Article: Discovering Your Best Colors: Meet Kelly Fairchild of the Fifth Season

Discovering Your Best Colors

AS SEEN IN THE 2026 DIGITAL ISSUE #33 OF NOW WEDDINGS MAGAZINE

What if choosing your wedding colors started with the woman at the center of it all — the bride?

For New Orleans color analyst Kelly Fairchild, personal color analysis is about much more than deciding whether someone looks better in blue or pink. It’s about understanding the colors that naturally complement you — and using that information to make everything from your wardrobe to your wedding day feel more intentional.

Kelly is the founder of The Fifth Season, a boutique personal color analysis studio in New Orleans. With 18 years of experience in medical aesthetics, Kelly brings that same eye for beauty to the world of color.

So, what exactly is personal color analysis?

Kelly: At its simplest, personal color analysis identifies the colors that naturally work best with your individual coloring — your skin, eyes, and hair. But the experience is so much more than simply being told, “You’re a Winter,” or “You’re a Summer.”

During an analysis, we look at your undertone, depth, brightness, and overall coloring to determine your most harmonious colors.

And once you find your colors, you really can’t unsee them. Suddenly, everything becomes clearer. You have direction when you’re shopping, choosing your hair color and makeup, building your wardrobe, and selecting jewelry and accessories. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of those decisions. You have a roadmap you can use long after your appointment ends.

How did The Fifth Season come about?

Kelly: I’ve spent 18 years working in medical aesthetics, so beauty has always been a big part of my professional life. But personal color analysis became something I became increasingly fascinated by personally.

There’s something powerful about seeing yourself in the right colors. It can change how you see your wardrobe and even how you see yourself. I wanted to create an experience where women could step away from rules and trends and discover what is uniquely flattering to them.

That’s where The Fifth Season came from. Traditional color analysis is often organized around four seasons — Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. But I wanted to go beyond simply placing someone into one of those four categories.

At The Fifth Season, we go beyond the four seasons to find your Fifth Season — the colors that are uniquely yours.

Your Fifth Season isn’t about fitting you into a box. It’s about finding the shades, tones, and combinations that make you come alive. Two people can fall within the same season and still have very different most-flattering colors.

Kelly: Your wedding is one of those times when color choices are everywhere — your dress, bridesmaid dresses, flowers, jewelry, makeup, and accessories. And sometimes a bride has a very specific vision in mind.

Why do you think color analysis is particularly interesting for brides?

Maybe she loves blue and knows she wants her bridesmaids in blue. The problem is, blue isn’t one color — and the same blue isn’t going to be the most flattering shade for everyone.

That’s where color analysis can be really helpful. I can take the color the bride loves and help find the best version of that color for her bridal party. Maybe one bridesmaid looks incredible in a rich navy, while another is better in a brighter cobalt and another in a softer powder blue. We can look at the group as a whole and find a color within that family that works beautifully while still being flattering to the women wearing it.

The same applies to the bride herself. Whether she is choosing between a bright white and a softer ivory, deciding on jewelry metals, or thinking about her makeup, knowing her most flattering colors makes those decisions easier.

We’re not starting with a trend. We’re starting with the people who are actually going to wear the colors.

What about doing color analysis as a bridal party or group?

Kelly: I think it could be such a fun bonding experience for a bridal party. You have all of these women who are important to the bride, and getting to discover their colors together creates an experience they can share.

And there’s another part of it that I really love. Brides often give their bridesmaids a personal gift as a thank-you for being part of such an important moment in their lives. A color analysis could be a gift that keeps giving long after the wedding is over.

Your bridesmaids aren’t just getting something they’ll use that weekend. They’re learning something about themselves that they can take with them forever — the colors that flatter them, the neutrals they can build a wardrobe around, and the shades that make them feel their best.

I think that’s what makes it especially meaningful. It’s a personal gift, but it’s also a shared experience — something the bride and her closest friends can enjoy together and remember long after the wedding day.

What do you hope women take away from a Fifth Season experience?

Kelly: I want women to leave feeling like they understand themselves a little better. Color analysis can make getting dressed easier, shopping more intentional, and beauty choices less overwhelming, but I think the biggest thing is confidence.

And for a bride, that can be especially meaningful. Your wedding day should look like you — not just a collection of beautiful things.

The Fifth Season

Personal Color Analysis | New Orleans

Curated. Refined. Uniquely You.

www.thefifthseason.studio

IG: @findyourfifthseason

JESSICA EXPERIENCE SIDE BAR:

From Winter to Spring

My Personal Color Analysis Experience

I went into my appointment with Kelly Fairchild fairly convinced I knew my season. I wear a lot of jewel tones, especially blues, and I was certain I’d fall somewhere in the Winter family.

I couldn’t have been more surprised.

As Kelly draped different colors around my face, I started noticing that some of my longtime favorites looked surprisingly dull. Meanwhile, bright colors I’d rarely considered wearing seemed to bring my complexion to life.

The biggest revelations? Bright red was one of my best colors, yellow wasn’t off-limits after all, and the silver-toned jewelry I’ve favored for years wasn’t nearly as flattering as bright gold.

My season? True Spring. Not even close to what I’d expected!

Even the warmer shades of white were more flattering than the bright whites I’d always chosen.

I’m certainly not throwing out my wardrobe, but I walked away with a completely different perspective on color and a whole new range of possibilities when shopping.

For brides, I can see how valuable that knowledge could be when choosing a gown, jewelry, makeup, or even bridesmaid dresses.

Jessica Burke, Publisher, NOW Weddings

As seen in: NOW Weddings Magazine @nowweddingsmagazine

::READ THE 2026 FALL DIGITAL ISSUE #33 OF NOW WEDDINGS MAGAZINE::