check them against your palette — most will be in the wrong one.
Three. Before your next purchase, run the filter. Buy only what's in your colours.