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sugar-petals · 2 years

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MASTERPOST: k-pop idols and personal color analysis

↳ with a special masterclass on warm and cool undertones. welcome to the world of seasonal color typing.

this post is for you if:

you want to know what looks great on someone and why.

look for a timeless aesthetic theory that’s universally applicable on anybody.

like to train your eye with image analysis.

enjoy men’s couture, make-up and hair. i specialize in analysing the gentlemen, there’s fewer material on them out there.

want to see why k-pop idols get colors professionally draped to find out their best palette. (like nct’s ten below.)

this post is not for you if:

you want quick & easy information. it takes time to learn and practice color analysis. but: i’ll show you some hacks, too, and give lots of visual examples.

seek to directly find your own best personal color palette. this is more about kpop styling > advice for self-typing.

are familiar with the topic and look for set-in-stone answers: just in advance, i’m not an outstanding typist. i’m better at explaining the system itself.

think i’ll hit you with the color wheel. yes, personal color is related to this; hue, tint, and shade. but that’s about it. we won’t use this model 😂

that being said, let’s start without further ado:

INTRODUCING THE SIX COLOR FAMILIES.

(...if you want to note down any vital key words from this post, this is it)

how do we distinguish color in the most basic ways? with the following dichotomies.

↳ warm VS cool,

↳ soft VS bright,

↳ light VS deep.

NOTE - for some color analysts, soft is ‘muted’, bright is ‘clear’, and deep is called ‘dark’. it’s the same thing, i use both terms.

so far, so good. it’s pretty intuitive. but let’s understand how these categories come to be:

warm means added yellow. cool: of course, simply more blue.

soft means extra grey. bright has more saturation, strength.

light means more white added. deep means added black.

let’s sort some yoongi selfies into the 6 families so you can see what i mean. if you feel like he’s especially rocking the right-hand side, you will see where i’m going.

how warm or cool = temperature of color.

how soft or saturated = chroma of color.

how dark or light = value or color.

as in these examples below (tentative, this is just an approximate illustration), every human being falls into one among six tonal color groupings that matches their appearance the very best.

it makes them pop, even if other palettes might be great also it looks the most harmonious. it’s their home, their strongest suit. everybody has a skin undertone (≠ skin color) that’s either on par with cool or warm tones which is the primary distinction, and deep or light, bright or muted color. there are lots of possible options of color palettes for each family.

these 6 color families provide the subtypes of the 4 main ‘seasons’ which are the pillars of the whole system. hence, seasonal color analysis. this system has been around since the early last century and is as timeless as the name suggests.

congruently, let’s distribute the subtypes:

two seasons are warm-toned (Spring/Autumn),

two are cool-toned (Summer/Winter),

two light (Spring/Summer),

two deep (Autumn/Winter),

two bright (Spring/Winter),

two soft (Summer/Autumn).

you’ll understand it in a minute. i found this graphic spectrum helpful, take a second to think it through — again we have temperature, value, chroma.

say if the color is warm, it can only be spring or autumn. a light color can only be spring or summer. and so on. it’s that straightforward. there’s always two each. and every person’s best palette is found in one slice of this pie.

i love the idea of comparing seasons to people. we’re working by exclusion principle/narrowing it down to type someone here. say, if an idol looks dashing in cool colors that are also very bright and deep, they are a winter.

so that’s how the 6 families distribute among the four main categories. i know, it’s a lot to memorize. here’s a representative color each, and an overview that’s simpler.

and yes, it’s quite literally the colors of landscapes during those times of the year. like in nature, all of us are either spring, summer, autumn, or winter (and one of three subcategories, so there are 12 possible types in total).

let’s use some broad examples to summarize:

1. spring colors are warm, bright, light (like a flowerbed or meadow in the morning) — stray kids’ felix

2. summer colors are cool, soft, light (like the beach or city at daytime) — bts’ jimin

3. autumn colors are warm, soft, deep (like falling leaves at dawn or a cozy home) — nct’s jaehyun

4. winter colors are cool, bright, deep (like a snowy night or crisp barren landscape) — bts’ yoongi

within these four archetypes, we can categorize the 6 color family subtypes as beautiful 12 (non-exhaustive, there are many more options) palettes. example:

notice how:

the early two seasons are less shaded. spring and summer are very subtle.

