Soft Summer
Summer's softest, greyest palette — muted rose and sage tones with almost no saturation.
What colors suit a Soft Summer?
What are the best neutrals for a Soft Summer?
Which metals suit a Soft Summer?
- Silver. The foolproof choice for this coloring.
- Gold. Works only if muted, not orange, dark, or rich.
- Rose gold. Works if it leans pink rather than warm/orange.
What should a Soft Summer avoid?
Sunshine Yellow. A bright, saturated warm tone overwhelms this very low-chroma coloring and reads garish.
Fire Engine Red. Intense, unmuted red fights the season's soft, greyed character.
Pure Black. A harsh dark neutral swallows this medium-value, muted coloring.
Optic White. Stark bright white overwhelms the delicate, low-contrast coloring.
Bright Orange. A warm, saturated tone clashes with the cool-leaning, muted palette.
What prints work for a Soft Summer?
Small, loosely arranged watercolor or floral textures in the season's own muted hues read soft and cohesive; big elements or stiff geometric grids read too bold for this gently blended coloring.
Which celebrities are Soft Summer?
Named as Soft Summer by two or more independent sources: Jennifer Aniston, Kristen Stewart, Cara Delevingne, Emma Chamberlain.
Could you be a different season?
The 12-season system has real boundary cases. Here is how Soft Summer gets confused with its nearest neighbors, and the test to settle it.
- Cool Summer
Hold the season's own warmer, more muted slate blue next to a cooler, brighter version in daylight — the muted warmer one flattering and the brighter cooler one overwhelming means Soft Summer, not Cool Summer.
- Light Summer
Hold a muted, greyed powder blue next to a paler, brighter version in daylight — the muted one flattering and the brighter one looking too intense means Soft Summer, not Light Summer.
- Soft Autumn
Hold grey fabric to your face in daylight — if your eyes look greyish, you're Soft Summer; if they stay green, hazel, or olive, you lean Soft Autumn. This is the most-confused pair in the whole system.
Not sure this is you?
Take the two-minute guided quiz. It uses the same signals a stylist checks in person, no selfie required, and tells you plainly when a result is borderline.
Find your colors