Wearing the Wrong Color Palette |My Color Story: Part 2

A salon visit, an unexpected critique, and a moment of mortification… but sometimes, setbacks are the start of something greater.

When Seasonal Color Doesn’t Feel Right

Eager to experiment with seasonal color after reading Color Me Beautiful, I bought several tops I believed matched my season. I carefully followed the guidelines, choosing shades based on my hair, skin, and eye color.

But something felt off.

Instead of giving me a healthy glow, wearing the color palette left me looking washed out and disconnected. Frustration quickly followed. Perhaps this whole seasonal color idea wasn’t as accurate—or as helpful—as I had hoped.

I didn’t feel like myself in those colors. And I didn’t yet know why.

That sense of disconnection is something I explore more deeply in Why Style and Identity Are Always Connected.

A Salon Visit That Exposed the Problem

Around the same time, I switched to a new hairstylist. During my first visit, four color wheels displayed on the salon wall immediately caught my attention. The owner offered professional color analysis services, but the cost was far beyond my reach as a young mom and recent college graduate.

When I mentioned borrowing Color Me Beautiful from the library and feeling disappointed by my results, which identified me as a Summer, she gave me a knowing look.

“Well, no wonder you’re unhappy,” she said. “You’ve dyed your hair red. Red clashes with the Summer palette. You need a hair color from your season.”

Her certainty made the doubt louder.

The Moment Embarrassment Took Over

Embarrassment washed over me as I realized the salon had gone quiet. My face flushed the same shade as my hair. All I wanted was to disappear.

I never returned for a second appointment.

At the time, it felt humiliating—but what lingered longer was the quiet question that followed me home: What if the issue wasn’t my choices… but the system itself?

An Unexpected Conversation That Challenged the Rules

Later that fall, I taught a sewing and design course at Michaels Crafts. At the start of the season, the instructors hosted a lively fair, setting up tables to promote our classes and connect with visitors.

My table was next to a woman teaching painting classes. During a quiet moment, I shared my salon experience—the insistence that my red hair didn’t suit my supposed Summer season.

She smiled and said, “If your red hair color isn’t natural, I can’t tell. It’s beautiful on you. I’d bet you’re an Autumn.”

Her words stopped me in my tracks.

What Wearing the Wrong Color Palette Reveals

Her observation explained something I had felt for years but couldn’t articulate. I was drawn to warm, earthy tones. They energized me. Yet the book categorized me as a Summer solely because of my hair and eye color.

Then she said something unexpected.

“I’m an Autumn too.”

Dressed head-to-toe in black, she didn’t resemble the traditional Autumn image at all.

Wearing the wrong color palette can cause you to look tired, feel disconnected, and question your instincts—not because color systems are wrong, but because they must be applied with nuance, context, and the whole person in mind.

Color, Presence, and Personal Boundaries

She explained that she had stopped wearing warm, muted colors because strangers constantly approached her. Autumns naturally project warmth, she said—and as an introvert, she needed space. Black became her boundary.

That insight changed everything.

Color wasn’t just about appearance. It shaped how we’re perceived, how we’re approached, and how we move through the world.

Sitting in the Middle of the Journey

Fall’s earthy hues didn’t just suit me—they energized me. And yet, clarity hadn’t fully arrived. I was still sitting in contradiction, mislabeling, and with unanswered questions.

What I knew was this: seasonal color wasn’t about forcing myself into a category. It was about discovering what had always been there.

This chapter didn’t give me answers. But it gave me permission to keep going.

You can read the full journey in my My Color Story series, where each chapter builds on the last.