Summer Soft Toned - Kamala Harris

  

A few days ago, the topic of Kamala Harris's color season came up on the subreddit r/coloranalysis. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough! The thread was locked within a day (likely because of a lot of moderation was needed due to the election). But it did inspire today's post.

*Note: NO political comments will be allowed in this post.
It is purely a discussion of color.*

The debate over Harris' celebrity style has been lively - with responses all over the board. And Color Analysis content creators have fallen into two general camps:

The subreddit's comments followed a similar pattern (excluding some fun wild cards):
  • Warm or Dark Autumn - 15 comments
  • Soft or True Summer - 8 comments

So which is right?

Well, unless Harris does an in-person draping with an analyst and then shares it with us, we can't know for sure. But I do know what I would argue.

Trying on the Colors

Kamala Harris is of Indian and Afro-Jamaican descent. Could she be Warm + Deep (Autumn) or Neutral + Soft (Summer)

For Harris' features, I lean away from the Warm & Deep side for 2 main reasons.

1. Most people are unfamiliar with many non-white lighter season examples, and so don't seriously consider them

This disparity is part of my motivation for typing color palettes of diverse AI models, like the Countries as Princesses Color Palettes series also on this site. Some systems even exclude individuals with dark hair or eyes from being anywhere in a light season.

So on the whole, I'm generally skeptical of season typing for stereotypically deeper color seekers unless it's clear the analyst did really look into the lighter seasons.

2. Harris yellows, not glows, in warm or saturated colors

Kamala Harris has an olive or sunlit/toasted overtone of some kind, which I think is causing some false impressions, especially in lighting which hasn't been white balanced. In colors that are too saturated or too warm, she becomes slightly yellow.

To make things even more confusing, it can be even harmonious in some pictures if she has incorporated warm-toned makeup and hair styling.

The cool jewel tones from winter are very good hues on her, but they still have too much contrast and saturation. That's a good thing for when you want to stand out for effect, though, in a sea of black and navy (like during an Inauguration), but it's not an indication of someone's home season.

To get past this speed bump when researching color, consider adjusting the saturation and white balance. Here's an example of some things I edit on images when trying to pinpoint an exact color.  

Harris usually wears both of these colors in this photo well, but something's off with them. The top image is undersaturated, graying the fine nuances of her skin tone. The bottom is oversaturated, creating the yellowing effect.

By comparing them to a photo of her in perfect lighting, like this promotional shot, you have a baseline to adjust to. 

You can also find an object that is white in the image (even someone's teeth!) and use that as a guide to approximate. We're not aiming for perfect, just more realistic and comparable. 

By adjusting the saturation and white balance up or down, we can get closer to what the image would look like in natural lighting.

 Another Look

Some people truly are magicians. They have a flexible kind of coloring which makes it difficult to pick the season where they shine. Spring seasons are notorious for this, as are those with olive overtones. 

So where does Kamala Harris shine? 

 

Harris looks most like herself when wearing Soft Summer colors that are neutral-cool, soft and light. The olive overtone fits easily into Sunlit Toned Sumer, which is less dusty but still very soft. She has a medium-low level of contrast and shines in rose beige and oyster pink, teal green and every soft blue, & cool light purples like lavender and mauve.

But being a lighter season doesn't mean she can't wear darker colors wonderfully! There are many deep colors on every palette. As a professional politician, these deep neutrals have likely been her everyday staple for decades. There are many photos of Harris in deep soft navy blue, light charcoal, mahogany brown, and cool neutral taupe.

While Soft Summer Light (Toned) and Soft Summer Deep (Shaded) have very similar palettes, the darker colors of Shaded Summer have the tendency to overpower her, reintroducing that yellow shadow. In contrast, she sparkles in light grays, blues, and pinks. She also effortlessly wears both silver and gold.  

My Vote

My vote then is for Summer Soft Toned, likely in the Sunlit Soft subseason that shares a soft neutrality with Soft Autumn.

Learn More

    If you are also a Toned Summer, check out additional inspiration in the #SummerSoftToned collection in my shop. 😊