Season Tickets

House of Colour can help you determine the best hues for you.

Written by Bridget Williams / Photos by Molly Sensenbrenner

Though you may recall having gone to a color analysis house party in the 80s, a brief cottage industry inspired by Carole Jackson’s book “Color Me Beautiful”, the seeds of the movement were planted much earlier by German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). He created “color psychology” after realizing the connections between different colors. Swiss painter Johannes Itten took things a step further when he proposed that portraits look better when certain colors were used in conjunction with specific hair and skin tones. Itten devised four seasonal color palettes used by his Bauhaus students to create more aesthetically pleasing portraits. In the silver screen era, the transition from black and white to color films signaled a marked interest in color analysis, when the hue of an actor’s costume became an essential tool in character interpretation.

This brief history lesson underscores that there are reams of scientific and anecdotal evidence that thoughtful wardrobe color choices can literally help us put our best face forward. So, if “all the world’s a stage,” as Shakespeare wrote, I thought it best to overhaul my personal costume department by seeking out the services of Meghan Tinker, who along with her business partner Nikki Snow, have established House of Colour (HOC) franchises in Louisville, Indianapolis, and Nashville.

Founded in the UK more than three decades ago, HOC is well-known for delivering accurate color and style analysis. Meghan, who greeted me at her door with a bright smile and an even brighter pink jacket (that looked fabulous on her), has a strong background in sales and entrepreneurship, said she’s always been interested in fashion. Through her decade-plus of work with Stella & Dot, she had numerous clients ask for style help, which piqued her interest in honing her sartorial skills with more formal education and ultimately led her to discover the HOC via Instagram. “I’d heard of seasonal colors and did online color quizzes like everyone has, but it was their before-and-after pictures that really made the difference,” said Meghan. She added that the extensive onsite training she received from HOC and the emphasis on individual consultations really sets the company apart.

Image Consultant Meghan Tinker

Working out of a light-filled studio in her home, Meghan offers personalized and small group color analysis and style services. I dipped my toes into the rainbow with a two-hour color analysis session. Meghan began by briefly discussing the history of color analysis before moving on to applying the principles. I sat facing a mirror, and after pulling my hair away from my makeup-free face, Meghan moved around a circular rack containing 300+ scarves and began layering a few dozen on my shoulders. There was no dog-and-pony show needed to see, as she whisked one after the other from my shoulders, how my skin and eyes reacted—from dull to dynamic—in response to the color laid below. Lines and shadows appeared and then faded away with the next scarf. Similarly, my eyes seem to magically morph from brown to green.

When she landed on one scarf in a particularly flattering shade, my mind immediately jumped to a preferred piece from my wardrobe and made me understand why it’s one of my go-to’s. “We wear about fifteen percent of our wardrobe eighty-five percent of the time,” Meghan explained, adding that understanding what colors are most flattering can avoid costly shopping missteps and unworn purchases.

Explaining her determination that I’m an “autumn,” we moved on to makeup best suited for my skin tone. I couldn’t believe it when Meghan showed me the HOC-brand copper-colored blush intended for my cheeks—I’d never chosen a color that dark—but it looked amazing, as did the geranium red lipstick. Meghan said that “true red” lipstick is the one universally flattering shade regardless of your season.

After applying my “five-minute face,” which is about the amount of time I usually spend applying makeup, Meghan pulled 36 colored scarves traditionally associated with autumn. Then, using an autumn-specific take-home booklet that outlines everything from hair color to building a wardrobe, we used a chart to rank each color. We selected nine of the 36 as being capable of a head-to-toe application, with the rest spread out to carry fifty to seventy-five percent of an ensemble. Also handy is the card-sized holder I received that contains swatches for each of the colors in the autumn palette.

Range of colors best suited for a “Winter”.

“I know it’s just clothes, but the confidence you get from choosing the right ones can be a game-changer,” said Meghan. She read me several heartfelt testimonials from other clients expressing newfound confidence and willingness to spread their wings as a social butterfly. With clientele that encompass men and women of all ages, Meghan strongly feels that “You’re never too young or too old to feel your best.”

For those who want to take the process further, HOC offers style and wardrobe analysis based on the application of Carl Jung’s basic body archetypes. Meghan said that a handful of her clients have her do all their shopping. Clients are encouraged to continue their journey through HOC’s Instagram and Facebook pages, where you can receive ongoing style advice and source clothing according to your identified season.

After I got home from my color analysis, I surveyed my closet, which I already kept organized by color, and was somewhat dismayed by the amount of black, which is not a hue in the autumn spectrum. The analysis helped me understand why I naturally gravitated to some pieces more than others. And while I can’t see myself entirely eschewing black, I do look forward to adding a few key pieces in my most flattering colors. Even Meghan acknowledged that her recommendations are not hard and fast rules, saying, “I’m not the color police. I just provide the guardrails, and you decide where you want to drive.”