Summer capsule wardrobe: light pieces in your colors
Summer clothes are light, so the colors do more of the work. 14 pieces in linen and cotton, a light base and brighter accents from your own season. Below: the list and the summer colors for each of the 12 color seasons.
By Jane MitchellCertified color analystPublished
How to build it
- Keep the summer pieces that fit and that you wear.
- Pick your colors: the light base leads in summer, the accents are a little lighter.
- Fill the list below with what you own.
- Buy the missing pieces in linen, cotton or other breathable fabrics.
- Keep the dark base for one or two pieces for the evening.
The 14 pieces
Each piece has a color role. The season cards below say which shade fills each role for you.
| Piece | How many | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Shorts | 2 | Middle neutral |
| Linen trousers | 1 | Light base |
| Skirt or chinos | 1 | Dark base |
| Tees and tanks | 3 | Light base |
| Tops in color | 2 | Accent 1 |
| Shirt | 1 | Accent 2 |
| Dress or swimwear | 1 | Accent 3 |
| Light layer | 1 | Middle neutral |
| Sandals | 1 | Middle neutral |
| Sneakers | 1 | Light base |
Tips for a summer capsule
- Linen creases. Choose a linen blend if that bothers you.
- One light layer is enough for cool evenings and air conditioning.
- Sandals in the middle neutral go with every piece.
Summer capsule colors for your color season
Six colors from each season's own palette: a dark base, a light base, a middle neutral and three accents.
- Dark baseSoft denim navy#5C6B8A
- Light baseIvory#F6EFE2
- Middle neutralLight taupe#9E8C74
- Accent 1Apple green#8FCB6B
- Accent 2Coral#FF8A6B
- Accent 3Warm rose#FFA6BE
- Dark baseWarm denim#4E6E82
- Light baseCream#F2E6CE
- Middle neutralGolden tan#B5854A
- Accent 1Bright tangerine#F4511E
- Accent 2Chartreuse#C0CA33
- Accent 3Warm pink#EC407A
- Dark baseDark warm brown#3E2723
- Light baseBright ivory#FFFDF5
- Middle neutralWarm cocoa#8D6E63
- Accent 1Vivid orchid#D500F9
- Accent 2Bright orange#FF3D00
- Accent 3Vivid green#64DD17
- Dark baseSoft navy#4A5C78
- Light baseSoft white#F4F1EC
- Middle neutralBlue gray#7C8894
- Accent 1Soft raspberry#C2739A
- Accent 2Soft denim#6C97BF
- Accent 3Rose pink#D98BA5
- Dark baseCool navy#2F4058
- Light baseSoft white#F0EFEC
- Middle neutralMedium gray#8E8F92
- Accent 1Cool lavender#9575CD
- Accent 2Dusty pink#C97B9B
- Accent 3Periwinkle blue#7986CB
- Dark baseSoft navy#3F4A57
- Light baseSoft white#EDEAE4
- Middle neutralMushroom#9A938A
- Accent 1Soft berry#A5677A
- Accent 2Dusty rose#C08497
- Accent 3Dusty lilac#8E7C9E
- Dark baseSoft olive brown#57503F
- Light baseSoft cream#F0E8D8
- Middle neutralCamel#B79B75
- Accent 1Muted rust#B5654A
- Accent 2Soft gold#C4A76A
- Accent 3Sage green#87905F
- Dark baseCoffee#5A4632
- Light baseWarm cream#F2E7D0
- Middle neutralCamel#C9A87C
- Accent 1Goldenrod#DAA520
- Accent 2Moss green#6B8E23
- Accent 3Warm coral clay#C97B5C
- Dark baseDark mahogany#3E2A1E
- Light baseWarm cream#EDE0C8
- Middle neutralDark camel#A08963
- Accent 1Deep amber#B9770E
- Accent 2Dark mustard#9A7D0A
- Accent 3Burnt amber#C0703C
- Dark baseTrue black#1C1C1C
- Light basePure white#FFFFFF
- Middle neutralCharcoal#5A5A5A
- Accent 1Icy pink#F8BBD0
- Accent 2Icy lavender#E1BEE7
- Accent 3Indigo#311B92
- Dark baseTrue black#000000
- Light basePure white#FFFFFF
- Middle neutralCool gray#78909C
- Accent 1Bright sapphire#0091EA
- Accent 2Cool emerald#00BFA5
- Accent 3Cool turquoise#00B8D4
- Dark baseBright navy#0D1B3E
- Light basePure white#FFFFFF
- Middle neutralCool slate#607D8B
- Accent 1Vivid orchid#D500F9
- Accent 2Electric red#FF1744
- Accent 3Vivid green#00E676
See also the travel capsule wardrobe and the capsule wardrobe for men.
How we picked the colors
Each season card reads that season's own palette and neutrals on this site, 300 named colors across the 12 seasons, measured in CIELAB: lightness (L*), chroma (C*, how strong the color is) and hue angle.
Dark base: the darkest neutral or quiet shade (C* under 25). Light base: the lightest neutral with C* under 20. Middle neutral: the neutral nearest L* 60 that is neither base. Accents: three palette shades with C* 25 or more (15 or more in a soft palette with too few) and L* 35 to 80, strongest first, at least 35° of hue apart. A summer capsule takes its accents from L* 50 to 85. When a palette has too few in that range, the rest come from any lightness.
Where a palette has too few shades that far apart in hue, the gap narrows to half, then to 12°. No color is typed by hand, and no brand or store is used. The same rule runs on every season.
What this page cannot do
This page lists six capsule colors from each season's palette. It cannot see your current clothes, your body or your budget. It cannot tell you which season you are either. Our free analysis reads your season from one selfie, in your browser, and gives you your own palette.
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
What should be in a summer capsule wardrobe?
Shorts, linen trousers, a skirt or chinos, tees, a few tops in color, a shirt, a dress or swimwear, a light layer, sandals and sneakers: 14 pieces in our list.
What colors work for a summer capsule?
A light base for most pieces and accents a little lighter than in winter. The best shades come from your own color season.
Can I keep dark colors in a summer capsule?
Yes, one or two pieces in your dark base, for evenings and for an anchor to the light pieces.
What are the capsule colors for my season?
A Soft Autumn builds on soft olive brown and soft cream, with muted rust and soft gold as accents. A True Winter builds on true black and pure white, with bright sapphire and cool emerald as accents. This page lists the six colors for all 12 seasons.
What you can do on this page
This page explains how to build a summer capsule wardrobe: the steps, a 14-piece list with a color role for each piece, and tips. It then shows, for each of the 12 color seasons, six capsule colors from that season's palette (a dark base, a light base, a middle neutral and three accents) with hex codes, picked by a stated CIELAB rule. The free photo analysis finds a season from one selfie in the browser, with no upload and no account.