Dark - light - bright

House of Colour recommends Winter clients use a "dark, light, bright" approach to their ensembles. The belief is: if you have each of these elements, you will achieve a high contrast outfit that works best for most* Winters.

*some Winters may do better in medium/medium-high contrast

The amount of dark, light and bright you use will depend on your subseason and wow colors.

Example: a burnished or sultry Winter may feel better in darker colors and only add 'light' and 'bright' through makeup and accessories.

The amount or percent of your outfit that is dark, light and bright does not have to be equal! Shoes, jewelry and accessories really help to round out an outfit, adding those pops of color and creating interesting and high contrast color combinations.

So, how do you know how much dark, light and bright to wear?

If you had a HOC color analysis, you should have received individual color ratings. Older methods (circa 2022 and prior) used a percent rating, and newer methods use a star rating. Both approaches yield similar results, so not to worry.

100% and 75%, or 3-star ratings are your very best colors.

These are the colors you can wear head-to-toe. This category should also include your 'wow' colors. Your best colors are ideal for investment pieces and special occasions.

Examples: full length dress, blazer and dress pants, matching track suit

50% or 2-star ratings are your "pretty good" colors.

In the percentage system, some consultants would suggest wearing 50% colors on your bottom half only. I don't believe this is a universal recommendation, and may depend on how the drapes looked on you and your specific consultant's style. With the star system, I think this category captures more colors than the old system and probably has more flexibility as to the location of the color. The primary point is these colors should cover no more than half of your body.

Examples: colored top, colored pants or skirt, jacket, colored tights

25% or 1-star ratings are your least favorable of the Winter palette.

What's important to remember is that Winter colors will look better on you than colors from another season, but within the range of Winter colors, we shine in a certain subset of them (enter: your subseason).

These lower rated colors are best worn in smaller amounts or as accents.

Examples: shoes, handbags, sports bras, jewelry or incorporated into a pattern

Now, it's up to you how closely you follow these ratings. Some people like wearing all of the Winter palette and in any amount, and I say "more power to you!". My personal approach is to use the ratings as tools to guide my purchases. I invested in color analysis because I wanted to know what made me look my best. Why would I ignore that information once I have it? Particularly for the highest and lowest rating colors. The 2-star/50% ratings I lean more into how much I like them or not (ha!).

So what does all of this have to do with dark, light and bright?

Once you understand your personal color ratings, you can start to apply that to how much of each element you wear. Here are some visual examples using the same color combination, but varying the amounts to reflect an individual's color ratings/subseason. Notice that each example includes a dark (damson), a light (ice lemon) and a bright (fuchsia).

burnished Winter icy sprinter Winter jewel Winter

Q: But which colors in the Winter palette are 'dark', 'light' and 'bright'?

A: It depends!

Not the easy answer, but the truth!

Whether a color feels 'dark', 'light' or 'bright' will depend on what else it is worn with. Look at the example below: acid yellow is both a 'bright' and a 'light' based on what other colors it is paired with.

Left example: Right example:

dark (navy), light (ice lavender), dark (charcoal), light (acid yellow),

bright (acid yellow) bright (shocking pink)