But isn't that weird? I went home and found that everything I've bought in the past year has been gray or gray and white. Why is that? I've even just bought a new house that is painted gray and white. For house decoration I gather it's the IN color of the moment but I'd been buying gray clothing before I saw it this winter. So why am I so attracted to gray right now? Is it somehow a popular color, an evil strategy of those in power in fashion? Is there a secret power that meets each year to decide what color we will wear? But I haven't seen too much gray in department stores.
I realize that for most of my life I've suddenly fallen in love with a color, bought items, worn them and then moved on to another color. If you look at my closet you will see my royal blue period, my turquoise period, my navy period. You will never see my black or brown ages because I look awful in both those colors. This year I bought one pink jacket. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I did that.
So why did a particular color appeal to me at a particular time? Was it how I was feeling about life? Bright and confident in royal blue? Bright and hopeful in turquoise? More solemn in navy blue? I suppose it's as simple as I buy a navy and white dress and then I think, "Oh, I need a jacket to go with that." and I buy a navy jacket, and then I think, "Navy pants would be useful," so I buy navy pants. And then I see a navy and white cardigan and so on...
But there must be something about how a particular color makes me feel at a moment in time. Silvery gray looks good with my hair right now.
I'm actually not a huge clothes person. At home you'll find me in sweats or athletic gear, sitting at my computer. I don't change to go out shopping or to the gym. I'm the sort of person who buys a pair of white pants when I see that the old pair is fraying around the hems or won't do up around my waist. I was born sensible. I rarely buy clothes on impulse, (and usually regret it when I do. I'm thinking of you, pink jacket).
However, as a writer who has to appear in public I do need a wardrobe of respectable clothing. And a problem is that I am sent on book tour to the same stores every year. So I have to be careful that I don't wear the same jacket to the same place. There is nothing more embarrassing than having a fan come up to me saying, "I took this photo of you signing a book for me last year," and I'm wearing the same outfit. Mortification!
So what about you, Reds. (apart from Hank who wears black, black and more black). Do you find you wear a certain color for a while, then move on to another one? Did that color define a particular period in your life?
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Rhys, actually, yes, there is a group that meets every year! In Italy, Milan, maybe, and decides what the color of the year will be. That's why, in years past, you've suddenly seen--everything is apple green! Or fuchsia, I remember (for some reason) that was 2001. I think it's been ultra-violet, and this year MIGHT be "living coral." Maybe that was last year. One a recent year's was claret. It's called the Pantone color convention, something like that.
One year, long ago, I wanted a hunter green leather couch, and someone who was more au courant told me--oh, no, dear. You want navy blue. That's what the color of the year was. So we THINK we're just gravitating to a color, but in reality, it's all be decided for us.
Remember that wonderful scene in The Devil Wears Prada when they discuss turquoise? That's ALL, essentially, true.
And yup, social media has really created a clothing situation! I'm just hoping nobody really notices.
(And I just bought a pink jacket, Rhys....:-))
RHYS: But it wasn't Living Coral, Hank. It was dusty, blah pink. I still have no idea why I bought it.
LUCY BURDETTE: Gray looks horrible on me so I'm holding out for the next color! One year I made the trek to an Eileen Fisher outlet with a good friend and found all these beautiful orange tops (one of my GOOD colors!) Now that color can't be found anywhere. Did anyone else have their colors done? They had a special guest at the hair salon many years ago and now I have a little wheel of good colors for my hair, skin, and eyes (though heaven knows the hair color is mutable...) But I always forget to take it shopping...
HALLIE EPHRON: I like gray but it washes me out. Maybe I'll like it better when I've got full-on gray.
TURQUOISE! RED! BLACK!! Strong colors. Pastels: Feh.
I do think it matters where you live. Go to LaGuardia Airport en route to Florida - your black outfit is perfect for NYC but the minute you land in Florida you want to switch to whites and colors. Traveling in the winter gets complicated.
JENN McKINLAY: Jeans. I like jeans everything else is superfluous. Because I live in AZ it's jean shorts and tank tops (all colors) in summer and jeans and sweaters (also all colors) in winter.The only time I can remember gravitating to a certain color was when I turned forty. I went through a pink phase of epic proportions. I think I was having a midlife crisis and thought the pink would cheer me up. No idea if it worked or not but the pink did eventually fade from my wardrobe.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'm trying to expand the amount of pink in my wardrobe, since, despite having natural silver hair for almost a decade now, it still thrills this former redhead that I finally look good in pink! Actually, letting my hair grow out (and accepting my skin tone had changed with age as well) necessitated a major color switch for me. I used to look great in Autumnal colors - mossy green and browns, camel and cream. Now it looks muddy next to my face and hair - I have to limit it to the lower half only.
