What draping is
Draping means holding colored fabric near your face and noticing how your skin, eyes and features respond. It is the method professional consultants use, and it can be done at home. The goal is not to find a perfect single result in one sitting. It is to collect evidence about which colors help you look rested and clear, and which do not.
Done carefully, draping gives you more reliable information than any quiz, because you are looking at your actual face. Done carelessly, in poor light or with a bad setup, it can mislead you. The steps below are about avoiding the common errors.
Keep the expectation modest. Color analysis is a styling convention, not a science, as explained in our guide to 12 season color analysis. Your own mirror judgment is the final test.
Step 1: Set up your light
Light is the biggest source of error. Sit facing a window in indirect daylight, ideally in the morning or early afternoon on a day without strong sun. Direct sun creates harsh shadows and bleaches color. Indoor bulbs tint everything yellow or blue. Turn off lamps and overhead lights, and avoid sitting near a strongly colored wall, because it will bounce its color onto your face.
Use a mirror large enough to show your face and shoulders, and place it so that the light falls on your face rather than behind you. If you can, ask a friend to help, because a second person is better at noticing changes than you are when you are looking at yourself.
Step 2: Prepare your face
- Remove makeup, including foundation, concealer, blush and lip color. Lipstick in particular affects how nearby colors look.
- Pull your hair back or cover it with a plain white or neutral cloth, so that your hair color does not influence your judgment.
- Wear a plain neutral top or wrap a white towel around your shoulders so that your clothing color does not reflect onto your face.
- Remove glasses if you can and wait a few minutes after washing, since redness fades.
Natural flush, sleep and even your mood affect the result, so try not to test when you are very tired.
Step 3: Choose your colors
You do not need professional drapes. Solid-color scarves, T-shirts, towels or pillowcases work. Choose fabrics that are plain, not patterned, and that have a matte surface, because shiny fabric reflects light and confuses the test.
Collect pairs that isolate one dimension at a time:
- Warm versus cool: coral and fuchsia, or olive and blue-green, or cream and optic white.
- Light versus deep: a pale pastel and a rich dark shade of the same hue, such as powder blue and navy.
- Bright versus soft: a clear, saturated color and a dusty version, such as vivid turquoise and sage-teal.
You can also use a phone or tablet screen showing a full-screen solid color. Set brightness to a medium level, turn off night mode and color filters, and hold it just below your chin. Screens emit light rather than reflect it, so they look different from fabric and can overstate how good a color is. Use them for quick comparisons rather than final decisions.
Step 4: Compare in pairs
Hold one color under your chin, look for a few seconds, then swap it for the other color and look again. Always compare two options directly instead of judging one color alone, because it is much easier to see a difference than to rate a single color.
Work through one pair at a time and write down your impressions. Start with warm versus cool, because the winner narrows the options to two families. Then compare light versus deep and bright versus soft within that family. A simple notebook with a column for each color helps you spot patterns after a few sessions.
Take breaks, since your eyes adapt quickly. Looking at a white or neutral surface for a few seconds between colors resets your perception.
Step 5: Know what to look for
When a color works, you usually notice several changes together.
Shadows
Under the eyes, around the nose and along the jaw, a good color softens shadows. A poor color deepens them, makes dark circles stand out or adds a gray or green cast.
Skin evenness
A good color makes skin look smoother and more even, and redness, sallowness or patchiness fade. A poor color makes redness, blemishes or yellowing more obvious.
Eye brightness
Eyes often look clearer and more vivid in a good color. In a poor color they can look dull or tired.
Whole-face balance
The most useful sign is that you see your face first and the color second. If the color seems to arrive before the face, it is probably too strong, too light or too dark for you. If your face seems to disappear into the color, it is too close to your own coloring. Look for the color that supports you without competing.
Using the SeasonHue selfie try-on
If you prefer a tool, our selfie try-on lets you drape colors on your own photo. It works on your device, so the photo does not need to be uploaded for analysis. For good results, take the selfie facing a window in indirect daylight with no makeup, and turn off beauty filters and automatic color adjustments.
Remember that a photo has already been processed by your camera, so it is a rougher test than a mirror. Use it to narrow options, then confirm your favorites with real fabric in front of a mirror. You can also start with the color analysis quiz, which can suggest a season to test.
After the test
Repeat the process on another day, and with another person if possible. If the same family wins twice, you have a useful starting point. If the results keep changing, you may sit between seasons or have a neutral undertone, and the neutral undertones guide explains what to do. Once you have a working season, read about it on its page, such as Soft Summer or Bright Winter, and try its colors on real clothing.