February 12, 2020
So after the fashion shows in New York end, Pantone get their heads together to choose 10 MORE “new” colors…
Humbug.
But this is always fun to look at, and to imagine updating a Weekly Timeless Wardrobe of simple neutral clothes with these pretty, and sometimes VERY noticeable colors. This is a great time of year to indulge in a few pieces that give your existing winter wardrobe some life, and that bring a smile to your face!
This first color, which I call ORANGE, would be nice any time of year – this would be lovely and warm with beige, grey or navy in the middle of the winter:
hoodie – Goodnight Macaroon; earrings – Chico’s; scarf – Nordstrom; socks – Topshop; loafers – Treasure & Bond; bag – Madewell
This next color is SO PRETTY. It’s a notch off of a “true” red, or something warm and tomato-y. With the classic loafers, and the feminine earrings and scarf, it’s timeless!
linen sweater – Isabel Marant Ētoile; earrings – Samuel B.; scarf – Nordstrom; socks – Mazarin; shoes – Driver Club USA; bag – Rag & Bone
When I’m trying to find items to construct these little clusters of delight, I of course can’t actually search for “Samba” or “Sandstone.” This next color? I called it camel…
And note – ANYTHING in rose gold is going to be perfect here!
cotton sweater – Marks and Spencer; earrings – Kendra Scott; scarf – Banana Republic; socks – New York & Co.; loafers – UGG; bag – Kara
Well Pantone thinks this is Classic Blue, but I call it the impossible color! It will be fascinating to see if this color actually shows up in the real world next fall…
cotton sweater – Marks and Spencer; earrings – Judith Ripka; scarf – Harrods; socks – Talbots; loafers – Santoni; bag – Karla Hanson
Dear oh dear, as my beloved English aunt would say! I searched for neon yellow to find most of these things, or acid green. If you love this color, grab it, because it doesn’t grow on trees. Unless they are trees near Chernobyl…
sweater – Victoria Victoria Beckham; earrings – Priscila Canales; scarf – Hermès Etriers Remix; socks – Hot Sox; shoes – Naturalizer; bag – Medea
Oh hello, this is PINK. And it’s really pretty. It’s a bit warmer than a “true” pink that is simply red mixed with white. Temptingly pretty – especially the loafers… Or the scarf?
cashmere sweater – L.L.Bean; earrings – Gorjana; scarf – Nordstrom; socks – Banana Republic; loafers – Franco Sarto; bag – Urban Expression
To me, this is forest green, or student green in Europe. It’s so nice…
cashmere sweater – 1901; earrings – Argento Vivo; scarf – The Met Store; socks – And Other Stories; loafers – Veronica Beard; mini-crossbody bag – Frame
To find items in this color, I searched for Merlot, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chianti – think of a red wine, and it might come close.
And I’ve shared a link to socks from a store called Mes Chausettes Rouge, in Paris. They’re not the cheapest socks you’ll ever buy, but I PROMISE that you will be delighted. These are the nicest, most fun bunch of young people you will find anywhere…
cashmere sweater – L.L.Bean; earrings – Ralph Lauren; scarf – Claire Gaudion; socks – Mazarin; loafers – Sebago; bag – Behno
For me, one of the most irksome things about fibromyalgia is that my short-term memory isn’t going to win any awards. So EVERY TIME I came back to this color, I kept thinking that I’d already finished it, with Rose Tan. I do not understand why, with only 10 colors with which to work, one would choose 2 colors quite close together. I would have tossed in something like a sweet baby blue, and defied anybody who asked me to find it in the fashion shows from which these colors were taken…
That said, this is pretty delicious. If somebody presented me with a cold cup of whipped “stuff” in this color, I would slurp it up!
