Today we’re diving into something which is all too common – that moment when you get your color season palette, look at your colors… and your heart just sinks. This disconnect is actually valuable and can be the key to unlocking your signature style.
If you’ve recently had your seasonal color analysis done and something feels off, this episode is especially for you.
To get started reconciling the palette you’ve been assigned with your identity, I invite you to download my new free guide – Discover Your Style DNA: A Guide to Seasonal Energy & Personality Colors.
As you may know, I’ve been immersed this year in learning the skill of conversational personality profiling from Personality Hacker. If you want to know your best-fit Myers-Briggs type and which Jungian cognitive functions you are using, I can help with that.
Sometimes, within the profiler community, someone will get a little over zealous about questioning someone else’s type, unintentionally undermining the person’s identity. It can be a shock to discover someone sees you differently than you see yourself.
The same can happen with our personal best colors.
When Your Color Season Palette Feels Wrong
So, you went in to get your color season palette sure you were a Winter, very comfortable in black and white and blue, only to be told you were actually a Summer and now you are afraid you are going to disappear. Or you thought you were a Spring, but the experts said you were an Autumn, but you actually don’t think you like those colors. Now what? This happens more often than you think!
I see you. I hear you. And I understand exactly why this feels challenging. Let’s talk about why this disconnect happens and what you can actually do about it.
First, let’s acknowledge some common reactions when you receive your color season palette. Maybe you’re feeling resistance because the colors seem too muted or too bright. Perhaps you feel disconnected from what you think this palette says about your personality. You might even be wondering if the analysis was somehow wrong.
These feelings are completely normal. It’s natural to feel disappointed when expectations don’t match reality, to feel confused about next steps, or to be uncertain about how to make this palette work for you.
Color Season Palette as Artist’s Palette
Here’s what nobody tells you during your color analysis: Getting your season is like being handed a beautiful new set of paints. But nobody’s teaching you how to actually create the masterpiece that is authentically YOU.
Think about it – when Picasso was handed blue paint, did that mean he could only paint peaceful ocean scenes? No! He created his Blue Period, full of emotion, depth, and even melancholy. Same colors, completely different energy.
Your season is exactly the same way.
Let’s break down some common misconceptions:
– Your palette isn’t synonymous with your style personality
We humans like mental shortcuts. When it comes to the seasons, sometimes being a Winter is coded as dramatic, Summer as soft-spoken, Autumn as crunchy, and Spring as light and airy.
But with your best colors as tools, you can achieve any of those looks within any palette. You just need creativity. Or help. That’s what I’m here for.
– You don’t need to dress head-to-toe in your palette
Yes, the colors in your palette should work harmoniously together. But, and especially while you are transitioning, you can ease into it.
I have heard many stories of people who got their colors done and then got rid of everything that was in colors that were not on their palette, only to later wish they had kept those items.
I will get back to what I recommend in these situations.
A Peak Behind the Scenes
Let me share a peek behind the scenes. Even style experts have these challenges, and there are a couple ways it can go. Recently at a color draping training event, one of the women getting her colors was shocked to learn she was a Summer. But the colors really did complement her skin tone the best. She has an opportunity to learn to use them in a creative way to stand out from the crowd.
On the other hand, I have seen several articles online by people who got into doing color analysis themselves because they didn’t resonate with the palette given to them by whatever expert they went to AND the original palette was obviously wrong. And experts don’t always agree.
This is why, in my philosophy, the client is always the expert on themselves. Nevertheless, it can be hard to see yourself objectively.
Practical Applications
Let’s get practical. Here are immediate steps you can take:
1. Audit your current wardrobe through your new palette lens. Don’t focus on perfection; ask yourself, “is this close enough?”
2. Identify your favorite pieces. If they are in, or close to, the new palette, they become a wardrobe cornerstone.
3. For your favorite pieces that don’t align with your palette – keep them! Look for creative ways to mix them with colors in your palette, or just keep wearing them for now. Until it’s worn out or you just don’t love it anymore.
Just don’t buy more things outside your palette.
Unless you have a reason. Here’s an example. Say you have been given a palette which seems to be mostly really dark, heavy colors, and you live in the South where it is too hot to wear those colors most of the time. A strategy would be to mentally edit out (ignore) all the dark colors in your palette and build a wardrobe of the few light to medium colors in your palette and your best white.
As you move forward, consider:
– Playing with different color combinations within your palette
– Using texture, line, and pattern in ways that harmonize with your body’s design
– Incorporating accessories in a personalized way
– Finding ways to inject your personal aesthetic into your wardrobe within your new palette
Your color season palette isn’t a box to fit into – it’s a foundation to build upon. If your season feels wrong, it doesn’t necessarily mean the colors aren’t good for you. You could actually be discovering something crucial about your Style DNA.
Ok, realistically, the colors could be wrong too. That happens. But it could also be your style intuition speaking up, telling you there’s more to discover. Maybe it’s not saying “this season is wrong” – it’s saying “there’s more to me than just these colors.”
And you know what? That’s exactly where the real magic happens. Because understanding how to bridge the gap between your seasonal colors and your personal style essence? That’s where you discover your true signature style.
Your true signature style includes your colors, yes, but so much more! It includes your textures, your silhouette, your proportions, and most importantly, your aesthetic and personality!
If Your Color Season Palette Feels Wrong, Try …
Next week, we’re going to dive deeper into exactly how to bridge that gap between your colors and your confidence. But for now, I want you to try something:
Instead of thinking “these colors don’t feel like me,” try asking yourself “how can I make these colors feel like me?” Notice the difference? One shuts doors, the other opens them. Now your brain goes to work making it happen.
Getting your season isn’t the end game of your style journey – it’s just the beginning. If you’re feeling that disconnect, you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re actually right on track for discovering something amazing about yourself.
And remember – the most interesting people aren’t just putting on clothes that look good on them, they’re showing up in the world as who they authentically are.