I love looking at pictures of women before and after their personal color analysis. I can see how random color choices are replaced with consequent patterns. How a blurred face turns into a focused one. How the colors of the person, which used to be so painfully separate from her apparel, are now in soothing visual harmony. How she shied away from the camera before and now faces it with a confident smile.

There is so much to appreciate about what she has learnt about herself. Because there is just one important difference between those before’s and after’s: awareness. A powerful catalyst of better choices. An agent that turns confusion into clarity and indecisiveness into focus.

So, if you already have this kind of awareness, would you ever go back to the “before”?

If you know what looks good on you, why would you compromise?

Would you deliberately sabotage your own image with “less than” choices?

The same woman – me.

The same room.

The same lighting.

The same camera settings.

Four different drape colors.

Makeup in four different color palettes.

What do you see?

Lilies of the valley and forget-me-nots, tulips and greater celandine. Branches of chestnut and linden trees laden with blossoms. Young ferns, yellow morel mushrooms, and merrily babbling forest streams. Fresh, sunny mornings and crisp evenings sprinkled with light rain. Joy, lightness, warmth, and light – the quintessence of May, which is represented by Light Spring in the 12 Tones series. The previous post was dedicated to True Spring, and today we’ll discuss what a colorful capsule wardrobe for Light Spring might look like.

The most important feature of the Light Spring palette is, as the name suggests, the lightness of its colors, relative to other Seasons. The LSpr palette includes darker colors such as navy blues, greens, browns, and grays, but compared to other color types, they are quite light and don’t reach as far in value as, for example, the colors belonging to the Winters. Hence, the lack of dramatic light-dark contrasts within this palette. Color intensity isn’t as strong as in Bright and True Springs, but if we tried to translate the colors into musical notes, we would likely obtain a tune full of high, pure tones. Light Spring is neither a truly warm nor a truly cool Season – its undertone is described as neutral, but leaning towards the warmer side of the spectrum. This gives us a perception of this palette as illuminated by sunlight, not immersed in cool shadow.

A colorful capsule closet for Light Spring is a combination of the joyful energy of Spring and the gentle charm of Summer. This color type favors medium to low contrast, which can be achieved by mixing the lightest colors with the darkest ones in their palette, or light with light and dark with dark. With the influence of Summer, strong color contrast is slowly being replaced by analogous combinations. Neutral colors are also used more often in creating outfits. Neutral bases can be created with yellowish beiges, creamy and marzipan whites (blouse no. 9), yellow-green grays à la sunflower seed (pants no. 3), and coconut shell browns. Besides neutrals, the Light Spring palette is full of colors reminiscent of French macarons and summer desserts – pistachio ice cream, vanilla milkshake, peach sorbet. Jewelry in light yellow gold and rose gold works best for this type. Cream pearls, aquamarines, clear corals and turquoises, as well as colorful beads that harmonize with your color fan, are fantastic.

With the arrival of April, spring is fully taking over the reins in nature, so our next theme is colorful capsule closet for True Spring.

The colors of True Spring are warm and sunny, based on a yellow base. Daffodils and tulips, Easter chickens and colorful eggs, lush grass and a cloudless sky, fields of Provençal lavender, and the landscape of Portofino best capture the atmosphere of this color palette. Compared to Bright Spring, the color intensity is lower, as there’s no trace of winter left in this color type. The palette thus appears joyful and friendly, accessible, and playful, rather than surprising, dangerous, or unpredictable. It’s like comparing a box of colored crayons to a coral reef – lush freshness versus the shocking intensity of color.

The color settings of the 12 Seasons cycle change in a similar way as the colors change in nature throughout the year. The month of March is represented by Bright Spring color palette. On this snowy March morning, we’ll discuss what a colorful capsule closet for Bright Spring might look like.

March marks the end of winter’s dominance and its icy, uncompromising colors. Spring is already on its way, as indicated by more sunshine and longer days. Compared to winter, nature at this time of year reveals much more light and color intensity; hues are quite warm, joyful, and crisp. Think of fresh, lush grass, blooming flowers, or a Caribbean vacation — sunny greens, bold corals, turquoises, and vibrant oranges are the quintessence of Bright Spring palette.

However, let’s learn to distinguish them from the colors of Autumn. Orange of BSpr is like carrots or oranges, not Autumn’s pumpkins. Yellow is cheerful and pure like daffodils and dandelions, not curry or mustard. Red is like ripe tomatoes, not rust, brick, or burgundy wine. Green is fresh like parsley or basil, not olives or a soldier’s uniform. The entire BSpr palette evokes colorful jelly beans, tropical fruits, and coral reefs, not a Thanksgiving table or a Turkish spice bazaar, as is the case with palettes of Autumn color palettes. A colorful capsule wardrobe for Bright Spring should aim to reflect it.