Don’t Make These 3 HUGE Style Mistakes Before & After Color Analysis

While trial and error is expected in your style journey, some mistakes are much more expensive than others — both emotionally and financially.

Here are THREE painful, all-too-common style mistakes I see people make before and after their color analysis:

Immediately Cleaning Out Their Closet.

I know, I know – you will want to SO BADLY, but there are a million reasons not to, and here are three big ones…

1. You’d be creating a major function vacuum in your closet.
   
   You’ll freak out about having nothing left to wear, so you’ll go shopping in a panic. You'll make hasty purchases that match your swatches (but not your style). You may over-emphasize quantity over quality, saddling you with clothes you don’t really like. In a few months, you’ll be feeling stuck, annoyed, and possibly angry that color analysis “didn’t work for you.” The truth: you shouldn’t have cleaned out your closet yet!
   

2. You will create a ton of unnecessary waste.
   
   Color alone is not a good enough reason to eliminate something from your closet. Period! Keep wearing your clothes until they need to be replaced for a second reason, such as poor condition, fit, or style incongruence. When that time comes, you will have an educated decision to make based on your needs AND your colors. You’ll be able to purchase the right thing, at the right time. In the meantime, the color police is not coming to arrest you for wearing a perfectly good heather gray tee when you “should be” wearing beige.
   

3. You would be throwing PRICELESS style intel out the door
   
   My clients don’t edit their closets until they also fully understand their style vibes and body shape. Your past fashions hold crucial style intel that we can use to course correct simple mistakes, double down on what works, and fill in pivotal gaps you might not know are there. But, we can’t do that if you already donated everything! Rise Styling clients that go through all four phases of style transformation delay their closet edit until they have resources to make clear, justified decisions on multiple fronts — not just color!

Going Out and Buying a Bunch of Tops

They’re usually solid-colored, basic t-shirts or tank tops, in every color you could find that matches your swatches…

I get it! Tops worn by the face, they're pretty easy to find in lots of colors, and you want to start wearing your colors right now!

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and rushing to “fix it” is blowing your budget, increasing your carbon footprint, and digging Future You into a deeper style rut.

This doesn’t mean that shopping is off-limits! Shopping after color analysis can be highly enlightening and creative, especially if you’re there primarily to look.

Instead of buying a dozen of the same t-shirt in different colors, do this:

1. Dye your 3 favorite tops in your closet that aren't in your colors.
   
   Go to ritdye.com and learn how to dye your clothes! It is shockingly easy, and you can get stunning results (if you follow the directions to the letter)! Not only will you extend the life of your clothes, but you’ll get a major creativity-induced mental healthy boost. Bonus side effect: getting to say “Thanks, I DYED IT MYSELF!” every time someone compliments the piece. Ask me how I know. 😉
   
   

2. Start with accessories.
   
   A scarf, hat, or pair of earrings in one of your new colors is an affordable, SMART way to get the benefits of your season quickly. While the same tee in different colors will get boring really fast, one accessory can be added to nearly any outfit without looking or feeling repetitive. Pro tip: beaded necklaces are an of-the-moment option you can make yourself, or with friends!
   
   

3. Get new lipsticks!
   
   By putting your colors ON your face, you can ease into your wardrobe transition sustainably. After all, lipstick always fits, and your colors will always “match” if you know what to buy. ColorKit™ clients get specific product suggestions in their colors inside our fan-favorite mini video class: Makeup Shakeup! If you're not a lipstick person, try a tinted balm, gloss, or stain – we include links to a variety of formulations at a variety of price points.

Avoiding Your Colors Because Of Fear

We need to say the quiet part out loud.

It’s normal to feel resistance to your colors at first. It’s normal to feel sad, shocked, or even angry about your season. Why?

Because emotion is a normal, healthy nervous system response to change.

And color analysis is not an insignificant change. Color analysis is identity work. It’s deep discovery work. It’s meeting your own face in a new way.