cotton cardigan – L.L.Bean; blush wood earrings – Kendra Scott; scarf – Nordstrom; socks – Falke; loafers – Charter Club; bag – Ted Baker London
Gracious, this was tricky to find! Eileen fisher calls this Raisin; I might have called it grape. It’s very rich looking, to my eyes…
sweater – Eileen Fisher; earrings – Farra; scarf – Emily Carter; socks – Champion; loafers – Tod’s; bag –Giani Bernini
So which is your favorite? Would it be interesting to put one of these colors into a bunch of neutral clothes to see what happens?
love,
Janice
p.s. Five years ago, we looked at the possibilities for a truly opulent, formal event wardrobe, based on an equally opulent painting. I still sigh over this one…
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“To me this is forest green or student green in Europe”……AKA Bottle green or School uniform green! After wearing a school uniform of this shade of green,.I didn’t go near it for years. Somehow, in a wardrobe of black and white with flashes of red, I have now managed to acquire pieces in this same shade of green – a sweatshirt, a thin scarf in green black and silver, boots and an Italian cross body small bag – surprisingly versatile, worn with black in the winter, white in summer and even mixed with said flashes of red.
That sounds like an elegant, rich and versatile palette!
I feel the same way about royal blue! Over 20 years on, and I still loathe wearing it. I did at one point have a royal blue long cardigan because I really liked the shape, but I wasn’t sorry to see it pass out of my wardrobe.
I love the forest green. Like Roz I am building a small collection of items and would love you to work your magic with this colour. My neutral is black and the other colour I use for accents is burgundy/wine colour both of which work well with forest green.
Classic Blue – I’d wear that in a minute. It reminds me of all shades of denim blue and I love denim and chambray.
I’d also wear Samba also. It is my color of red.
I love the raisin/grape scarf and look forward to seeing a wardrobe built around this. Thanks again for your inspiration and keeping us up to date. I really enjoy your posts and cant wait for the next one.
I really love rusts & oranges, so I am interested in seeing the Amber glow with some neutrals. I also like the samba, fire brick and sandstone. I love a deep green, but this one is a little too bright for me. My closet is mostly neutrals, I have them all with the exception of Navy, unless you count dark denim. I can’t commit to a color enough to justify buying a lot of pieces, so I have a neutral wardrobe with a few pieces of different colors that I like thrown in. So, I really like the “5 piece French Wardrobe” posts
Thank you for finding these nice touches in such pretty colours. If you’re thinking of that pink for yourself, I’d vote for the shoes…would they fit in with your beautiful new scarf from Paris? I’m crossing my fingers for “classic blue” –so elegant. The link to the purple bag sends us to the loafers again.
Thanks for letting me know about the link snafu; I just fixed it!
I don’t know what I would do without all of you…
hugs,
Janice
I am a very young-at-heart 74 year old (just had a birthday a few days ago). I love looking classy, and I love color. I look best in primary colors, and I am loving your posts with all the color combination/capsule suggestions. I am wanting to create a capsule using black, white, and (maybe) grey for neutrals, and green and pink for accents. The Ultramarine Green sweater (forest green) above is beautiful and I also love the Rose Tan (pink) sweater. I already own black and white pants… would either of these sweaters be good colors to start my capsule with, or would you suggest something else, perhaps a different post you’ve created that I could check out? Love what you do❤️??♀️
Thanks for the kind words – they go a long way towards keeping me going!
I think either of those sweater would be a great addition to black and white pants – with a black or white tee shirt or cotton shirt, you would have all kinds of options…
My general rule of thumb for my wardrobe as a whole is to have 2 or 3 neutral garments for each accent piece. A simple tee shirt in either color would be really versatile, or a print skirt that includes your neutrals and an accent color. This time of year it’s wise to just check back with your favorites stores (online, of course) maybe twice a week. Some stores, like J.Jill and Eileen Fisher, only add new colors once a month, but other places will bring new pieces online every few days!
Good luck,
and lots of hugs,
Janice
I love all the colours except the green sheen (neon). But my heart stopped…with delight at the ultramarine green and the magenta purple. They are soooooo me! I had decided a few months ago to concentrate my wardrobe on four colours: green, purple, white and gold following your advice on wearing what you really love. Green and purple make my heart sing. So I am looking forward to adding some items in these two shades this year.
