Voodoo bollocks! That’s how a male friend of mine described my colour analysis business recently.

No doubt he meant it as a joke, but still it rankled. The implication was that colour analysis is just for gullible, credulous women.

And it got me thinking about the various misconceptions around colour analysis. Read on to find out more…

1. Colour analysis is just for women

Absolutely not! Men gain just as much as women from recognising their best colours – and potentially more because, in my experience, they tend to be more conservative, often sticking to just one or two ‘safe’ neutrals. My husband gained enormously from finding and embracing his identity as a ‘true autumn’. He now has a capsule wardrobe centred around green, brown and ivory colours that really light him up and attract compliments wherever he goes.

2. There is no science to it

In fact, colour theory is a well-established science that dates back 100 years to the Swiss artist Johannes Itten, who invented the colour wheel and classified the key characteristics of colour. Plus, the process itself has a scientific basis. When I cover a warm-undertoned client in a cool drape, I can see – and usually they can too – how it lends a grey cast to their skin. Conversely, when I drape a cool-toned client in a warm colour, the yellowing effect on their skin is startlingly obvious.

3. Everyone looks good in black

Wrong! Actually, very few people, including me, look good in black, at least when it is worn right next to their face. To withstand the depth of black, you need to have high contrast in your features, typically very dark hair, light eyes and a cool undertone. That doesn’t mean people with lower contrast can’t wear black at all – just that it is best confined to the lower half of their body.

4. ‘I look good in all colours’

A supremely confident woman said this to me recently. Well maybe her natural good looks and confidence provide this illusion. But the point is that no one looks equally good in all colours and it is a real benefit to identify the palette of colours that make you look most radiant and healthy and, by extension, the ones that overpower or wash you out.

5. Colour analysis limits my options

On the contrary, it expands them. Within each seasonal palette there are a wide range of tones and shades that many people have never even thought of wearing. One of the first clients I analysed – who turned out to be a gorgeous bright spring – told me she only ever wore white and grey. Now she delights in a rich palette of bright blues, pinks, yellows and greens and she looks utterly fabulous.

6. I already know my colour season

If you had your colours done back in the last century – as I did – the chances are that you were told you were one of four seasons: winter, spring, summer or autumn. But colour analysis has come a long way since then and we now recognise that these categories were limiting and inflexible, with many people falling in the gaps between seasons. The gold-standard 16 subseason system which I use, recognises four different sub-types of each season, each with its own distinctive palette, and with access to ‘sister seasons’ that share similar characteristics. My sister and I were both told we were winters back in the day but have since discovered that we are autumns, best suited to rich, soft earthy colours. I was dead chuffed when my sister Whatsapped me to say she had ditched her bright pink jumpers which clearly didn’t suit her softer colouring.

7. I’m too old to worry about that sort of thing

Nonsense! As an older woman (aged 72) myself I enjoy browsing shops, buying clothes and putting outfits together as much as I did in my twenties. And I specialise in working with post-menopausal women, who often complain of losing confidence in their looks and even feeling invisible. A detailed colour analysis carried out with care and empathy restores their belief in the ability to look good at any age.

8. I’ve already got far too many clothes

Yes, but how many of them do you actually wear? Most women wear only around 20 per cent of the clothes in the wardrobe on a regular basis. The remainder are things that don’t suit them, no longer fit them or don’t go with anything else. Colour analysis gives you the knowledge to pare your wardrobe right down to the things that really work for you, so you end up with fewer clothes but more wearable outfits.

9. It’s a waste of money

On the contrary it will save you money in the long run. Once you know the colours that really work for you, you can make some money by selling the ones that don’t (I’m a big fan of Vinted) and economise while shopping by ignoring the multitude of unsuitable offerings and homing in on the much smaller selection of appropriate ones. You will shop more intentionally, more sustainably and ultimately more affordably.

Do you have any remaining reservations about colour analysis? Have I managed to change your mind? Has colour analysis changed your approach to dressing in any way? I would love to hear from you.