1
general::
A reminder of a person or situation in the past. For example, He really played a fine game for a fiftyyear-old?? shades of his high school triumphs, or They found themselves alone on the beachshades of their childhood summers together. [Mid-1800s]
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): shades of someone or something
Fig. reminders of someone or something; a thing that is reminiscent of someone or something. • When I met Jim’s mother, I thought "shades of Aunt Mary." • "Shades of grade school," said Jack as the university lecturer rebuked him for being late.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs