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  • Color Analysis
    • Virtual Color Analysis
    • your season's makeup list
    • What Season Are You?
      • home color analysis
      • Color Analysis Quiz
    • SPRING
      • Bright Spring
        • Your Bright Spring look
        • Bright Spring Celebrities
      • True Spring
        • Your True Spring look
        • True Spring Celebrities
      • Light Spring
        • Your Light Spring look
        • Light Spring Celebrities
    • SUMMER
      • Light Summer
        • Your Light Summer look
        • Light Summer Celebrities
      • True Summer
        • Your True Summer look
        • True Summer Celebrities
      • Soft Summer
        • Your Soft Summer look
        • Soft Summer Celebrities
    • AUTUMN
      • Soft Autumn
        • Your Soft Autumn look
        • Soft Autumn Celebrities
      • True Autumn
        • Your True Autumn look
        • True Autumn Celebrities
      • Dark Autumn
        • Your Dark Autumn look
        • Dark Autumn Celebrities
    • WINTER
      • Dark Winter
        • Your Dark Winter look
        • Dark Winter Celebrities
      • True Winter
        • Your True Winter look
        • True Winter Celebrities
      • Bright Winter
        • Your Bright Winter look
        • Bright Winter Celebrities
    • color analysis faq
      • frequently asked questions
      • Please explain WARM and COOL.
      • Please explain BRIGHT and SOFT.
      • Please explain CONTRAST.
      • Is color analysis just for white people?
    • for men
  • Style Analysis
    • Book your virtual style analysis
    • ♂ DRAMATIC style type
    • ♂ NATURAL style type
    • ♂ GAMINE style type
    • ⚥ CLASSIC style type
    • ♀ INGENUE style type
    • ♀ ROMANTIC style type
    • ♀ ETHEREAL style type
    • Blends of 2 types
      • ⚥ ♂ Classic Gamine -- The Prep Schooler
      • ⚥ ♀ Classic Ingenue -- The Class President
      • ⚥ ♂ Dramatic Classic -- The Art Critic
      • ♂ ♂ Dramatic Gamine -- The Punk Rocker
      • ♀ ♂ Dramatic Ingenue -- The Childlike Czarina
      • ♂ ♂ Dramatic Natural -- The Amazon Queen
      • ⚥ ♀ Ethereal Classic -- The Delicate Sophisticate
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Dramatic -- The Sorceress
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Gamine -- The Sprite
      • ♀ ♀ Ethereal Ingenue -- The Fairy
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Natural -- The Earth Goddess
      • ♀ ♂ Gamine Ingenue -- The Girlish Mod
      • ⚥ ♂ Natural Classic -- The Prep
      • ♂ ♂ Natural Gamine -- The Tomboy
      • ♀ ♂ Natural Ingenue -- The Outdoorsy Sweetheart
      • ⚥ ♀ Romantic Classic -- The Sexy Sophisticate
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Dramatic -- The Vamp
      • ♀ ♀ Romantic Ethereal -- Aphrodite
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Gamine -- The Firecracker
      • ♀ ♀ Romantic Ingenue -- The Demure Seductress
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Natural -- The Babe Next Door
    • Blends of 3 Types
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Classic-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♂ ♂ Dramatic-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Dramatic-Classic-Ingenue
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Dramatic-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♂ ♂ Dramatic-Natural-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♂ Dramatic-Natural-Gamine
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Dramatic-Natural-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♀ Ethereal-Classic-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Dramatic-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Ethereal-Dramatic-Gamine
      • ♀ ♂ ♂ Ethereal-Dramatic-Natural
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Dramatic-Ingenue
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Natural-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Ethereal-Natural-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Natural-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♂ ♂ Natural-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Natural-Classic-Ingenue
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Natural-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♀ Romantic-Classic-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Dramatic-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Romantic-Dramatic-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Dramatic-Ingenue
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Romantic-Dramatic-Natural
      • ⚥ ♀ ♀ Romantic-Ethereal-Classic
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Ethereal-Dramatic
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Ethereal-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♀ Romantic-Ethereal-Ingenue
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Ethereal-Natural
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Natural-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Romantic-Natural-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Natural-Ingenue
  • Shop
  • Book a Virtual Style Analysis!
  • Contact me
  • home
  • Blog
  • Color Analysis
    • Virtual Color Analysis
    • your season's makeup list
    • What Season Are You?
