Blues by Season: Color Analysis Study
Hey there, stylish friends!
Let’s dive into one of the most universally loved colors: blue. Everyone can rock a variety of blues, but here’s the thing: there’s no one-size-fits-all blue. No, not even Royal Blue.
The perfect shade of blue for you depends on your seasonal color analysis. If you don’t know your colors yet, no worries! You can get professionally analyzed with us from anywhere with the ColorKit™!
So, let’s get to it. Here’s a quick reminder of the “code words” for each season:
Spring: Light, warm, and bright
Summer: Light, cool, and soft
Autumn: Deep, warm, and soft
Winter: Deep, cool, and bright
Each season has three sub-seasons, and finding your perfect blue will depend on where you fall within these categories.
Ready to find the perfect blue for your sub-season? Check out the graphics below!
Spring: Light, Warm, and Bright
Light Spring: Peppy, tropical blues like Light Warm Aqua and Clear Light Blue will enhance your delicate, neutral-warm features. Summer-adjacent shades like Periwinkle and Medium Blue are especially versatile and elegant on you. Don’t worry too much about finding the “warmest” blue possible. You have the gift of neutrality, making warm blues like Aqua and cool blues like Periwinkle equally stunning.
Warm Spring: You can go slightly deeper with your blues compared to Light Spring, as your stronger coloring can maintain balance. Light Teal or Light Warm Aqua are especially stunning on you. While Bright Periwinkle Blue may appear to be a “cool” color, it has a touch of complexity and all the saturation you need to shine your brightest. You’ll be surprised how fabulous it looks on you!
Bright Spring: You are on the neutral side of warm, and your comparatively higher contrast means that you can go quite light and quite saturated with your blues. Lagoon Blue and Light True Blue are uniquely beautiful on you, and you’ll never go back to regular navy after seeing yourself in Light Clear Navy. Periwinkle and Medium Blue may seem a bit pale at first, but pair them with a pop of bright red and you’ll be obsessed!
I thought Spring was a warm season. Why are there so many cool-toned blues shown here?
The three code words for Spring colors are Light, Warm, and Bright - but any single color must satisfy only two of those words to qualify as a Spring color. For example, Medium Blue isn’t warm at all, but it’s light enough and bright enough (little to no gray content) to suit a Spring just as well as Light Warm Aqua (which is light, warm, AND bright). Beware of color perfectionism - there are thousands of beautiful colors that suit your season that you’ll never see on sample palettes. Learn to use the code words with authority, and you’ll never fret over color names, matching your swatches, or following the “rules” ever again!
Summer: Light, Cool, and Soft
Light Summer: Go for Medium Blue and Clear Light Blue. These slightly bright shades will bring out the best in your fresh, cool-neutral complexion. You can go slightly more “peppy” than your Cool or Soft Summer counterparts. You share your periwinkles and special Light Clear Navy with the Spring season.
Cool Summer: Your perfect blues are Sky Blue, Gray Blue, and Powder Blue. These colors will harmonize with your cool undertones. Go for the most decidedly “blue-blues” and lean into shades with a gray influence as much as possible. You have the widest variety of blues, from icy pastels to Classic Navy - a shared shade with your sister season, Cool Winter.
Soft Summer: Choose muted, smoky Gray Blue, hazy Teal Blue, and a variety of “washed” navy shades, which will blend seamlessly with your hazy, neutral-cool coloring. Opt for blues that are blended with hints of green, gray, or purple, and use the “peppy” blues of Light Spring sparingly.
Why does Summer have more blues than Spring?
Because Summer is a cool AND soft season, more variations of blue tones are suitable for the palette, from near-white, to grayish, to purplish, green-ish, and nearly every version of navy from dusty to rather deep. Spring blues must be bright (no gray influences) and/or warm (blue with yellow influences) - which allows for fewer variations with less nuance.
Autumn: Deep, Warm, and Soft
Soft Autumn: The blues of Autumn are your happy place - with one exception: Dark Periwinkle. It’s simply too intense for your nuanced, slightly delicate coloring. Your WOWs are going to be virtually every shade of teal, but especially Teal Blue and Muted Turquoise. Warm and Deep Autumns don’t have the gentle complexity needed to wear these shades from head to toe - but you do!
Warm Autumn: All of the variations of Teal will highlight your warm, rich complexion beautifully. Teal Blue and Dark Periwinkle are too pale and too cool, respectively, to showcase your rich, dimensional coloring. Teal is your zone of power - and every shade you can find will suit you beautifully. Be especially careful with navy. You will fall flat in a standard navy, so when in doubt, opt for brown instead. Ask yourself, does this navy look like a super-dark teal? If so, it’s your special (and sadly, hard to find) Marine Navy!
Deep Autumn: While you can use an incorporate the lighter teals in patterns and accessories, when it comes to head-to-toe looks like a jumpsuit or special dress, opt for the richest, moodiest blues, like Dark Periwinkle. You may be tempted to assume it’s too cool for you, but trust us, it will pop magnificently on your higher contrast, neutral-warm coloring. Just make sure the one you choose reads “dark” rather than “bright”.
Why are blues so hard for Autumns?
When we think of “blue”, we picture a cool, usually bright, “Crayola” blue - or variations of that shade. Autumns need complexity and warmth - neither of which describe a typical “blue-blue”. We often hear our new Autumns say that they LOVE teal, but the only blue they look good in is “royal blue” - a close cousin of their gorgeous Dark Periwinkle! Once they make the switch to these instead of standard blues like powder blue and cobalt, everything clicks into place.
Winter: Deep, Cool, and Bright
Bright Winter: Your best blues are peppy and electric, like Lagoon Blue, Hot Turquoise, or Chinese Blue. These shades will make your neutral-cool, clear features pop. It honestly doesn’t get more stunning than a Bright Winter in her blues. Prepare yourself for compliments!
Cool Winter: A broad range of blues like Icy Blue, True Blue, and Classic Navy hit all three “zones” of your Winter colors (icy pastels, “jewel tones”, and inky darks). Cool Winters have the most “range” of the Winters, able to carry off any of the three “zones” in head-to-toe pieces. Build your wardrobe to showcase this range, and you’ll never get bored!
Deep Winter: Deep, dramatic blues such as Royal Blue and Dark Navy will perfectly complement your neutral-cool, saturated coloring. I promise - your bold blues are not too much on you, they are the exact right amount of color. Stand in your natural intensity and take up space as the bold beauty you are. Offset your dark blues with silver jewelry and you won’t be able to stay away from the mirror!
What’s the difference between an “icy” pastel, and a regular pastel?
Icy Pastels have a high white content, and regular pastels have a high gray content. A Winter should avoid regular pastels, as they are draining and will make you appear tired. Icy pastels aren’t as widely available, but they are worth the wait. When you see one in the wild, you’ll know it’s something special! Pro tip: lightly dye a favorite white piece with the tiniest touch of pink, blue, or purple. It should still look nearly white when you’re done. Continue wearing it as though it were still white! This adds variety to your wardrobe without changing up your routine.
Remember, these are just guidelines to inspire you to search out your best blue! There are so many colors in the world, and these suggestions are to help you narrow down the options.
Just keep your season’s keywords in mind as you search for your signature blue!
If you haven’t yet confirmed your season or sub-season, the ColorKit™ is here to help. This innovative hybrid color analysis service allows you to get your colors professionally analyzed from the comfort of your own home, making it easier than ever to discover the shades that make you shine.