spring/autumn have a lot of yellow base: they are GOLD.

vivid the later seasons are. autumn and winter are the pretty heavy ammo.

and how blue-base crisp and cool summer/winter look like: they are SILVER.

not all golds and silvers are created equal, some are lighter, other shades are deeper. but the general guideline for beginners is: cool season = blue/silver like yoongi and warm season = gold/yellow like namjoon. easy hack:

both can look good on a person, but one either distracts from the face/doesn’t do anything for you while the other makes you glow refreshed. that’s how you differentiate. let’s figure out how we apply all of this when looking at pictures.

/// what the person’s best color palette does for them:

the outfit works together with the face.

a coherent impression is created.

the features are well-defined.

it’s a ‘wow’ moment. nothing is off.

the whites of the eye are emphasized.

you overlook blemishes; the person looks even and radiant.

a healthy, moderate shine appears.

it compliments the natural hair color (which is always your exact season)

your attention is on the face, not the styling.

the color feels modern, appropriate, interesting.

the right amount of contrast, tying everything together.

/// meanwhile, how you know it’s NOT the individual’s personal color:

their skin appears a lot warmer or cooler than it usually is. #1 dead giveaway.

as i’ve heard korean color analysts say, ‘the head floats’: because it feels so separate from the color. (= too high contrast)

the garment casts weird shadows on their chin/cheeks/under the eyes etc. that don’t come from elsewhere.

it all doesn’t feel healthy and smooth.

it makes the skin seem greyed/dull, maybe paler, even blotchy.

it simply kills the vibe of the outfit. something is off, the clothing suspiciously washes them out. (=wrong undertone)

the color is odd, boring, or chaotic on them.

the jawline suddenly loses all previous definition, blends with the neck. or: the features are unusually severe.

this is basically “style yoongi like a spring (=felix) VS style felix like a winter (=yoongi)”: the difference is immense between warm and cool tones. winter coloring craves so much opposing shades while a spring face is best complimented by no contrast at all. remember: spring is subtle, winter is heavy ammo. felix is a believable blonde because his season is very light and yellow-based.

let’s practice even more and go through all 4 seasons with taeyong’s ever-changing hair. little did we know: if it’s too bright, muted, or warm, his complexion also becomes brighter, softer, and warmer accordingly: to compensate/adapt to the surrounding color/pick up the reflection. but when he wears his best palette that is mostly black-based, it shows his face as it is: cool, strong, intense, and contrasting like winter.

if that’s too difficult, let’s go back to do a simple gold VS silver example. that’s how you can tell that shinee’s taemin is cool-toned.

his recent eras have been more geared toward his undertone that is blue-based and sophisticated (silver, white/grey, blue) rather than warm, bold, and expressive (gold, orange, yellow).

the majority of warm colors look a little overstated or draining on him, while cool tones underline his sexy image just right.

(the bottom left example isn’t a summer type outfit because it’s dark and saturated — but he can still pull it off since winter is also blue-based)

cool and warm tones can be applied to all people’s fashion and hair. what matches their complexion seamlessly, what makes them glow. every human being has a distinct palette.

what may look mediocre on a summer might feel hot on an autumn; every color can be interesting: on the right person. a clear white t-shirt (=cool tone) is meh? think again when a winter type wears it (bts’ taehyung).

meanwhile, make no mistake: finding one’s season has nothing to do e.g. with how tan you are, or eye color. if someone has light skin, they are not automatically light spring or light summer. because ‘light’ is a color family in this system, not a name for a skin tone — just like having dark skin won’t make a person a dark winter or dark autumn type, for instance.

i’ll give an example outside of k-pop. my favorite football player, leroy sané (about time the world learns about this cutie). in his wardrobe, nothing does it like the light and radiant tone of spring. he wears the most extreme warm chroma kits with zero effort: while cool-toned, dark colors could never compete. he glows in bright clothes and exciting warm tones. because... he’s a clear spring type! 😍

or say, if someone is naturally warm blonde: that doesn’t make them a spring or autumn automatically. it’s just that — the other way around! — people who are springs and autumns wear warm hair colors superbly well, e.g. stray kids’ hyunjin.

so this is purely about which patterns of color assimilate the best to you as a holistic impression. the contrast level of your features overall is much more important, and how either cool or warm tones make you come to life. remember, gold or silver, and you need to know how intense they can go.

