Light Spring color wheel
Light chartreuse with Periwinkle
They sit 179 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 14 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a low contrast season (within 15).
Color wheel for clothes: outfit combinations from your season
A color wheel puts colors in a circle by hue, so you can pick outfit partners by where they sit. Pick your season below, then a base color, and the tool shows the complementary, analogous and triadic partners from your own palette.
By Ruslan ShchuchkinML engineer and data scientistPublished
Color wheel outfits: pick a season and a base color
The partners come only from the palette you pick.
Each dot is a palette color at its CIELAB hue angle. Farther from the center means more chroma. The thick ring is your base, the thin rings are the partners.
Base: Indigo, hue 306 degrees, L* 22
Complementary outfit about 180 degrees
- Indigo with Emerald green166 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180, off by 14).Lightness gap 13 L*: closer than our lightness rule.
Analogous outfit about 30 degrees
- Indigo with Wine40 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 30, off by 10).Lightness gap 1 L*: closer than our lightness rule.
- Indigo with Deep cobalt29 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 30, off by 1).Lightness gap 14 L*: closer than our lightness rule.
Triadic outfit about 120 degrees
- Indigo with Cool espresso92 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 120, and this palette has no color closer than 28 degrees off).Lightness gap 3 L*: closer than our lightness rule.
- Indigo with Icy aqua115 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 120, off by 5).Lightness gap 64 L*: fits our lightness rule.
Deep Winter is a high contrast season, as its season page says. Our rule of thumb: a high contrast season can pair colors 25 L* or more apart. This is our rule, not a published standard.
See your own face on the Deep Winter palette
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How the color wheel for clothes works here
Munsell described any color with three qualities: hue, value and chroma.[1] Hue is the position on the wheel. We measure it as the hue angle in CIELAB, the color space defined by the CIE standard.[2] Colors that are too grey have no usable hue, so a palette color under a chroma of 12 stays off the wheel.
For a base color, the tool looks for a hue about 180, 30 or 120 degrees away. It then takes the palette color whose hue is nearest to that angle. A season palette does not have a color at every angle, so we print the real gap. If the nearest color is far off, the tool says so, and does not call it an exact match.
Complementary outfits
Two colors from opposite sides of the wheel, about 180 degrees apart.
A complementary outfit pairs your base color with the palette color across the wheel from it. It is the widest difference in hue your palette can give. A palette does not have a color at every angle, so the real gap is often a little off 180.
Deep Winter example
- Indigo with Emerald green. 166 degrees apart (we looked for 180).
True Autumn example
- Rust with Deep teal. 162 degrees apart (we looked for 180).
Analogous outfits
Two neighbors on the wheel, about 30 degrees to either side.
An analogous outfit uses colors with similar hues, so it reads as one color family. The tool picks one partner on each side of your base. If the palette has nothing close to 30 degrees, the nearest color can sit nearer or farther, and the real gap shows it.
Deep Winter example
- Indigo with Wine. 40 degrees apart (we looked for 30).
- Indigo with Deep cobalt. 29 degrees apart (we looked for 30).
True Autumn example
- Rust with Mustard. 33 degrees apart (we looked for 30).
- Rust with Brick red. 12 degrees apart (we looked for 30).
Triadic outfits
Three colors spread round the wheel, about 120 degrees apart.
A triadic outfit uses your base color and two palette colors a third of the way round the wheel in each direction. It has more variety in hue than the other two. Wear one color in the larger area and the other two in smaller pieces.
Deep Winter example
- Indigo with Cool espresso. 92 degrees apart (we looked for 120).
- Indigo with Icy aqua. 115 degrees apart (we looked for 120).
True Autumn example
- Rust with Forest teal. 121 degrees apart (we looked for 120).
- Rust with Warm petrol blue. 154 degrees apart (we looked for 120).
How contrast changes the pairs
The book by Itten organizes color design around named contrasts, among them warm-cold and light-dark.[3] The wheel covers hue only, so the tool adds a second check: how far apart the two colors are in lightness (L*).
The advice is our rule of thumb, not a published standard. A low contrast season pairs colors within 15 L* of each other, a medium contrast season pairs colors within 30 L* of each other, and a high contrast season can pair colors 25 L* or more apart. The season's contrast level is the one its own page gives. You can read more about your own level on our contrast level page.
Season color wheel: a complementary outfit for each of the 12 seasons
One pair per season, computed from the palette. Each pair is the two colorful colors whose hues sit nearest 180 degrees apart.
True Spring color wheel
Warm teal with Warm pink
They sit 179 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 7 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a low contrast season (within 15).
Bright Spring color wheel
Vivid green with Bright violet
They sit 178 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 39 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a high contrast season (25 or more).
Light Summer color wheel
Periwinkle with Pale citron
They sit 180 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 15 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a low contrast season (within 15).
True Summer color wheel
Dusty pink with Soft emerald
They sit 172 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 1 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a low contrast season (within 15).
Soft Summer color wheel
Dusty periwinkle with Soft olive
They sit 178 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 23 L* apart in lightness. Our rule for a low contrast season is within 15, so keep the lighter or the darker one to a small area, such as a scarf or a belt.
Soft Autumn color wheel
Soft mulberry with Olive
No pair in this palette gets closer to 180 degrees than 123, so this is the nearest to a complementary outfit it has. The two colors are 3 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a low contrast season (within 15).
True Autumn color wheel
Forest teal with Warm plum
They sit 176 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 13 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a medium contrast season (within 30).
Deep Autumn color wheel
Deep amber with Deep petrol
They sit 174 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 29 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a medium contrast season (within 30).
