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?