      • home color analysis
      • Color Analysis Quiz
    • SPRING
      • Bright Spring
        • Your Bright Spring look
        • Bright Spring Celebrities
      • True Spring
        • Your True Spring look
        • True Spring Celebrities
      • Light Spring
        • Your Light Spring look
        • Light Spring Celebrities
    • SUMMER
      • Light Summer
        • Your Light Summer look
        • Light Summer Celebrities
      • True Summer
        • Your True Summer look
        • True Summer Celebrities
      • Soft Summer
        • Your Soft Summer look
        • Soft Summer Celebrities
    • AUTUMN
      • Soft Autumn
        • Your Soft Autumn look
        • Soft Autumn Celebrities
      • True Autumn
        • Your True Autumn look
        • True Autumn Celebrities
      • Dark Autumn
        • Your Dark Autumn look
        • Dark Autumn Celebrities
    • WINTER
      • Dark Winter
        • Your Dark Winter look
        • Dark Winter Celebrities
      • True Winter
        • Your True Winter look
        • True Winter Celebrities
      • Bright Winter
        • Your Bright Winter look
        • Bright Winter Celebrities
    • color analysis faq
      • frequently asked questions
      • Please explain WARM and COOL.
      • Please explain BRIGHT and SOFT.
      • Please explain CONTRAST.
      • Is color analysis just for white people?
    • for men
  • Style Analysis
    • Book your virtual style analysis
    • ♂ DRAMATIC style type
    • ♂ NATURAL style type
    • ♂ GAMINE style type
    • ⚥ CLASSIC style type
    • ♀ INGENUE style type
    • ♀ ROMANTIC style type
    • ♀ ETHEREAL style type
    • Blends of 2 types
      • ⚥ ♂ Classic Gamine -- The Prep Schooler
      • ⚥ ♀ Classic Ingenue -- The Class President
      • ⚥ ♂ Dramatic Classic -- The Art Critic
      • ♂ ♂ Dramatic Gamine -- The Punk Rocker
      • ♀ ♂ Dramatic Ingenue -- The Childlike Czarina
      • ♂ ♂ Dramatic Natural -- The Amazon Queen
      • ⚥ ♀ Ethereal Classic -- The Delicate Sophisticate
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Dramatic -- The Sorceress
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Gamine -- The Sprite
      • ♀ ♀ Ethereal Ingenue -- The Fairy
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Natural -- The Earth Goddess
      • ♀ ♂ Gamine Ingenue -- The Girlish Mod
      • ⚥ ♂ Natural Classic -- The Prep
      • ♂ ♂ Natural Gamine -- The Tomboy
      • ♀ ♂ Natural Ingenue -- The Outdoorsy Sweetheart
      • ⚥ ♀ Romantic Classic -- The Sexy Sophisticate
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Dramatic -- The Vamp
      • ♀ ♀ Romantic Ethereal -- Aphrodite
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Gamine -- The Firecracker
      • ♀ ♀ Romantic Ingenue -- The Demure Seductress
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Natural -- The Babe Next Door
    • Blends of 3 Types
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Classic-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♂ ♂ Dramatic-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Dramatic-Classic-Ingenue
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Dramatic-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♂ ♂ Dramatic-Natural-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♂ Dramatic-Natural-Gamine
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Dramatic-Natural-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♀ Ethereal-Classic-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Dramatic-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Ethereal-Dramatic-Gamine
      • ♀ ♂ ♂ Ethereal-Dramatic-Natural
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Dramatic-Ingenue
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Natural-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Ethereal-Natural-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Natural-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♂ ♂ Natural-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Natural-Classic-Ingenue
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Natural-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♀ Romantic-Classic-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Dramatic-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Romantic-Dramatic-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Dramatic-Ingenue
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Romantic-Dramatic-Natural
      • ⚥ ♀ ♀ Romantic-Ethereal-Classic
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Ethereal-Dramatic
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Ethereal-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♀ Romantic-Ethereal-Ingenue
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Ethereal-Natural
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Natural-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Romantic-Natural-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Natural-Ingenue
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​References

Online



* Christine Scaman writes brilliantly about color.  Spend hours perusing her site,  12 Blueprints.

* Irenee Riter’s site,  The Science of Personal Dress,  is like a college course in color and image analysis.  . Take the time and read the entire thing.  Riter and I don't see eye-to-eye on every point, but understanding her ideas is useful for ultimately forming your own opinions. 



