What is the Color of the Season? Should we care?

Let's Continue with the Second Key to The 5 Keys to Dressing Well

Color - Part 2

What is the Color of the Season? Should I care?

Business historian Regina Lee Blaszcyk says colors have been trending in and out of style since even before the French Revolution, at that time pastel colors were a big trend. Queen Victoria wore a mauve gown to her daughter’s wedding in 1858, and after that all the “proletariat” copied her look, as new chemical dyes allowed its massive production. The color became very popular, so much that the 1860’s came to be known as the “mauve decade”. Ms Blaszcyk says in her book “The Color Revolution” that “wearing purple then, showed you knew what was cool.”

These days, fashion runs much faster.  Each year Pantone, polls fashion, interior and industrial designers and brands and finds out which are the colors they are working with for the next season. Then based on the surveys and polls, they also take into account the sales of color swatches and the opinion of color specialists, then a group of Pantone executives and clients makes a pick. Each fall and spring, Pantone, the leading authority on color, comes out with the following season’s color trends and announces the hot "Color of the Year" in early spring.

• 
  

Add caption

 Usually once Pantone massively  communicates the “Color of the Season”, the big brands have already started showcasing it on their product lines.

Emerald Green being the Color of 2013


These are the additional Colors for Fall 2013:

A lot of smaller brands and designers with smaller productions are waiting for Pantone to launch the “Color of the Season”, as it is well known that consumers will be demanding products in that color tone. A good brand, and designer, will not wait for Pantone, but will be working with whatever color suits their client base. It is important to be in tune with the great majority and the color “authorities” but it is also fundamental to pay attention to what your own consumers are telling you. Check your sale statistics, run polls and talk to your consumers. It is important to know which will be the color of the season and it is fundamental to have variations of that color to offer to the public, as we will see later that not every color suits every skin tone.

On a personal level, it is always good to base your wardrobe with "neutral" colors. And also add the "Universal Colors", these are the colors that beautify and compliment all kinds of human coloring.

Universal Colors are the colors that work well with any hair color, eye color, skin color and undertone, and are flattering to all! These colors have a balance of warm and cool tones.

This are the most popular universal colors: A great way to add color to your wardrobe is by incorporating these, as you cannot go wrong!

• Eggplant – it’s a deep purple, deep enough to look almost like a black. It is considered a neutral like black, brown or navy.
• Indian Teal – A combination of green and blue that is flattering to all. It brings out the richness of eye-color.
• Mellow Rose – Somewhere in between a peach and a light pink. It is also considered a neutral.
• True Red – It falls in between a cool cherry red and a warm tomato red.

When we learn to use color wisely we can enhance our wardrobe and make it a part of our personal style.  Color can be used both visually and emotionally to help us feel good and look good. What we need to know now, is not just what colors bring about good emotion on us, but which colors flatter our features, hair and skin.

It is not that difficult. There are many systems out there, that can “categorize” your coloring to recommend a palette of colors. I will teach you about them, and I will let you know what is the best way to simplify this assortment of tools, and what you can really trust.

I will give you some of the tools you need to understand and pick the best colors for you.

Until tomorrow…