Orange Blossoms And False Eyelashes

February 23, 2012

I found this article and thought that with all of the great buzz surrounding Tangerine Tango that it would be fun to look back at when it all started. I excerpted a paragraph from the article for your viewing pleasure and included a link to the full article at the bottom.

“Sephora is about to bring out a limited-edition spring cosmetics line with orange eye makeup—including orange false eyelashes made from feathers. The renaissance of orange extends to many facets of design: The Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah, recently installed a luxury ski lift called the Bubble Express—with heated chairs in eye-popping orange.

F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal

 This renaissance for orange has been a long time coming. The color was popular in the 1920s, and again in the 1960s, with a lesser renaissance in the ’80s.”

Are you hearing the buzz about the Pantone x Sephora collaboration? Will you be rushing out to pick up some of these limited-edition goodies?

Orange Blossoms Especially for 2012 – WSJ.com.

My Interview In The New York Times

January 5, 2012

Bare with me as I toot my own horn. It is always a wonderful treat to be interviewed for the New York Times. I am especially pleased with this one article and thought that it would be nice to share. I really enjoyed speaking with Penelope Green, I love her last name and she doesn’t miss a beat.

Here is an excerpt from the Q & A and a link to the full article.

The color of the year is a bit of an assist to the fashion, cosmetics and home furnishings industries, and product and graphic design, all of which can use it as an organizing principle and marketing tool.

Kevin P. Casey for The New York Times

Will orange become ubiquitous? Probably not, Ms. Eiseman said. “What we’re trying to do is get the feeling of the zeitgeist, to use an overused word,” she said, speaking by phone from her home on Bainbridge Island in Washington. “What are people talking about they feel they need, that color can help to answer? For us, the color of the year is not necessarily the hot fashion color, but an expression of a mood, an attitude, on the part of the consumers.”

Q&A — Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute – NYTimes.com.

Be On The Cutting Edge Of Color

October 25, 2011

Laurie Pressman, Vice President, Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors, and I were recently interviewed by Home Furnishings Now (HFN). Here is an excerpt and a link to the full article.

“There is an inherent human tendency to be drawn to color.  Intrinsic to our visual experience, color is part of the stimulation we feel and is a vital factor in consumer purchasing decisions.  We would urge retailers today to address the strategic use of color in their product selections and believe it is important that they be mindful of creating visual excitement in their stores. Historically when the economy is uncertain there is a concern about the longevity of a color and some consumers have a tendency to play it safe with neutral shades. This is especially the case with products that are higher priced or take up a larger amount of real estate such as furniture and floor or window coverings. However, introducing some unexpected splashes of color or unique color combinations to play against these more neutral hues will attract and engage the eye, excite the imagination and ultimately tempt the consumer or client.  Color is, in fact, the catalyst that can spark the sale. In an environment where consumers are cutting back on their spending, it would be a mistake to overlook this fundamental element of human psychology.”

Corporate Spotlight: Pantone | HFN.

The Human Eye Is Notoriously Fickle

September 14, 2011

I was interviewed for the following article that appeared in Women’s Wear Daily Beauty Inc. and edited by Belisa Silva. 

The article included some of the outstanding summer colors that are showing staying power for the fall.

What colors were your favorites this summer and what colors will you transition into fall?

Sharen Davis Colorful Stylist On The Help

August 16, 2011

Kathryn Stockett’s novel The Help is an honest dialogue of what it meant to be the “help” for well-to-do families in rural Mississippi in the 60s. This film is rich both in character and in color.

From a recent article in the Hollywood Reporter comes some color insight from Sharen Davis, costume designer for the film.

“It was tricky because everyone thinks of Mad Men. But that’s about an upper-class Manhattan lifestyle, and this focuses on young women in the South-most of them getting married and having babies…

…I looked at copies of Vogue from the 1960s for inspiration, but it was too sophisticated, so I ended up getting my ideas from Seventeen magazine. It still had that innocent girlie look and lollipop color.”