Those are my two favorites as well. Did you know that the colors of the British suffragette movement were purple, white, and green? And the American ladies chose purple, white, and gold.
I love color! It’s one of the most important considerations for ne whenever I buy almost anything, especially clothing.
But…these “new colors”…I find them so wishy-washy…they are some strange blend of warm & cool.
They are weird – it was tough to find items in some of these colors, and the things that I finally chose aren’t always a perfect match. A couple of the colors are pretty, but others are difficult. It will be interesting to see if they actually turn up in stores!
hugs,
Janice
Classic Blue, Ultramarine Green, and Magenta Purple all appeal to me. That shade of green is one of my cold weather wardrobe accent colors so this will be a good time to fill in any gaps.
These are all amazingly good – well, maybe not the Green Slime one. (What? that’s not it’s name?) I’m normally a pink or aqua girl when it comes to color, but looked at more than half of these at the links. Good choices, Pantone.
I love the Samba Red!
I’m going to be the only one, I’m guessing, but I just love the Green Sheen. I’d call it chartreuse, or maybe lime. It’s especially nice to wear with teal or olive green. I’ve got a skort in that color, and used to have a t-shirt that finally died from constant wear.
Good for you! There’s no rule that you have to like what everyone else likes – much the contrary! I’d love to pass you on the street wearing that skort – it would brighten up the entire block!
hugs,
Janice
I really love the Fire Brick and Rose Tan, which isn’t surprising as I have been gravitating toward the merlots and dusty pinks the last several months. I also love the Classic Blue. I am also into greens, but not that “uniform” shade – I’m really into the olives and sages.
If someone was to gift me one of these capsules, I would pick the Samba one. I love that scarf. I saw a green blazer in a store recently. It reminded me of the Masters Golf Tournament. Won’t go there.
I like most of them, but the only one that really tempts me shopping-wise is the Magenta Purple (which doesn’t look very magenta to me, but oh well). Your choices are all beautiful! I hope the pink loafers will find a way into your wardrobe, they look versatile and “you”.
I’m one of the rare ones that likes the bright lime/green sheen group! I actually have a light summer sweater in that colour and it is so versatile. It always comes on vacation with me and goes with black, white, khaki, olive, navy. I wouldn’t base a whole wardrobe on it, but it is a happy accent!
Wow – these are tricky colours – a curious combination of warm and cool but little cohesion. That acid yellow would be a good colour to wear in the dark!
I love the Rose Tan which could also be described as Rose Quartz or Shell Pink. I would wear this with Firebrick (which I would describe as nearer to the colour of Port or Claret). I have velvet jeans in that colour.
My other favourite is the Magenta Purple – think Damson, Dark Amethyst, Dark Orchid or Deep Fuschia which are all a dark pink-purple. I wear this colour with charcoal grey or navy blue with silver jewellery.
I like the Samba as it reminds me of Garnets or a True Burgundy. I find dark greens makes me look sallow but this green has more blue in it. I found a Dulux paint colour called Emerald Glade so maybe this is a dark emerald colour.
I don’t like Peach!
Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing how you weave your magic in putting these together.
I’m NOT going to try to combine these colors – I’m probably going to choose a neutral for each of them, and then build a wee travel/capsule wardrobe around them.
I don’t really feel like many of these colors go together well; I think you’ve identified the best combinations possible!
hugs,
Janice
I would love to see travel capsules for each color! Not sure why, but I’m addicted to travel capsules. I love the sandstone (i.e. camel). When I looked at the link for the sweater in that color, it was actually called pink mix – odd. A reviewer did say it was camel. Is it a problem to order from the UK? I’ve never purchased clothing from outside the US.