One thing I've noticed recently is that my winter wardrobe is 85% red and black. I like it, but I really need to stretch out from there. It's hard because as Rhys says, once you have the pants, you get a sweater to match, and then a shirt that works with both... on the plus side, I'm so grateful when summer arrives. I dress like a toucan in hot weather.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: No gray for me, ugh, although I can see that it would look fabulous on you, Rhys. And I cannot wear mossy, autumnal colors. I had this in mind when first writing about Gemma, because she can wear all colors I can't, and I still get a kick out of "shopping" for her. I did have my colors done years ago, and had a little booklet with the things I supposedly should wear. I was supposedly a "summer" which is a fairly muted palette, but I actually prefer brighter colors. I can wear white, and black, and I LOVE turquoise and hot pink.
Rhys, I totally get what you said about the book tour, and the same is true for conferences. If you buy really smashing clothes for these events, you can only wear them once because they will be in photos. I'm sure Hank has the solution--just wear black. But instead, we could always wear turquoise!
RHYS: I remember now that I did have my colors done, years ago. But as other Reds have pointed out, our skin tone changes as we age. I was a spring then and I think I'm still a light pastel type of person (when I'm not wearing gray).
So is gray the color of the year for anyone else? Did you all get your colors done when it was so popular?
So there’s a new color every year? I had no idea.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never had my colors done . . . I’m a fan of relatively quiet clothes so I mostly wear black or grey or brown. Or jeans.
I had no idea that grey was the color of the year, but since it is, I guess happenstance will make me fashionable for a little while . . . .
Only for walls and Rhys!
DeleteAbout 30 years ago (gulp), I chaired a conference and spent most of the budget on speakers, brought in from around the country. I no longer remember who they were, or even the theme. However, people are still talking about the after dinner event with the colors lady, and my beautiful red haired friend who dared to wear pink. Oh, and I'm a spring :) .
ReplyDeletethat sounds like such fun Melinda!
DeleteI wear a lot of black now, because I can put a splashy scarf on top and fancy that people will look at that, rather than my muffin-top. Ages ago I did have my colors done, and I forget the season I was supposed to be, but it was a lot of deep jewel-tone colors like blue and claret and so forth. But I did, for the first time last fall, buy myself some charcoal grey pants, so grey must be the in thing right now. You look smashing in anything, Rhys.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteGigi, those colors would make you a "winter," and they do look great on you!
DeleteI also had my colors done. Wasn't it an 80's thing? But I can't remember what I was, and my hair and skin aren't nearly as good as they were then.
ReplyDeleteMy wardrobe colors depend a lot on the season and also if and where I am traveling. NY and Paris require lots of black, and I've wondered if that is because those cities can be really grimy, can't imagine trying to keep anything white clean for long there.
My current favorite spring color is pale natural linen or gray pants and a black long sleeve knit top. I can dress this up or down, depending on where I'm going. When summer gets here, if ever, I'll switch to coral/orange tops or some shade of green, navy on occasion. The pants stay the same neutrals because I can't be bothered to match anything at all.
I have no idea what color my hair is these days. When I started to gray, it was on the rat pelt color wheel. So Enrique. my hairdresser, and yes, I have one, decided platinum was the answer. I love it, and thanks to the current batch of celebrities, a darkness at the part is fashionable. I get it done every few weeks, and I get compliments on my "white" hair regularly. It is frankly and unapologetically fake. Works for me.
I have a favorite summer shirt that I bought in OKC in 1994. It is a Liz Claiborne dark dull red and khaki striped Polo, and it looks and feels as good as the day I bought it. At the risk of sounding curmudgeonly, clothes just aren't made as well as they were 25 years ago. Nowadays I actually find holes in things after a few seasons wear. HOLES! I am not a ten year old playing softball and climbing trees. I'm really quite sedate. Holes?
Right now I am wearing a long sleeved pima cotton knit nightgown in navy with a tiny green leaf print and navy fleece lined crocs. Sex kitten that I am, this is the spring sleeping gear.
You didn't want to know that, did you.