 

Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan played by Emma Stone, in “straight skirts and subtle prints” is career oriented and her look is a bit different from the other women.

Her longtime friend Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) is the Southern belle who wears “bright colors and bold prints because she always has to be seen,” while the outsider of the group is Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain) the bombshell. “Celia’s clothes are more fitted and feminine. She does her best to look like Marilyn Monroe.”

Dirty Yellow Walls Are The Perfect Pick-Me-Up

August 8, 2011

Someone from Portland, OR had written in about why bright yellow hadn’t worked on her walls. I suggested some thoughts that should be considered no matter where you live in the world, but especially in areas with dull winter days.

Having written seven books on color (soon to be eight and nine) I can tell you that there are many factors in why a color didn’t work for you. First, too much intensity of yellow on all four walls causes a “bounce back” in light reflection–so it is overkill. You should should go for a softer more chamois-type yellow, what in the paint industry is called “dirtying” a color. It still brings the illusion of sunlight, important in the northwest where I live as well. I have yellow throughout the main portion of my home, but it is a color especially formulated for our “neck of the woods” so that it isn’t a shocking blast, but a liveable, nurturing warming hue so necessary for our gray winter days, especially for anyone with SAD syndrome. People come into the home and constantly remark on the warmth and light it conveys.

Forget the ridiculous stories about bright yellow causing aggression or making babies cry more–that was never scientifically proven and is an urban legend, started by a color charlatan who loved to say outrageous things to get attention. It is all in the value and intensity of the color–not just the hue.

InsideOut

June 27, 2011

It is always interesting to get inquiries regarding color from far-off places, especially when they are seeking a more “westernized view” of how to use color in interior décor. Just recently I was called by Angela Boshoff Hundal, feature writer for InsideOut, a décor magazine located in Dubai. She quoted me throughout her article and I thought I would share an overview of some of the information she included.

The article “The ultimate living room guide” is about color in the living room. She pointed out that color preferences might vary according to culture, still various hues affect people in a universal way, which I have certainly found to be true.

IDdesign's chic living room is feminine without being too girly.

She encouraged her readers to think of specific shades for the living room based on their intrinsic meanings. I had pointed out to her that, while blue generates tranquility in the lightest, deepest and certain mid-tones, the electric blues can be just as stimulating as red (a blue flame glows even more brightly than a red flame). Green speaks of nature and replenishment; yellow, a feeling of warmth and welcome while warm peach has a certain nurturing quality. Black is associated with power and sophistication, white is clean and pristine, but not good if over-used as it can appear sterile and cold. Not a good message in a living room.

I told her that in the U.S. people personalize their space and use the shades they are drawn to, still there are messages that are inherent in each color family that “speak to” the individual making decorating decisions regarding color.

Included in her article was a direct quote pointing out that while color is vital, “lighting is the most important aspect of bringing the full color spectrum into a living environment and shouldn’t dilute the trueness of any particular color.”

gulfnews : The ultimate living room guide.

What Are Your True Colors and What Your Clothing Color Says About You

January 7, 2011

Lee did an interview with Shine from Yahoo called “What are your true colors” which applied the concept of More Alive With Color to makeup palettes. There was quite a stir among the community of readers that followed. The responses were all over the board. I like hearing what everyone has to say and think it is interesting to learn about all of the ideas and thoughts that people put into wearing color.

It does seem that today there are a lot of people who don’t really know or identify with the concept of personal colors.

How many of you out there are familiar with personal colors? Is the system you are familiar with rigid in the “rules” of what colors you should wear? How many of you use More Alive With Color as a guide to wearing colors?

Are you Sunrise, Sunlight or Sunset?

Sunrise

Sunrise

Sunlight

Sunlight

I would love to hear what thoughts you are putting into the daily color choices you make.

For those of you who are interested in the psychology of color Women’s Health Magazine has great article in their January issue. Pay special attention to what is said about green.

What Your Clothing Color Says About You | Women’s Health Magazine.