Spring is the warm, light season of colour analysis: clear, bright colours with a touch of yellow, like a bunch of tulips. This guide covers how to recognise a spring, the palette that suits it, the neutrals to build a wardrobe on, the colours that tire it — and how to use all this with the clothes you already own.
Three criteria define it: a warm undertone (the skin leans golden or peach), a light value (skin, hair and eyes on the light side) and bright rather than muted colouring.
In practice you often see ivory, peach or golden skin that tans easily, sometimes golden freckles; golden blond, strawberry blond, light red or light brown hair with golden glints; clear, bright eyes — turquoise blue, light green, golden hazel.
The most telling test: gold fabric near the face looks healthy, silver makes the complexion grey. And black, worn alone under the chin, overwhelms the face.
The key colours are those of a sunny meadow: coral, peach, golden yellow, warm green (apple green), turquoise and ivory. These are the six Fring associates with spring.
Around them: salmon, apricot, poppy red, warm mint, lagoon blue, a warm periwinkle violet. What they share: a clean, bright colour, never greyed, with a hint of yellow in it.
To judge a colour you can't place, ask two questions: is it rather warm (an orange-red rather than a blue-red)? Is it light and bright rather than dark or muted? Two yeses make it a spring colour.
A wardrobe is built on its neutrals: they are what you wear most, and what lets the key colours work together.
For a spring: ivory and cream instead of optical white, light camel and golden beige, mid navy (a bright navy rather than near-black), light warm grey, and golden brown for shoes and belts.
A beige trench, a cream jumper, mid-wash jeans and light navy trousers make a base that accepts every colour in the palette.
What tires a spring is dark, cool or greyed colour: black, which hardens the features; pure white, harsher than ivory; cool greys and silver; deep burgundy and plum; dusty, muted shades (old rose, greyish khaki).
"Avoid" doesn't mean "throw away". A difficult colour can be worn away from the face: black trousers, a grey skirt, dark shoes are fine. Near the face, a scarf or collar in a palette colour is often enough to rescue a dark top.
In the twelve-season method, spring splits according to its dominant trait.
Light spring: lightness dominates. Close to summer, it wears warm pastels (pale peach, butter yellow, aqua) better than very saturated colours.
Warm (true) spring: warmth dominates. The archetypal, most golden spring: coral, golden yellow, apple green, camel.
Bright spring: contrast dominates. Close to winter, it handles more saturated colours and contrasting combinations (bright turquoise, poppy red, even a deep navy).
There's no need to empty your wardrobe. Start by sorting what you own into three piles: in the palette, neutral, outside the palette. Pieces outside the palette stay useful on the lower body or under a palette piece.
Then let purchases follow the palette: each new piece combines with most of the others, which is exactly the principle of a capsule wardrobe.
In Fring, the selfie analysis in your profile estimates your season and undertone and saves six key colours. It recognises four seasons, not twelve: treat it as an estimate to compare with a test using real fabric. Dress me then favours outfits in your colours, and the shopping assistant flags an off-palette colour before you buy.
Create your wardrobe on Fring and run the colour analysis from your profile: it gives your season, your undertone and six key colours, and Dress me takes them into account in its outfits. No credit card, and the photo is not kept.