Oh but we did Finta! I am wearing a red plaid flannel nightgown and having coffee in bed LOL. ps I was on that rat pelt color wheel too:)
DeleteOh my, Lucy Roberta, is trip to Victoria's Secret is on our to do list? Nah. More like LLBean.
Delete"...on the rat pelt color wheel..." One of the great descriptions of all times. When I tried to go gray a friend told me it was an unfortunate idea, so I, who had always BLACK hair, went blond. And will stay some version of blond for as long as hairdressers exist. Colors? I discovered a few years ago that I can wear bronze and black now, due to that aging skin thing. So there are some consolations.
DeleteColoring my hair until my hair is 100 percent white! I do not like the gray hair on me. I like the look of white hair on me.
DeleteThe Malice hotel is all redone - and it's totally shades of gray. Seriously. I've been going for turquoise with my black lately, including a streak in my silver hair, and I get tons of compliments on it. It's so true about our skin changing. When I was young and had brown hair, I wore lots of reds and browns. Now I don't go near them. And when I was a slimmer older person and I wore soft pink, people always said it looked good on me. Maybe I'll get bank to a soft pink weight one of these years!
ReplyDeleteoh Malice, wish we were there too! I did not realize that soft pink was only for the slim...I say go for it
DeleteOops, I got a soft pink sweater for Christmas, and I've got many compliments. Looks so good with gray!
DeleteEdith, because my skin color is so pale (you can see the blue veins under the skin - I think that is where they got the term "Blue-blooded" LOL), I cannot wear red unless it has a blue base? My great aunt, who was 1/4 Spanish, had olive skin like my mom and grandmother. My great aunt gave me a beautiful Chanel suit from her modeling days. The Chanel suit was in orange, black and red plaid. I tried it on and the colors looked awful on me! The colors look great on my mom, though.
DeleteI love rich, clear jewel tones: sapphire blue, royal purple, red, etc. Black and gray are also good. I think I'm still a "winter" because pastels and autumn colors make my skin go from pale to dead.
ReplyDeleteI avoid the color of the year and just wear what I like, which usually means jeans (or shorts) and jewel toned shirts and sweaters.
I like that attitude Cathy, but if you're shopping for something new, it can be hard to avoid the color they think you should wear!
DeleteCathy, I wear the colors that I like too.
DeleteThose “having your colors done “sessions were pretty amazing— Mostly to show what really looked terrible! Like: orange for me. And yellow. I think mine said black. :-) And red. And white. What season is that?
ReplyDeleteThere’s a color I cannot wear, I guess it is called oyster? That sort of pinky tan gray. I think it really is interesting how some colors do look good on us, and others don’t. Like “living coral? Which I can’t imagine looks good on anyone.
I adore gray, Rhys, but it just does not work on me. I wish it did.
You are a winter, Hank, like me.
DeleteOne year all the stores had nothing but oyster, dull sage-y green, and black. It was SO depressing, and except for the black, none of it looked good on me.
Hank, I have a gray charcoal Halogren blouse. For me, gray is a better color than black, though I am not a fan of either gray nor black. Navy blue is a better color for me.
DeleteYes, Karen. You and Hank are perfect winters! And I seem to remember purple looked great on you
DeleteSitting here in blue jeans, royal blue t-shirt and a gray sweatshirt because, well, Ohio in early May! I had my colors done via one of those magazine quizzes: "What Color Are YOU?" Can't remember the result. I've always been drawn to gray, turquoise, white. What I find is that I can wear lots of colors--but it depends on the shade. Turquoise, yes, but not too bright a shade. Gray--yes, but certain shades of gray, etc. Even coral--but again, not every shade of coral. So if you like a color, experiment! And Rhys, that pink jacket should look fabulous with some of your grays and whites, especially if you have a scarf to complement it.
ReplyDeleteI knew that there were new colors every year but for the most part I ignored them. I find that I look terrible in black or gray but navy works well.
ReplyDeleteMy granddaughter, who is not quite 16 has loved gray for a few years and it makes me wonder what is wrong with her!
Gray flannel is for job interviews. Bright blue for me, always, and navy blue. When bright blue is "the color" I stock up. The Pantone color of 2019 is Living Coral: "An animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge." In other words, bright orange.
ReplyDeleteNot to be confused with the year we had "Shrimp" which is orange with a tinge of pink, or the year we had "Persimmon" which is orange with a dub of dull brown.
DeleteAnn, you're in good company. Our mutual pal Catriona McPherson has her hair colored platinum, too.