Deep Winter color wheel
Emerald green with Icy lavender
They sit 179 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 46 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a high contrast season (25 or more).
True Winter color wheel
True emerald with Icy lilac
They sit 179 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 46 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a high contrast season (25 or more).
Bright Winter color wheel
Bright violet with Bright lime
They sit 179 degrees apart on the wheel (we looked for 180). The two colors are 50 L* apart in lightness, which fits our rule for a high contrast season (25 or more).
What the evidence does not support
- We make no claim about mood or meaning. The wheel is a way to place colors by hue. We say nothing about what a color says about you or how it makes anyone feel.
- A wheel pair is not a promise that an outfit suits you. It is a way to combine colors that are already in your palette. We make no claim that a complementary, analogous or triadic pair looks better than other pairs.
- The lightness advice is ours. Itten names light-dark as a contrast,[3] but the L* numbers (15, 30 and 25) are our rule of thumb.
What this tool cannot tell you
- It cannot find your season. You pick one, and it shows that palette. A selfie reads your own coloring.
- It uses the CIELAB hue angle. A different wheel, such as one in an art class, can place the same colors at other angles and give other partners. Ours is defined by the angle, so every number on this page can be checked.
- It does not see fabric, print, light or your skin on the day. A palette color on a screen is not the color of a garment. How our analysis works and how often it is right.
How we made this
Every palette color in the 12 season palettes is converted to CIELAB. Its hue angle comes from a* and b*. The tool places each color on the wheel at its hue angle, and farther from the center the more chroma it has. Partners are the palette colors with the nearest hue to the target angle. The list of 12 pairs picks, in each palette, the two colorful colors whose hues are nearest 180 degrees apart.
Sources
- Munsell, A. H. (1905). A Color Notation. Boston: Munsell Color Co. openlibrary.org/works/OL1560367W
- CIE (2018). CIE 015:2018 Colorimetry, 4th Edition. Vienna: Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage. doi.org/10.25039/TR.015.2018
- Itten, J. The Art of Color: The Subjective Experience and Objective Rationale of Color. Trans. E. van Haagen. New York: Reinhold, 1973 (German original Kunst der Farbe, 1961). openlibrary.org/works/OL3134323W
How this is different from other color analysis tools
- 01
Your photo stays on your device
Many photo apps upload your selfie and read it on their server (see our comparison). Ours measures it in your browser. There is no upload.
- 02
The result is free
Your season and palette, with no account and no email. At least one app in our comparison takes payment before you see any result.
- 03
A close call says so
Every result names the runner-up season and how close the call was. Borderline is a result we print.
- 04
We publish our accuracy
We tuned the method on faces that experts had labelled by season, then tested it on 410 celebrity photos we collected. The results, misses included.
Questions
How do I use a color wheel for clothes?
Pick a base color, then look at where it sits on the wheel. A complementary partner is about 180 degrees away, an analogous partner about 30 degrees to either side, and a triadic partner about 120 degrees to either side. Then take the partner from your own season palette, as the palette color whose hue is nearest that angle. The tool on this page does that for all 12 seasons and prints the real angle.
What are some color wheel outfit ideas?
A complementary outfit pairs two colors from opposite sides of the wheel. An analogous outfit pairs neighbors, so it reads as one color family. A triadic outfit uses colors about a third of the way round from each other. For example, in the Deep Winter palette, Indigo pairs with Emerald green as its complementary partner, 166 degrees away on the wheel.
Is there a color wheel outfit picker?
Yes, the tool on this page. You pick one of the 12 seasons and a base color from its palette, and it shows the complementary, analogous and triadic partners from that same palette, with the real angle for each.
How does color wheel clothes matching work?
It matches by hue, the position of a color on the wheel. We compute the hue angle of every palette color in the CIELAB color space and pick the palette color nearest to the angle you want. A wheel match tells you about hue only. Lightness and how bright a color is also matter, so the tool also shows the lightness gap between the two colors.
What is the deep winter color wheel?
It is the Deep Winter palette placed on a hue wheel by CIELAB hue angle. Its most colorful color is Indigo, at a hue of 306 degrees. Its complementary partner in the palette is Emerald green, 166 degrees round the wheel. Deep Winter is a high contrast season, so the pair can be far apart in lightness.
What is the true autumn color wheel?
It is the True Autumn palette placed on a hue wheel by CIELAB hue angle. Its most colorful color is Rust, at a hue of 48 degrees. Its complementary partner in the palette is Deep teal, 162 degrees round the wheel. True Autumn is a medium contrast season.
Do color wheel outfits work for men?
The wheel and the season palettes do not depend on gender, and the tool has no separate palette for men. Pick your season and a base color in the same way. For more on how the analysis applies to men, see our page on color analysis for men.
Does the color wheel tell me which colors suit me?
No. It tells you where colors sit in relation to each other. Which colors suit you comes from your own coloring, which the free analysis reads from a selfie. The wheel then helps you combine the colors in your palette.
What you can do on this page
This page has an interactive color wheel outfit picker. A visitor picks one of the 12 seasons and a base color from its palette, sees the palette placed on a hue wheel by CIELAB hue angle, and gets the complementary, analogous and triadic partners from the same palette, each with its real angle gap and its lightness gap. The page also lists one complementary outfit for each of the 12 seasons. It then offers the free photo analysis, which reads undertone, depth and chroma from one selfie in the browser, with no upload and no account.
More on color science and theory
Part of the Color Analysis Encyclopedia: every article on color science and theory.