House of Colour Autumn/Winter Colour Guide

By Rachel Lankester

*The FREE color guide below has been updated for 2020-2021

According to the image consultancy House of Colour, colour is key for autumn/winter 2018/19. There does seem to be a lot of brightness around in the London shops. Woo hoo!

I had my colour analysis done with Fiona Ingham from House of Colour a couple of years ago and it transformed how I shop for clothes. (You can read about it here.) I’m an autumn and it’s fun to be heading into my season as I write this.

House of Colour have consultants in the UK and around the world if you want to discover your personal colours. It’s a lot of fun and very useful.

Fiona kindly sent me the House of Colour report for the new season and I asked if I could share it here. You can read more below and also download the full report with some lovely colourful photos.

Click here to download the free colour guide.

The House of Colour Report

There are an infinite number of ways to wear and combine your colours and obviously you can apply your own personal taste and personality as you do so. There are however, some guidelines that work particularly well for each season.

Spring

The spring colour palette is clear, bright, warm, light and splashy!

If you are a spring, then a great way to wear your colours is to put two colours together and then add a splash of another colour. The two colours could be two similar or two contrasting colours – adding a splash of something else bright from your colour palette will bring them together.

Your splash could form any part of your outfit such as a piece of knitwear, a jacket or a pop of colour from a camisole. A really simple way to add a splash is to invest in some colourful accessories such as a fabulous handbag, scarf or necklace. Don’t forget your nails and of course your lipstick in one of your wow colours can add the splash for a stunning look.

Summer

The summer colour palette is soft, blue, smoky and rose!

If you are a summer, then a great way to combine your colours is to blend them together. Try using similar shades of one colour such as three or more of your blues or your jade greens with your sea greens together in a beautiful medley of hues.

Another way is to find a pattern that has a blend of shades, e.g. a floral or geometric print in all of your pinks or a pattern that blends from one shade to the next like watercolours. Add a soft shade of your favourite summer lipstick to complete your look.

Autumn

The autumn colour palette is rich, warm, earthy and vibrant!

Autumns look great in colours that tone together beautifully. This could be similar shades of the same colour – such as your autumn yellows; mustard, yellow ochre, and old gold – or colours that just work well together such as brick or geranium red with one of your neutrals such as tan.

The last 6 shades in your swatch book, that make up the peacock’s tail part of your colour palette also look amazing together, either all at once or in combinations such as kingfisher and bronze. Choose your lipstick to tone with one of the colours you are wearing, such as tan or chestnut or add a vibrant splash with one of your reds.

Winter

The winter colour palette is clear, bright, vivid and icy and have high contrast value!

The range of colours in the winter palette go from the lightest icy shades to the darkest neutrals with lots of cool bright colours in between. There is a vast amount of contrast in the palette and as a winter you will often look your best by taking advantage of this by combining colours in contrasting blocks.

Try Chinese blue with a dark neutral such as charcoal, navy or black or fuchsia with an icy arctic white or ice pink. Sultry winters may prefer to reduce the amount of contrast a little by trying pine green with damson or burgundy or navy with royal or electric blue. Don’t forget to add a vivid bright lipstick in one of your colours for a striking finish.

You may also like: How To Work Fashion Trends In A Business Setting, On Becoming A Model In Your 40s- Rachel Peru, and How To Rock Silver Hair And Look Gorgeous

Pin for later!