ReplyDeleteA friend who writes about couture, including how to create it, once told me the secret to finding your best colors: if you hold the color up to your shoulders, obscuring other colors, you should be able to see a clear chin line. If the color is not good for you your chin line will disappear.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this has always meant black, pure white, or jewel tones, but as my hair silvers more and more I find myself more drawn to greys, too.
Rhys, our new home has blues, greys, white, and black as a predominant color scheme. It's very calm, and maybe that's why those colors are so popular right now. We all need soothing!
Is the 'clear chin line" inclusive of the double chin neck waddle or is that the post-face lift rule? Asking for a friend.
DeleteI'm just going to hold a piece of cloth up there permanently so no one can see what's underneath.
DeleteI actually love black, so I should probably just embrace it. It goes rather well with being a murder mystery writer.
ReplyDeleteWith your blonde highlights, black is a good color. A friend told me a long time ago that when she colored her hair blonde, she looked good in black. I was surprised that blondes can wear black!
DeleteI look awful in black, so did my mother who was really Skandanavian blonde. We both look totally washed out
DeleteBlack is my go-to colour, because it's just so me. Also, it's one colour that doesn't seem to make me look washed out.
ReplyDeleteHowever, years ago, I bought a nice bright coral (living coral?) sweater, which I still wear from time to time, because I KNOW, every time I wear it, someone will say, Oh, I love that colour on you.
But no, I don't seem to have bought another. I should listen, eh?
Since I let my hair go to it's natural silver-gray, with patches of white I find I still love black, gray, red and purple. However for summer, I never met a white shirt I didn't love. I am afraid to count them as it will be actual prooF that I have a serious addiction.
ReplyDeleteWhite is my summer color of choice too, Lyda
DeleteI love white shirts, too!
DeleteYou can never have too many white shirts, Lyda, for the simple reason that they never last. That first little stain that won't come out and you have to say goodbye (sigh.)
DeleteWhat a fun post for a cold, gray Friday AM with no joy to the day ahead (and me here and not at Malice). I am here to state that Rhys always looks perfectly stylish in public situations. And I have seen Hank at breakfast (!) and she always looks completely camera ready. Role models for sure.;-) I do remember the "doing colors" fad and silly as it seemed, when I read an article about it? Yes, everything it said I should wear was, in fact, what got compliments ( I worked in the corporate world and dressed in real clothes then) and what I shouldn't, didn't. I learned something. (I was a winter - pale skin, very dark hair- so clear bight colors-emerald, red,turquoise, hot pink - or black-and-white. No earth tones, no pastels)These days, I find a dark base, like black or navy, and bright scarf or jacket works. I hope. Wishing happy weekends to all.
ReplyDeleteTriss, that's totally me now. I went from autumn to winter (there's a metaphor there...) and wound up giving away three drawers worth of brown, olive, camel and burgundy sweaters and turtlenecks. Now I'm all about those brights/black and white.
DeleteRhys, this is a wonderful post. I always remember you wearing beautiful clothes. I thought of three things while reading your post. First, I was reminded of something the Duchess of Kent said about loving the colors black and white, then finding out that her ancestor loved black and white too. Second, I was reminded of when I ordered a blue and gold sweater. For some reason, there was a misunderstanding and I got a gold sweater instead! I could not return it. And it was NOT my color! I had a classmate who was from India. The gold sweater was perfect for her and she loved it! Yes, I gave it to her. The sweater had been sitting in my room for a while before she started college. And third, I subscribe and receive clothes every three months. I talked to my stylist and she kept on sending me clothes in colors that were not my colors. I returned them! I explained to the stylist that if I looked like Meghan Markle, they would be perfect. I explained to the stylist that I have very fair skin color. Now I am getting clothes in my colors.
ReplyDeleteI had my colors done twice by different people a long time ago. I remember being told that blue is a good color on me with my light skin color. I have the English rose complexion, though I have lots of freckles. My grandfather had pink skin color while my grandmother had olive skin. My mom got her mom's olive skin. Two of my cousins got my grandmother's olive skin color. One cousin got our grandfather's pink complexion.
When I was in college, a friend who had red hair told me that blue and green were her best colors. I noticed that blue and green are my colors.
When I went to the LCC banquet, I wore my grandmother's black custom designed dress. That is the only black dress that I own, besides one black lace dress (very similar to a dress worn by the Duchess of Cambridge). I wore the banquet dress with an aqua colored wrap. Even though I did not inherit my grandmother's olive skin, I got her red hair and green eyes. I also inherited her figure so the dress fit me perfectly.