I find that clients who do not expect to “see it” or view their analysis as a fun little trend tend to have the strongest emotional reactions. They come in saying things like:

- “I don’t care what you say, I’m going to keep wearing what I want.”
- “I can never see a difference on other people, I doubt I’ll see it on myself.”
- “I just really like how I look in black, so I can’t imagine anything else looking good.”

These clients have one foot in fear, and one foot in their desires, and that is an emotionally scary place to be!

The possibility of showing up differently in the world is a big deal, but it’s why you wanted color analysis in the first place. That is bold, rebellious stuff!

You have to be ready to meet yourself in new, challenging, beautiful ways.
You have to be ready for your colors to teach you what you couldn’t learn about yourself any other way.
And you have to be ready for the possibility of unexpected emotions.

So, when I see someone avoid color analysis altogether, or toss their palette into the back of a drawer, I have compassion for that person.

This is why I tell people that color analysis is not something cute and fun to do, and it’s not about achieving the “right” aesthetic outcome.

It’s about challenging lies you’ve believed about yourself for too long, like “I’m so pale/red/blotchy”, “I need to wear dark colors on the bottom”, or “I need a tan to look alive.”
It’s about claiming permission and accessing tools to take up more space in your own life, mentally and visually.
It’s about investing in your most important relationship: the one between you and the incredible person in the mirror.

Being a Palette Perfectionist

No one invites Palette Police Patty to the cookout.

REAL LIFE color identification isn't a pass-fail grade, and the colors shown on your palette aren’t the end-all-be-all of looking great. Your style is full of possibilities, contradictions, tension, and interesting combinations of textures, colors, patterns, and more. Being a palette stickler is doing you a huge disservice!

PLUS, the colors shown on your palette are just a TINY SLICE of your season's colors (there are MILLIONS of colors out there for you)!

Instead of letting your perfectionistic tendencies take you to the dark place, do this:

1. Put more colors on your body.
   
   Not sure if it looks good on you? Put it on and see what happens. Doesn’t match your swatches exactly? Put it on and see what happens. Love the piece, and know it’s not in your palette at all? PUT IT ON and see what happens! We learn through experience, so give yourself as many experiences as you can. Trust your eye, and lean into what lights you up — visually AND emotionally.

2. Remember that “close enough is good enough”.
   
   Your palette can be a hugely beneficial parameter for shopping, especially if you get overwhelmed in stores, or just don’t enjoy the process. Using your palette to reduce your options saves time, energy, and money — but not if you start stressing about getting a perfect match. In the end, all we can do is make our best educated guess about the colors we're choosing – yes, even the pros! Perfection is a lie, and will steal your joy and creativity if you let it. There is no color on Earth that could make you look bad, so relax and enjoy the process!
   

3. Get curious about the non-clothing colors around you.
   
   This is one of my favorite eye training exercises, especially if shopping for clothing is stressful. Hold different colored objects up to one another and see what you notice. Look in your pantry, your junk drawer, your bookshelf and observe the colors. What seasons do they belong to? How many varieties of one color can you find? Sort them by warm, cool, bright, and soft. Yes, this is very nerdy! And it will also train your eye in record time.

---

Did you make any of these post-color analysis mistakes?
Are you hoping to avoid mistakes and start a sustainable style journey that centers YOU?

Color analysis is a life-changing process that should be experienced with an analyst you trust, who is looking out for you, and is ready to support you long-term. If that’s our team, awesome! If you already had analysis somewhere else, and want to move forward with experienced stylists and like-minded rebel women like you, come learn and grow with us inside The Color Coven. It’s the place to get the practice, feedback, and resources you need to thrive in your colors and take the right steps, in the right order for lasting transformation.

If you’re feeling the pull toward learning your colors, and you’ve read this post to the end, you’re ready.
This is your chance to step forward and do it. We’re ready for you!

Click the button below to get started!