Books

Art in Clothing Selection
​
If you want to understand the history of style types, start here!  Harriet McJimsey is where modern style analysis begins. 
Understanding Your Color
Kathryn Kalisz's text is  essential reading if you want to deeply understand the theory behind 12 season color analysis. A future classic.
Return to Your Natural Colors
Christine Scaman's is currently the most complete book available on the 12-season color system. Christine's a Sci\Art-trained analyst and very, very smart. The book is both thorough and poetic, and even comes with sample palettes.
The New Munsell Student Color Set
Use this awesome tool to train your eye to see subtle changes in value and chroma within each hue. The accompanying text is thorough. Highly recommended.
Color Revival: Understand the 12 Season Color System
Lora Alexander's book on 12-season color analysis is extensively illustrated and easy to read. Since publishing this book, Alexander has switched to a 16-season system, but I believe she was right the first time.  :-)
Color With Style
Color analysis isn't just for white women, though you wouldn't know it from most resources. In this book, Donna Fujii goes well beyond 12 seasons and proposes an extensive system of color categorization that includes separate palettes for Asian, Black, Latina and White women, complete with many large full-color photographs. This is an especially good resource for Asian women because Fujii analyzes the subtle variances in Asian women's coloring so closely. If you're a woman of color and you believe in the validity of the 12-tone system but have difficulty locating yourself in it, get this book. When you find your Fujii season, it's not hard to identify the 12-tone analogue. 
The Triumph of Individual Style : A Guide to Dressing Your Body, Your Beauty, Your Self
Not for the easily discouraged or easily bored. If you're detailed-oriented, obsessive, perfectionistic, thorough - if you're like me, basically -  you will heart this book. Carla Mathis lets you categorize every part of your body and tells you how to dress it accordingly. You can use the punch-out color cards to create your own custom palette.
Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best: Color, Makeup and Style
 An oldie but a goodie. Spillane & Sherlock's book includes small color swatches for each of the 12 seasons that are pretty accurate. (Problems with precise color printing make this very difficult to find in books.)
Uniquely You
The styles are dated, and there's some Christian evangelizing that many people will find alienating. But I like this book because it has 12 seasons and includes sample colors that are pretty darn good.
Reinvent Yourself with Color Me Beautiful: Four Seasons of Color, Makeup, and Style
Joanne Richmond's 2008 book only addresses four seasons, but it comes with color swatches and some pretty pictures. It may be worth buying if you're a True season (that's a Warm or Cool in Color Me Beautiful parlance).
Color Me Beautiful
The styles are dated, and like the title above it only allows for four seasons, but this book does come with some great full-color pictures of  (mostly White) women from each of the True seasons, along with sample colors.  
Women of Color
One of the few books on personal color analysis written specifically for women of color!   Unfortunately this is another book that only includes four seasons, but I highly recommend it because it's validating for people of color and educating for Whites. Great for seeing full-color photos of Black, Latina and Asian women who are Springs and Summers.
The Color of Style: A Fashion Expert Helps You Find Colors that Attract Love, Enhance Your Power, Restore Your Energy, Make a Lasting Impression, and Show the World Who Y
It's a testament to the vividness of his description that this completely illustration-free book is still a fun read. Zyla uses a 24-season system that seems to derive from Suzanne Caygill's. He includes current celebrity examples, which are fun.
More Alive With Color: Personal Colors - Personal Style (Capital Lifestyles)
The system Leatrice Eiseman's using seems to come from a different tradition than the 12-season system, and I'm not convinced of it. But this book comes with great mini color cards that are keyed to Pantone colors, and if you can identify one of Eiseman's seasons that corresponds to your own, those cards would be awfully useful for you.
Color for Men
Just what it says. Limited to only four seasons, but great for full-color photos of True season men.
"My closet has totally transformed into something I like, but don't think about much. How amazing is that? I just walk in, grab something for the occasion and the weather, and go. Because it's all the same color season, it all blends. Because it's all the right style (my style, so who cares if it's 'in'? It looks good on me) I can rest assured it looks about right. It's really amazing.

"I waste a lot less time and money now with shopping. I can walk into a store and rule out 90% of the inventory. I now try things I never would have dared and happily pass over things I used to think I had to have. Shopping is just a hunt now, not a source of guilt. I feel like I'm a lot less wasteful and more mindful this way."
  • home
  • Blog
  • Color Analysis
    • Virtual Color Analysis
    • your season's makeup list
    • What Season Are You?
