“Kim, I see many companies giving out swatch wallets for Light Summer, Deep Autumn, etc. as opposed to just the four seasons or the dominant tonal fans. Have you found that in general a seasonal fan or a tonal fan tend to work regardless of the more nuanced layer of the season?
“For example, I have a friend who is a Light Summer who can handle more brightness in fabrics than a Soft Summer would be able to. The more greyed tones that would look great on a Soft Summer don’t work on her.
“I can see that if someone is really going for the extreme handholding approach to their business and telling clients “Find something that matches the colors in this wallet exactly…” as opposed to “See if it looks like it belongs…”, the more nuanced fan is probably preferred by them (and makes client shopping trips more difficult). I much prefer the belonging method and have no desire to put individual swatch wallets together (unless it’s a special case).
“If someone is a Light Summer do you tell them to focus on a subset of the Summer fan when shopping with it? Or if Light is dominant would you tend to give the Light tonal fan instead?” Alyburga
Dear Alyburga,
There are no generalisations I can offer about swatch wallets.
You simply have to find the ones that work for you and your ideal clients
I can only tell you what I choose to do…
- I use the seasonal fans for those who want a seasonal diagnosis
- For those who are happy with a tonal diagnosis, I use the safe tonal fans
I don’t complicate it any further. Too much choice is going to confuse the client.
If they’re happy to consider either, then I offer both seasonal and tonal as options and let them make the final decision. After all, they need to choose what will work for them when they’re out shopping – because I will not be with them.
Also, if I think they need a colour from a different season or tone, I pop a little piece of that fabric into the plastic pockets inside the fan covers.
- When my demonstration drapes first arrived, I cut out a neck so that they would lie flat under my client’s chin and across her shoulders
- I keep all these little offcuts specifically for this purpose
- I am also more than happy to cut a piece off any drape at any time
- Read more
I have no hang-ups whatsoever about ‘needing’ to have pristine drapes.
Stuff the system. Put the client first!
This is your business.
Only you can decide if this is what you want to do, or whether the fans I use will work for you.
You should check out our full online catalogue of colour analysis swatch wallets and fans as there may be other options which suit you better.
Colour analysis is not about the drapes or the swatch wallets
It’s about providing the client with a solution to her current problem, which is almost always about lack of confidence.
Spending time putting together a bespoke wallet, especially when you start out, is taking time away from helping your client to look and feel more confident.
The most important thing I do is to spend time with each individual client going through the colours that we have discovered she looks and feels fabulous in. This includes picking out those specific colours from the fan/wallet options, and talking about how she will get the best out of using whichever fan/wallet she decides to go for.
Assume nothing!
You should never assume that every single client wants a swatch wallet or fan.
For example, I’m an auditory learner so sitting me in front of a mirror ‘showing’ me the colours is not the best way to educate me (and that’s being polite!).
- Tell me what to wear, write it down, and TALK to me about it!
My swatch wallet went into a drawer 40+ years ago, and it has remained there ever since.
How do you find out if your client wants a set of swatches or not?
- Ask her!
- Or diagnose her colour personality type because that will tell you everything you need to know about how she shops and how she decides what to wear
- Colour personality typing is covered in all my professional-level colour analysis training courses and also in my Colour Psychology training course
And don’t tell lies
Any fool that tries telling clients “to find something that matches the colours in this wallet exactly” should be taken out and flogged.
No-one will EVER find an exact match in the shops, or in a fabric factory…
- unless they have access to the specific dyers who create the drape fabrics
- and NO-ONE except the colour suppliers will EVER have that!
