What Color Is Your Parachute?

RHYS: The one form of spring cleaning I do every year is to go through my clothes closet and get rid of any item I haven't worn for at least a year. (At least, this is the theory. I practice I find myself muttering 'I might wear that again if kilts/long skirts/peasant blouses come back into fashion)

But the interesting thing to me about this exercise is that I clearly favored a certain color at a certain time. Picasso had his blue period. So did I. And a light green, and a teal, and beige, and even brown (that was a mistake. i don't look good in brown.) There was even a mauve period. What was I thinking? Nobody looks good in mauve except little old ladies with blue hair.

So now I'm fascinated: what made me go that color at that period in my life? Was it the 'in' color that year and I was subliminally influenced by the fashion industry? Did it match the way I was feeling? Was I particularly cheerful the year I went for buttery yellow?Was I trying to be efficient when I wore navy?  I won't even try to analyze how I was feeling when I went for mauve.

Some people have 'their' color and stick to it. Have I ever seen Hank not wearing black? My daughter Anne, with true black Irish coloring of dark hair and fabulous blue eyes only wears black/light blue/red and white. A true winter person.  If I had to come up with 'my' color I suppose it would be turquoise or teal. But that doesn't stop me from beige which is probably quite wrong for my hair and coloring.

So I'm interested, Reds. Do you feel energized or angry when you wear red? Do you choose light blue to make you serene? Do you have your own particular colors and if so, how were they chosen. Did you ever have your colors done? (I'm spring).

Also are some colors more appealing than others? I'm going to look at my book covers and see which of them sold better than others (The lilac Molly book didn't do that well. Aha. Memo to self. No more lilac.)

Do you have a favorite color right now?

HALLIE EPHRON: I LOVE red. Also black. Or red and black. Or black and red. They're good with my coloring.

Pastels? Feh. They wash me out and make me feel girlie which I do not like. I try to do strong colors -- bright ones like turquoise and jade green and violet -- but I confess, I invariably fade to black... and red.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I used to wear autumnal colors that flattered my red hair:  brown, rust, moss green. Now that I've gone silver, I've had to change it up a bit. I'll still wear my favorite brown turtleneck, but I'll add on a turquoise necklace or red scarf to brighten it up. One color I can wear now that never used to look good on me? Pink! My summer wardrobe has become heavily pink and green in the past few years.

Living in a cold climate, I really notice how colors in my environment make me feel. As soon as the temperature drops in the fall, the living room chairs and ottoman get covered with plaid wool in shades of burgundy, burnt orange and hunter green. It makes the room warmer without having to turn up the thermostat!

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  Looking at the photos I posted recently of my book signings twenty years ago and fifteen years ago, I was wearing deep purple in the first, and a sort of teal-blue-green in the second. Hmm. Still wear those colors. I had my colors done years and years ago, and I am supposedly a "summer," so I was cheating towards "winter" on the purple.  I used to stick by that palette pretty religiously, however, but I seem to be getting more adventurous. I've developed a thing for lime green the last couple of years, and I've noticed I have several things in burnt orange, both of which would have been absolutely taboo. But my hair is, um, lighter these days, and that does make a difference.

I still can't wear olive or yellow or clear orange, or most grays and browns. Not unless I want to look like one of the corpses in my books.

Oh, I deliberately made Gemma a "spring/autumn" so she could wear all the colors that didn't look good on me.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, Debs, the idea that you had signings twenty years ago. Swoon.

And yes, black it is. (Thanks, Rhys.) The only color that looks reliably good on me. Okay, red. Chocolate brown. Winter white. And that, my friends, is it. Except for the occasional navy blue.

Why is this, I ask? Anyone know the color thing?

DEBS: It was supposed to be some formula of skin tone, eye color, and hair color. Summer and winter were "cool" skin tones; autumn and spring, "warm." Is it still the thing to have your "colors" done, I wonder? And don't most of us have a pretty good idea what works for us and what doesn't?  Maybe the real thing is to ask what colors make us happy, and why? I painted my kitchen a soft apple green when we remodeled.  That was six years ago and it still makes me smile every day.

Hank, I have to say, your packing must be really, really easy:-)

LUCY BURDETTE: I had my "colors" done about twenty years ago too. And who knows what my hair color was back then?? But they gave me a little wheel of swatches with all my flattering colors on it, and several of them designated as especially good for making eyes stand out (green), hair, skin, and also, what color of jewelry to wear (gold and bronze better than silver). The problem is I forget to take it when I go shopping...And so I buy black and white:). I think I'm an Autumn like Gemma, Debs, so I do better with greens, browns, and peach. But in any case, you can pretty much tell when you look in the mirror--ghoulish? Don't buy it no matter how cute!

RHYS: One thing I've learned the hard way--I do not look good in patterns. No flowers, swirls, blobs for me. I'm Ms. Ralph Lauren. If I stick with him, I'm okay (except last year when he included an awful pink and green dress). But this makes me wonder whether we make our characters look like us or deliberately different from us. I always wanted red hair and Molly has the flame colored locks I craved. 

So let's hear from you? Have you always favored the same colors? Do you experiment?