How To Build a Timeless Wardrobe: Finding Your Color Palette

Build a Timeless Wardrobe: How to Find Your Color Palette

In efforts to encourage you to be more sustainable, to enjoy building a creative wardrobe, and to create a timeless wardrobe you LOVE, I’ve put together a few posts shining the light on HOW to create a timeless wardrobe. I do want to acknowledge that our bodies do change for one reason or another, and sometimes we have to let go of a carefully curated wardrobe to carefully curate another. I want to always encourage you to strive to minimize waste and to create a wardrobe absolutely LOVE.

Firstly, I’m 32 and I just found out what my color palette is a year ago. I’d had an inkling recently, but this past year I really nailed down my 7-10 colors (which has made shopping and putting together outfits SO much easier, it seriously feels like a burden has been lifted). 

Here’s where I started and where you can start too:

Skim Through This: Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson. Carole designates everyone a color palette “season”. Springs are quite a bit more pastel, Summers are brighter colors, Autumns are Golden Colors, and Winters are jeweled tones. If you’re in New York City, you can download this book (FOR FREE) from the New York Public Library Simply E App. This book is dated, so you’ll have to look past some of the stereotyping and political incorrectness and look at the overall concept she’s presenting.

After reading this book, I’ve discovered I’m an Autumn. Which means I can dress in Autumn colors year round and look awesome. This might mean that in spring and winter, I have to look harder to find colors that work with my skin and hair.

Take this Quiz to get a base for understanding what your colors could be.

Test Out Your Clothes: Try on tops, hats, suits, jumpsuits, or dresses you absolutely love or have been complimented in previously. Does that color make your eyes pop? Does it drain your face or compliment your skin type? Does it clash with your hair or skin? If you’re unsure about a piece, ask yourself if it works with other colors in your closet you for sure know are in your color palette. If you don’t think any color in your closet really works, head to the store and try on a bunch of colors and shades of colors you’ve never tried before to see if any of those make you shine (I bet you’ll find some that surprise you).

What do I do with clothes I don’t love or don’t fit into my color palette? 

I would totally encourage you to donate them, swap them with a friend who DOES look good in those colors, or ask around to see if someone knows someone who could use some free items. If you keep colors in your closet you don’t reach for often, now you know why and this is your time to let them go. This is about making better shopping decisions for your future and letting go of unknowingly bad shopping decisions you’ve made in the past.

Can I keep Colors that aren’t in my palette?

I’ve been wearing black and hating how I look in it for almost 30 years of my life. Previously,I thought whites and blacks were neutrals that look good on everyone. I though they were neutrals for anyone’s wardrobe (I’m pretty sure this was fashion advice imparted to me as a teenager), but that’s actually not true. What I discovered when finding my Autumn color palette, is that I look good in charcoal grays and off white creams, but not bleach white. And definitely not midnight black. 

BUT, just because I look terrible in black tops, doesn’t mean I can’t wear black pants. If I pair black pants and black boots with a caramel sweater,  I still look super cute because the caramel is still bringing out my eyes and complimenting my skin tone. When I wear black as a base, it isn’t immediately clashing with my brown hair or with my very brown eyebrows on my face. And instead of buying midnight black pants, I buy more of a faded vintage black, and that color looks so much better on me! Sorry, little black dress, you and I were not mean to be.

So hear me out, wearing a base that’s a bit more “out of your color palette” can work. If you really don’t have any tops that go with that base though, then you might consider taking it out of your wardrobe. 

So, what do you think? Are you a spring, summer, winter, or fall?