The colors of the twelve seasons
Every color in the seasonal palettes, with its hex code, the seasons that can wear it, the colors it gets mistaken for, and what's in stock in it right now.
Everything we've written, newest first. Each guide is refreshed monthly with a new set of in-stock picks; the writing changes only when we have something new to say.
Every color in the seasonal palettes, with its hex code, the seasons that can wear it, the colors it gets mistaken for, and what's in stock in it right now.
Both seasons are warm and earthy, and both get handed the same rack of rust and olive every September. The difference is how much color you can carry. True Autumn is fully warm and rich: pumpkin, rust, mustard. Soft Autumn is warm with grey folded in: dusty terracotta, sage, warm taupe. Hold a rust against a dusty terracotta and see which one wears you.
Both seasons are cool, medium in depth and better in rose than in red. The difference is how much grey your colors need. True Summer is fully cool and can carry a clear cool rose or a soft fuchsia. Soft Summer is cool with grey folded in, and looks best in dusty rose, mauve and slate. Hold a cool rose against a dusty rose and watch which one disappears into your face.
Both seasons are warm, rich and at home in rust. The difference is depth. True Autumn is golden and medium-deep: pumpkin, mustard, moss. Dark Autumn is deeper and a shade less warm: oxblood, mahogany, deep teal. Hold a pumpkin against an oxblood and see which one your face holds up to.
Both seasons are pale, delicate and low-contrast, which makes this the hardest pair in the system to separate. Depth and softness are nearly identical, so undertone is the whole game. Light Spring is warm: peach, coral and warm gold light you up. Light Summer is cool: powder blue, soft rose and lavender do the same job.
Both seasons are muted, medium in depth and allergic to loud color, which is why quizzes flip between them. The whole difference is one degree of temperature. Soft Summer leans cool: mauve, slate, dusty rose. Soft Autumn leans warm: camel, terracotta, soft mustard. Drape a dusty rose against a soft terracotta and watch your skin.
Both seasons are dark and rich, and easy to confuse because depth is loud and drowns out everything else. The split is temperature. Deep Winter is cool: black and jewel tones sharpen your face. Dark Autumn is warm: espresso, rust and olive make you glow. Draping settles it.
Bright Winter, also called Clear Winter, is the highest-chroma season in the system, cool with a faint neutral edge that lets it go fully electric: hot pink, electric blue, bright emerald, true red. Black works; muted and dusty do not.
Bright Spring, also called Clear Spring, is warm and extremely high-chroma. Your colors are electric and sunlit: coral red, clear aqua, golden yellow, warm turquoise, bright emerald, hot warm pink. Muted and icy both flatten you.
True Spring, also called Warm Spring, is warm and bright at a light-to-medium value. Your colors are fresh and sunlit: coral, tomato red, golden yellow, warm turquoise, grass green, peach. Black and cool tones both fight you.
Light Spring is light, warm and bright, the warm-neutral corner of the light seasons. Your colors are delicate and sunlit: peach, warm coral, light golden yellow, mint, warm aqua, warm ivory. Black and heavy darks overwhelm you.
Light Summer is light, cool and soft, the cool-neutral corner of the light seasons. Your colors are fresh and serene: powder blue, soft rose, lavender, cool mint, periwinkle, soft grey-blue. Black and warm earth tones both overwhelm you.
True Summer, also called Cool Summer, is the purely cool, softly clear heart of the Summer family. Your colors are blue-based and gentle: cool rose, soft navy, blue-green, periwinkle, cool raspberry. Black and warm earth tones both work against you.
Soft Summer, also called Muted Summer, is cool and muted with low contrast. Your colors are smoky and greyed: dusty rose, slate blue, soft mauve, eucalyptus. Bright and warm both drain you. This is the season people mistype themselves as most often.
Soft Autumn, sometimes called Muted Autumn, is warm and muted with low contrast. Your colors are gentle and earthy: camel, sage, olive, warm taupe, dusty terracotta. Nothing bright, nothing icy. The bright stuff wears you instead of the other way around.
True Autumn, also called Warm Autumn, is the most purely warm season. Your colors are golden and earthy at medium-to-deep value: pumpkin, rust, mustard, moss, terracotta, warm teal. Black and icy tones both fight you.
Dark Autumn, also called Deep Autumn, is the warm, deep end of the autumn family. Your colors are jewel-earth at real depth: oxblood, deep teal, rust, mustard, mahogany. You carry near-black better than any other autumn. The trap is icy or pale, which drains you flat.
Deep Winter, also called Dark Winter, is the darkest of the three Winter palettes: cool-neutral in undertone, deep in value, high in contrast. Your best colors are black, blackened navy, black cherry, emerald, cool blue-red, and royal purple, with icy pink and icy blue as light accents. Camel and olive drain you.
True Winter, also called Cool Winter, is the purely cool season at full clarity. Your colors are blue-based and vivid: true red, cobalt, emerald, magenta, icy pastels. Black and pure white both belong to you, which few seasons can say.