Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Be Contrarian with your Colors!
The rapid change in temperatures has me thinking...is it time for a change in temperament? I look in my closet sometimes and I think...why still the predominant hues of gray, black, blue? Like many of you, I often feel comfortable melding in with the city-- and I mean *melding* with the colors of the buildings, the fixtures, the sidewalks, and the masses. Anonymity is comforting. I'm still not comfortable, and never have really been comfortable, with being the center of attention, so I tend to wear darker colors. My mother's voice complains in the back of my consciousness (the back of the closet of my head, actually!), "Wear brighter colors! Pull your hair back! Who can see your pretty face with your hair in it all the time! Why don't you listen when I say wear brighter colors!?"
Sound familar? Well, today I was thinking, my mom has a good two decades plus of experience on me, and she's been saying for at least half of that time that she's tired of seeing me wearing the same old shades. I'm 32 now and starting to see my mom as a peer, and not a peeve. She's onto something! So, I'll have you know that I have made some of my first forays into color in this very shop. I adore my light blue Angie top (the one with the pleated ruffled sleeves near the elbow) because (a) it's got COLOR, and (b) I love the way the sleeves open up every time I raise my arms to do something, perhaps drink a glass of water-- they remind me of flowers opening.
My absolute favorite color combinations right now in the store-- pumpkin, sky blue, and this sparkling cassis you will love. Velvet, wool, and cotton: it's delicious, and yes, it's still sportswear! Next time any of you come in, ask me to show you the wool items. We have some of the wool cowl necks (the Rosie top) in the aforementioned yummy colors that are a must-try. I had a girl try on the soft velvet Victoria blazer in pumpkin, over the sky blue Mimi boatneck top. She looked smart and hip! I was a little sad when she reverted to basic grays and blacks, but I suppose it's much easier to recommend color than to wear it?
But, back to the main point, the change in weather is definitely making me more contrarian in my colors now. It could be that I'm feeling more adventurous now in my early thirties than I ever was in my twenties (I'm a better twenty seven year old than I was when I was twenty seven!), and more importantly, *comfortable* with being adventurous. I wore a blackberry purple top with my grass-doesn't-get-any-greener Maeve pants the other day, and my roomie said, "NICE!"
I stretched my arms up and said, "Thanks. I think I'm going to be more *contrarian* in my colors now."
So ladies, whenever someone says you can't wear navy with black, or don't do black with brown, or simply isn't open to your notion of "orange is the new whatever," be brave and wear the blues with the oranges, the purples with the oranges, the oranges with the reds. I think fashion is 98% confidence, 2% taste. Perhaps that's a crude breakdown...what do you think? If you had to fill in the blanks, what would you write?
Fashion is 98%___, and 2% ___?
Sound familar? Well, today I was thinking, my mom has a good two decades plus of experience on me, and she's been saying for at least half of that time that she's tired of seeing me wearing the same old shades. I'm 32 now and starting to see my mom as a peer, and not a peeve. She's onto something! So, I'll have you know that I have made some of my first forays into color in this very shop. I adore my light blue Angie top (the one with the pleated ruffled sleeves near the elbow) because (a) it's got COLOR, and (b) I love the way the sleeves open up every time I raise my arms to do something, perhaps drink a glass of water-- they remind me of flowers opening.
My absolute favorite color combinations right now in the store-- pumpkin, sky blue, and this sparkling cassis you will love. Velvet, wool, and cotton: it's delicious, and yes, it's still sportswear! Next time any of you come in, ask me to show you the wool items. We have some of the wool cowl necks (the Rosie top) in the aforementioned yummy colors that are a must-try. I had a girl try on the soft velvet Victoria blazer in pumpkin, over the sky blue Mimi boatneck top. She looked smart and hip! I was a little sad when she reverted to basic grays and blacks, but I suppose it's much easier to recommend color than to wear it?
But, back to the main point, the change in weather is definitely making me more contrarian in my colors now. It could be that I'm feeling more adventurous now in my early thirties than I ever was in my twenties (I'm a better twenty seven year old than I was when I was twenty seven!), and more importantly, *comfortable* with being adventurous. I wore a blackberry purple top with my grass-doesn't-get-any-greener Maeve pants the other day, and my roomie said, "NICE!"
I stretched my arms up and said, "Thanks. I think I'm going to be more *contrarian* in my colors now."
So ladies, whenever someone says you can't wear navy with black, or don't do black with brown, or simply isn't open to your notion of "orange is the new whatever," be brave and wear the blues with the oranges, the purples with the oranges, the oranges with the reds. I think fashion is 98% confidence, 2% taste. Perhaps that's a crude breakdown...what do you think? If you had to fill in the blanks, what would you write?
Fashion is 98%___, and 2% ___?
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