OVERVIEW

people with a warm skin undertone thrive in colors that are more upbeat, bright and vibrant with less contrast (spring), while others are suited by contrasting golden earth and jewel tones (autumn).

people with a cool skin undertone are flattered by colors that are more light silvery and pastel (summer), while others fit stronger icy tones that feature more extreme black and white contrast (winter).

IMPORTANT CAUTIONARY NOTES:

- that precisely means: some cool/warm tones may not hit home for someone, BUT lighter or darker ones may. trial and error. when analysing, don’t discard something too easily. and: as we saw, some palettes overlap and seemingly share colors. for instance, bright winters can borrow from bright spring types, since they’re both from the bright family. say, jimin can wear some assorted colors of spring AND summer.

still: keep in mind the basic ideas (and how winters always look better in cool shades, while spring is always warm). if he’s a cool tone and his best colors are soft > bright, and light > dark = we can do the math. he’s a summer. taemin is amazingly flattered by hazy, dusky greys — it’s a light muted palette. grey’s not cute and memorable? he can make it so.

or vice versa. if he’s cool toned and bright > soft, and dark > light = he’s a winter, like changkyun. winters thrive on contrast and can’t handle bleach as easily as summers and springs. their face disappears, almost becomes ghost-like. taemin can pull off blonde like it’s nothing, while changkyun needs the depth of dark winter hair, as it wonderfully contours his face. winters look their most sexy and mysterious in very strong hues.

- color analysis takes so much differenciation as color varies so much. a bright warm red (= spring, even winter) might not be bull’s eye for someone because the saturation/chroma is too much, but a soft warm red (= autumn) can. it’s hard to study at first, so sticking with the 4 seasons concept as a beginner can help, long as you remember the 6 color families.

- someone might wear items/hair color from different seasons at the same time. analysis difficulty mode 5000. say, the foundation could be summer, the eye makeup winter, the shirt spring, and the hair autumn. but you can figure out what feels right one by one. bts’ yoongi can wear warm toned orange hair and it’s not in his palette — he’s a cool tone. but depending on the rest of the outfit, the overall impression still works anyway and looks pretty good.

since he’s a winter, he can balance the orange hair with black + silver accessories and pull it off better. too soft grey clothing doesn’t make him pop as much and the hair takes over. there’s a reason why the right-hand version went viral and is hard to forget. yoongi wears his winter palette very often. 💘

- what looks good on someone often resorts to subjective VS objective. what makes someone look radiant and harmonious can be very different to color analyst’s different perspectives and even biases. if you want someone to be season XYZ, you find ways to justify it. that’s why proper analysis means: sifting through dozens and dozens of pictures, and sometimes correcting your typings over and over.

meanwhile, sometimes it’s easy — because the difference is so extreme. consider txt’ yeonjun with warm blonde hair before an orange color background and dark hair before a cool grey backdrop:

- keep in mind that certain seasons will be more prevalent among idols. the colorful spring tone era of kpop has blended into a more cool-tone dominated era in the industry. there’s a trend toward casting winters and summers into agencies, but mostly winter. their range of colors is more flexible and eyecatching, and always ready for a classic black tie event. a bright winter aesthetic is veeery popular for nct’s music videos, for instance (so pretty).

(how do you know it’s not bright spring? it has strong black background contrast and silver in it.)

so, styling examples in warm tones are harder to find and analyse if seemingly all men’s fashion is blue-based and you don’t find comparison pictures. spring is already seldom worn, but autumn concepts like shinee’s are especially rare.

- some body types do some color palettes better than others. if you have heard of kibbe body typing, you’ll know what i mean. if your body type says ok, a vertical line of black color works best for you, but your personal color says you’re a soft or light season instead of a high contrast season? meeting halfway and typing well is even more difficult if you consider kibbe and aren’t a versatile gamine or classic type. i mean look at this recommendation table mess:

- often, people can never seem to agree on a typing online, even experts. everyone has their own approach and tweaks to the theory. the debate can get heated and messy; nobody wants to be wrong despite color analysis being so hard to get right. othertimes, i’ve seen color analysts or forumists type things like ‘ew, person XYZ looks the absolute worst in this color it’s horrible!!’ — i encourage everyone to stay civil and not insult the person you’re typing by saying they look terrible, awful, hideous, gross, nasty, et cetera. and even if a color doesn’t look right, say which one does, end on a positive note. color theory is no excuse or shield to hide behind to call someone ugly.

