Twenty-four colours, twelve skin tones

Best and worst, per colour

Every colour below was scored against all twelve palettes by the distance from it to the nearest thing in each. That comparison is the useful part: a verdict on its own gives a reader nothing to calibrate against, and a colour that scores the same everywhere is a colour that is not deciding the outfit.

20 of 24 colours land on a different best season from the first one listed, which is a crude measure of how much spread there is across a wardrobe's worth of colour words.

• Black (#111111): best on Deep Winter, worst on Light Summer.
• White (#FAFAFA): best on True Winter, worst on Deep Autumn.
• Cream (#F2E8D5): best on Light Spring, worst on Deep Autumn.
• Beige (#D9C6A8): best on Light Spring, worst on True Winter.
• Camel (#C19A6B): best on True Spring, worst on Deep Winter.
• Chocolate brown (#4A2C1A): best on Deep Autumn, worst on Light Summer.
• Grey (#9A9A9A): best on Light Summer, worst on True Spring.
• Charcoal (#36393D): best on Deep Winter, worst on Light Spring.
• Navy (#1B2A4A): best on Deep Winter, worst on Light Spring.
• Cobalt blue (#0047AB): best on True Winter, worst on Light Spring.
• Sky blue (#8FC1E3): best on Light Summer, worst on Deep Autumn.
• Teal (#1F7A78): best on True Autumn, worst on Bright Winter.
• Emerald green (#00875A): best on True Winter, worst on Light Summer.
• Olive green (#6B6B3A): best on True Autumn, worst on Light Summer.
• Forest green (#22432E): best on Deep Winter, worst on Light Spring.
• Mustard (#D4A017): best on True Autumn, worst on True Winter.
• Rust (#B7410E): best on True Autumn, worst on Light Summer.
• Terracotta (#C36A4E): best on Soft Autumn, worst on Light Summer.
• Coral (#F4735A): best on Bright Spring, worst on Deep Winter.
• Blush pink (#E8BFC4): best on Light Summer, worst on Deep Autumn.
• Fuchsia (#D6218C): best on Bright Spring, worst on Light Spring.
• Burgundy (#5C1A2B): best on Deep Autumn, worst on Light Summer.
• Lavender (#B9A5D6): best on Light Spring, worst on Deep Autumn.
• Mauve (#9A7B8C): best on True Summer, worst on Deep Winter.