Isabel Walker Reinvents Her Career at 72 with Colour Analysis

In May 2026, 72-year-old Isabel Walker opened a colour-analysis consultancy in Watford, Hertfordshire. The service, aimed at post-menopausal women and mother-daughter pairs, identifies a client’s “season” and matches them to one of sixteen sub-season palettes. Walker completed her training earlier that year and began seeing clients two months after certification.

The Guardian

Walker’s career began in journalism, where she served as health correspondent for the Daily Mail and Sunday Telegraph before becoming health and beauty editor of *Living* magazine. A personal loss from pre-eclampsia led her to co-author a medical book and co-found the charity Action on Preeclampsia in 1992, which she directed for nearly a decade. She later spent fifteen years delivering communications-skills training, a role that waned and left her seeking a new direction.

The Guardian

The consultancy uses a seasonal colour-analysis model that sorts individuals into one of four primary seasons—spring, summer, autumn, winter—and then into four sub-seasons, producing sixteen distinct palettes. Clients receive recommendations for clothing and accessories that harmonise with their assigned sub-season.

The Guardian

Walker’s new venture challenges conventional retirement expectations, showing that career reinvention is possible well beyond typical working ages. Her focus on intentional, sustainable purchasing links personal style to broader environmental concerns, reflecting a growing trend toward mindful consumption among older adults.

The Guardian

Walker describes a forward-moving philosophy: she “never regrets anything” and prefers to “plough ahead” rather than dwell on alternative choices. She says she feels “as much energy as I had when I was in my 20s or 30s,” and characterises colour analysis as a process that reveals personal truth and provides her with a strong sense of excitement.

The Guardian

• “She said: ‘You should be doing this kind of work.’ I said: ‘Nonsense. I’m far too old. I’m 72.’ But she wouldn’t let it go. She said: ‘You’re born to do this.’” — Colour analyst, on Walker’s potential

The Guardian

• “I’m 72 and way beyond retirement age, but I really don’t want to retire because I can’t think of anything that I particularly want to do that I can’t already do in my spare time. I want my time to be filled. I feel like I’ve got as much energy as I had when I was in my 20s or 30s.” — Isabel Walker

The Guardian

• “The drapes tell the story, and they don’t lie,” — Isabel Walker

The Guardian

• “Who’s to say there isn’t going to be another turning point and another opportunity that I’ll just say yes to?” — Isabel Walker

The Guardian

Walker says she does not rule out a “fifth career” and anticipates expanding her client base, possibly adding workshops that blend colour analysis with broader lifestyle coaching.

The Guardian