- lighting/editing/filters can also mess with correct analysis. photo backgrounds can reflect. the issue of artificial vs natural lighting — what helps to type more accurately? (...if you ask me, natural. but color harmony shows indoors anyway, and even in bad lighting.) if the person is wearing major cleavage, their own skin will ‘cancel out’/neutralize the effect of the garment’s color cast on the face. it takes time and effort to learn this system so mistakes sneak in, i constantly err myself. the list goes on. online typings can easily be inaccurate; we’re not doing the analysis in person, with clearly labelled color drapes and palettes under the face as the pros are doing it for consultations.

example: his company can edit and photograph taemin as a deep winter, icy lighting, heavy makeup, black clothes. but unwhitewashed pictures will tell you that all black everything isn’t as spot-on as more gentle summer colors.

winter is too strong and deep. summer is just right, being easygoing and subtle enough.

- always remember that all colors can be made more cool or warm (by adding yellow or blue respectively), dark or light (by adding black or white), soft or bright (by adding or subtracting grey). yellow can be made cool or warm, blue can be made cool or warm. white can be crisp or off-white/beige. there are only a few dealbreakers in this system. for instance, cool seasons struggle with wearing either orange, and light seasons don’t pull off any black, and the warm color family is incompatible with very sharp white. but other than that, remember that any color is always able to be manipulated on a spectrum.

but usually, when you type someone into warm or cool, the difference can be quite glaring and you don’t have to go the extra mile and find them in a cool blue vs a warm blue, for instance. let’s look at felix from stray kids and which tone accentuates his face the best in random colors:

the cool and ashy purple of the dye, the blue-based background, and the black jacket don’t do him any justice. it’s a styling for a winter. instead, felix being a spring is best-complimented by warm blonde hair (guess why he wears it so often, it’s in his palette) and citrus pastels, with warm tone makeup like the peachy coral lip on the right. that’s all we need to check.

- seasonal color analysis works best when the person doesn’t wear makeup and you just observe the effect of the surrounding colors on their face, but then again: makeup is also ‘surrounding color’ and will read as either fitting or separate from the person. let’s look at taeyong:

the fiery red hair and orange eye shadow are mostly yellow-based and therefore suited for a warm undertone. on his cool tone skin, it needs deeper and more blue-based colors, or a strong contrast like on the right. a cool brunette tone and silver jewelry are just natural on him. even a very subtle makeup style can help him dress his season, despite taeyong handling tons of makeup on any given day. moral of the story, long as his outfit is deep-toned enough, he can go for anything except too much yellow-base.

THE SIX COLOR FAMILIES IN DEPTH: EXAMPLES.

to end this post, let’s practice again to sort idols into the big 6. because as long as you got these down, you can type someone on your own.

bts’ namjoon’s color family is gently muted. his stylists don’t go for it often, but he wears beigey-peachy soft tones like no other. there’s a reason why he does honey blonde and brunette hair all the time: his undertone is warm. namjoon is a delicate soft autumn.

shinee’s key is very versatile in fashion, but his color family is cool. very breezy and a bit muted, but mostly full of blue-based greys and browns. not too much winter constrast, this is a more subtle palette. his undertone is cool. kibum is a cool summer.

and finally, stray kids felix as we saw belongs to the warm tones, and the light family. that means minimum contrast and lots of subtle chroma, beige and cream are his forte. the more understated the tint of the clothing and accessories, the better. felix is a light spring.

yep, this can go on and on. i hope you picked up some knowledge bombs from this explanation and feel as intrigued by personal color as i am, do ask if you have any questions and need some help.

cheers and happy researching ✍️ - caro

#seasonal color analysis #kpop #seasonal color #typing #long post #kpop thread #kpop analysis #fashion #kpop fashion #i wanted to properly introduce this to you for so long!!

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