Great comments, everyone!
Diana
Diana, I've always remembered that tip, I think from the Color Me Beautiful days, about wearing one of "your" colors close to your face, aqua an aqua wrap with a black dress. Their point wasn't "Never wear (fill in the blank)colors, it was "keep them on the lower half of your body." Or, as my grandmother used to say, "Every woman looks good with a little white under her face."
DeleteBlue and green are usually my colors too. Navy, turquoise mint green, but not emerald. It's too bright for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd you looked great at the banquet, Diana!
That's a wonderful compliment from you, Rhys! Thank you.
DeleteBelieve it or not, I had my colors done. Sort of. My mom and one of her friends got both families together and we all submitted to it with just them deciding what colors looked best on us.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I just buy whatever I find. And my T-shirts are mostly from Disney or mud runs these days, so I take whatever they put out. The mud run shirts are free, so I'm not picky at all.
Mark, my late husband never had his colors done, but he was a pale redhead and so certain colors definitely looked better on him than others - unsurprisingly, the autumnal colors. He had a several pink and baby-blue oxford cloth shirts he loved to wear in his lawyering days, and he always vaguely resembled a boiled egg when wearing them. It was better when he switched to teaching - I bought him a bunch of plaid shirts in olive and plum and brown and they went smashingly well with his big red beard.
DeleteShort and sweet.....need to get dressed for work....currently in my pale blue and white seeschuer (sp) robe.....always wore shades of blue as a child and I think it still influences my choices. Never wore black until after college. I was a Summer color person. Since I stopped coloring my hair I'm back to DARK brown but as a child it was my hair color was referred to as "dirty brown" or "dishwasher blond" - who comes up with such horrible names. Still good for items with blue or seem to have a blue base. Orange/yellow tones still bother me, on me. My great aunt refused to wear lavender because it was an old lady color. She was an old lady. I love pale pink and gray together, try a crisp white shirt or black. Yes, you don't like black but the pink will be a contrast you like.
ReplyDeleteContact you might like... Need to proof read better..
DeleteNot to worry, Deana, we got it!
DeleteSince I'm a fan of gray, I'm delighted it is the color of the year. Hehehe. I do seem to have a fair amount of gray, and black. Black has always been a good color for me. The color that has surprised me most is turquoise. I've always loved it, but it seemed to be a bad color for me in my younger days. Now, turquoise works for me. I guess it's like you all say, skin tones change, and, of course, I color my hair on the red side now, which is different than my youth. Purple is a decent color for me, but shades are important. It's interesting to see someone who is wearing the perfect color for them, especially when it's a color not that many people can wear well. Last year at the St. Pete Bouchercon I gave author Lesley Thomson from England a lime green visor hat and she rocked it. I don't think I would have.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun, Rhys! My mom, who was even more olive than me loved "neutrals", mostly browns, tans, and grays. Whenever she gave in to a bright color, she looked great, but it didn't happen often. And what a funny little 80s craze the colors thing was, and then poof, it was gone. Interesting that so many of us remember having our colors done. I was told that I should wear navy, not black, but I don't like navy, much prefer black.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone else out there is a sallow-skinned person, color-correcting creams are life-changing. All the cosmetic companies make them now. I used to use Clinique's, but then a couple of years ago when I lost my luggage at Bouchercon in Raleigh, I bought some made by Loreal in the drugstore, and it is amazing! Now I order it from Amazon because I can't always find it in stores. Do these work for fair people with pink-toned skin, too?
Yes, I've heard of the Pantone color people. Yes, I had my colors done(twice - many years apart) and I'm a winter. Yes, I had my body configuration analyzed. Yes, I wore the black power suits in the 90s. Yes, I had the Barbara Streisand perm in the 70s after we all saw A Star is Born! LOL I don't follow the fads these days, I know I look great in black, white, navy, maroon, olive drab, and DO NOT wear matching jeans and jeans jacket together! HAHA!
ReplyDeleteI remember the book and I read it, disagreeing with most of what they recommended. I have red hair and pale skin. I love gray, and wear it, usually with a bright scarf or bold jewelry. I used to look horrible in navy blue. Now I have quite a bit in my closet, and also shades of cobalt, amethyst and turquoise -- wow, I guess I do well with jewel tones!
ReplyDelete