      • home color analysis
      • Color Analysis Quiz
    • SPRING
      • Bright Spring
        • Your Bright Spring look
        • Bright Spring Celebrities
      • True Spring
        • Your True Spring look
        • True Spring Celebrities
      • Light Spring
        • Your Light Spring look
        • Light Spring Celebrities
    • SUMMER
      • Light Summer
        • Your Light Summer look
        • Light Summer Celebrities
      • True Summer
        • Your True Summer look
        • True Summer Celebrities
      • Soft Summer
        • Your Soft Summer look
        • Soft Summer Celebrities
    • AUTUMN
      • Soft Autumn
        • Your Soft Autumn look
        • Soft Autumn Celebrities
      • True Autumn
        • Your True Autumn look
        • True Autumn Celebrities
      • Dark Autumn
        • Your Dark Autumn look
        • Dark Autumn Celebrities
    • WINTER
      • Dark Winter
        • Your Dark Winter look
        • Dark Winter Celebrities
      • True Winter
        • Your True Winter look
        • True Winter Celebrities
      • Bright Winter
        • Your Bright Winter look
        • Bright Winter Celebrities
    • color analysis faq
      • frequently asked questions
      • Please explain WARM and COOL.
      • Please explain BRIGHT and SOFT.
      • Please explain CONTRAST.
      • Is color analysis just for white people?
    • for men
  • Style Analysis
    • Book your virtual style analysis
    • ♂ DRAMATIC style type
    • ♂ NATURAL style type
    • ♂ GAMINE style type
    • ⚥ CLASSIC style type
    • ♀ INGENUE style type
    • ♀ ROMANTIC style type
    • ♀ ETHEREAL style type
    • Blends of 2 types
      • ⚥ ♂ Classic Gamine -- The Prep Schooler
      • ⚥ ♀ Classic Ingenue -- The Class President
      • ⚥ ♂ Dramatic Classic -- The Art Critic
      • ♂ ♂ Dramatic Gamine -- The Punk Rocker
      • ♀ ♂ Dramatic Ingenue -- The Childlike Czarina
      • ♂ ♂ Dramatic Natural -- The Amazon Queen
      • ⚥ ♀ Ethereal Classic -- The Delicate Sophisticate
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Dramatic -- The Sorceress
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Gamine -- The Sprite
      • ♀ ♀ Ethereal Ingenue -- The Fairy
      • ♀ ♂ Ethereal Natural -- The Earth Goddess
      • ♀ ♂ Gamine Ingenue -- The Girlish Mod
      • ⚥ ♂ Natural Classic -- The Prep
      • ♂ ♂ Natural Gamine -- The Tomboy
      • ♀ ♂ Natural Ingenue -- The Outdoorsy Sweetheart
      • ⚥ ♀ Romantic Classic -- The Sexy Sophisticate
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Dramatic -- The Vamp
      • ♀ ♀ Romantic Ethereal -- Aphrodite
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Gamine -- The Firecracker
      • ♀ ♀ Romantic Ingenue -- The Demure Seductress
      • ♀ ♂ Romantic Natural -- The Babe Next Door
    • Blends of 3 Types
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Classic-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♂ ♂ Dramatic-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Dramatic-Classic-Ingenue
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Dramatic-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♂ ♂ Dramatic-Natural-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♂ Dramatic-Natural-Gamine
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Dramatic-Natural-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♀ Ethereal-Classic-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Dramatic-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Ethereal-Dramatic-Gamine
      • ♀ ♂ ♂ Ethereal-Dramatic-Natural
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Dramatic-Ingenue
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Natural-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Ethereal-Natural-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Ethereal-Natural-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♂ ♂ Natural-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Natural-Classic-Ingenue
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Natural-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Classic-Gamine
      • ⚥ ♀ ♀ Romantic-Classic-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Dramatic-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Romantic-Dramatic-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Dramatic-Ingenue
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Romantic-Dramatic-Natural
      • ⚥ ♀ ♀ Romantic-Ethereal-Classic
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Ethereal-Dramatic
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Ethereal-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♀ Romantic-Ethereal-Ingenue
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Ethereal-Natural
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Gamine-Ingenue
      • ⚥ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Natural-Classic
      • ♂ ♂ ♀ Romantic-Natural-Gamine
      • ♀ ♀ ♂ Romantic-Natural-Ingenue
  • Shop
  • Book a Virtual Style Analysis!
  • Contact me