I order from France fairly regularly, but I don’t remember ordering from the UK. I can’t imagine that it would be a problem though. If you’re seeing prices in dollars, rather than pounds, I suspect that it’s the US M&S site, and that it will ship from somewhere in the US. And if you look REALLY closely at the knit, it has pink thread twisted in with the tan…
hugs,
Janice
I was in Marks and Spencers last week and saw the jumper you featured in Sandstone and Classic Blue. Kelly asked about the colour of the ‘Pink Mix’. From a distance it looks a camel-y colour. Close-up it’s a flecked knit with peach-pink, grey and green colours. I don’t suit that peach-pink. The blue version is nice but needs jazzing up. It also comes in a purple mix, which I’m tempted by as it is a pink-purple. And it comes in a nice grey.
Hope that helps.
Thanks Janice. I love the mini-capsule wardrobes because I have a colourful wardrobe and you give me new ideas for combining colours that I haven’t thought of.
Paging through catalogs the last few days I was surprised how much the pale peach showed up. It is apparently an up and coming color. As for me, I think the Amberglow is the one that most sets my heart singing.
Thanks for pulling these together it is so much fun to see.
I like most of these but my favorite is Green Sheen followed by Ultramarine Green and Magenta Purple :)
Fire Brick for me (taken me a long time to come back to the ‘maroon’ colours as that was my school uniform in the 1980s).
I miss teal, the Ultramarine green is a tad too green for my liking.
I would have loved a maroon school uniform. Mine was navy at primary school and grey at secondary. The only saving grace was that we could wear any colour plain shirt with the grey. I wore red, blue or deep lilac.
I’ll vote for the peach, since no one else has. I have only one shirt that color and haven’t been able to get rid of it—it is lovely with grey jeans and a grey cardigan. It’s a hard color to find, though, so maybe now I’ll be able to add a few more items in that color to my wardrobe. It would never be my only accent color, but it is certainly worth a 5-piece. I’m one of those people who likes the colors on the edge of warm and cool—muddy colors. They look much better on me than the clear ones!
I like the deeper more saturated colours of the Burgundy/Merlot and the Raisin/purple. Perfect accent colours, thinking a pair if coloured pants would be a fun addition too, not just tops and scarves etc. In my dreams I see a long, knee length sweater coat in purple over grey pants and a flowy scarf
That sounds beautiful; I will see what I can find!
hugs,
Janice
Love that Rose Tan (the shell pink). It’s turned into one of my most worn accents (in some variation of muted pink) in the last few years.
The Samba is close to another shade I like & have on hand. Always in Fall Winter Pantone mix in some form or other.
Each year the Pantone people emerge like Ancient Greek oracle priestesses and solemnly pronounce the colours of the year.
It’s useful to see the forecast but the retailers are a cautious lot. They don’t always buy into the more difficult colours which have a short shelf life & may never catch on at all.
Some colours- like the more muted versions go on long arcs of dominance while sharper, clear more memorable shades go in and out quickly.
Millennial pink aka Ballet pink which I love has been in for decades on a very long arc with slight changes marking the annual Pantone naming ceremony.
Schiaparelli pink or Barbie pinks are more rare and eye catching and are in & out rapidly.
Soft denim blue is a forever classic in some form from chambrays into denims but Royal blue is only in briefly before it hits clearance. It comes back about every 4-5 years.
Anything you might find in a wineglass from pink champagne to deepest burgundy is a sure fire hit. Always. As is red. Pantone always chooses them in some form for fall winter.
Browns from ivory cream to cognac to chocolate. Another Fall favourite of Pantone.
Usually they bless some versions of these while tossing a few brights in like neon green or orange.
I think the more muted tones survive from year to year just getting a new name without dating themselves while the more eye catching shades wear out their welcome faster from visual fatigue.
That sounds wonderful. Hope you find your purple coat. I found the purple coat of my dreams last year – it had only taken me 20 years to do so!
Janice, I love that color green, but more importantly, I adore that scarf! For some reason, scarves don’t always speak to me over the internet. I find I like them more in person, but that tree of life scarf is something special! Yum. So tempting, since it’s the color I love the most too…