My Spring Palette

Little things lurking in the back of the mind, percolating on the back burner, leading to the epiphany that says, “why didn’t I think of that before?“. And at the same time, “isn’t that how it’s always been?

That’s how it was for me today, when my concept for my personal 2008 spring color palette gelled.

black-pencil-skirt-with-white-blouse-belt-pink-jacket.JPGIt’s no secret around here that I’m not a fan of black. Perhaps less well known is how positively fresh and delightful I find the combination of black, white, and pink. I have worn a variation of the outfit pictured here before, very successfully, I might add.

(How do you judge the success of an outfit? If I am comfortable and people relate to me in an open and friendly way, I consider the outfit a success. Compliments are frosting.)

I will use two variations of the same palette:

  1. black, white and (any) pink.
  2. (any) pink plus any analogous color (coral or peach or light orange, or a warm violet) alone or paired with a neutral.

imgp5254.JPGimgp5259.JPGIn addition, I am having visions of the bright pink jacket in the first picture with a solid (as opposed to heather) light gray.

Why I should have thought of this before: my year-round palette relies on neutrals and pinks, with black and white used more as accents. Pulling out the other neutrals, the browns and grays, brightens the palette and dramatizes the colors, while maintaining the subtlety required by my soft coloring. Black and white together are still an accent, but balance each other in a way.

Now, on to the advisability of basing a mature person’s wardrobe on pink, a subject that occurred to me after Emily commented on the previous color palette post.

The psychology of pink:

What are your thoughts on a wardrobe based on pink? Do serious neutrals provide balance?

16 thoughts on “My Spring Palette”

  1. Pink is one of my most favorite colors and a strong staple in my wardrobe. My hair has been pink (well, not ALL of it at once), my shoes can be pink, my nails are almost always pink when painted. As a signature, I tend to gravitate towards bold pinks: bright pink, fuschia, magenta, etc. I find these have the opposite affect of tranquility though. They’re vibrant, energetic, friendly, engaging, and dynamic. Paired with black, it’s surprisingly hip, sexy, and attractive. With another favorite neutral of mine, grey, I think it’s chic and sophisticated, but in an unusual and quite unexpected way.

    I think pink has a wider versatility than red, and in a way can be more easily worn. There are few things in my wardrobe that are true red, and a true solid red at that. But pink feels a bit less aggressive, commanding, while still having that same liveliness.

  2. Well said!

    While I do like to project an air of calm, in terms of how I experience my natural personality I’m pink: vibrant, energetic, friendly, engaging and dynamic. In fact, I have always been shocked when people suggested they thought of me as a hippie: in my own mind, I’ve always been a pink “suit”. šŸ˜‰

  3. “Why I should have thought of this before: my year-round palette relies on neutrals and pinks, with black and white used more as accents. Pulling out the other neutrals, the browns and grays, brightens the palette and dramatizes the colors, while maintaining the subtlety required by my soft coloring.”

    Clever! All that thinking paid off. I agree that pink can be vibrant and I like the idea of toughening up some of those anemic, dusty pinks with snappy black and white accents. I love that first outfit, especially. With the third one, I’d look for a way to bring the bottom color up nearer the face as a repeat, though I know you don’t like accessories much. I suppose the pinky shoes would work ok, though, the way they do in the second picture.

  4. I’m both a fan of black and a fan of pink and black. Stronger pinks work best on me. I also very much like pink and the range of browns from light tan to dark chocolate. The other thing I love to see is folks wearing pink in winter. It’s heartening.

  5. I love all of those outfits for spring, Rebecca–so polished and pretty! Lucky you–the only one of them, unfortunately, that would look nice on me is #3. Any kind of blue undertone in pink–from bubblegum pink to fuschia–is horrid on me. I do like coral and peachy pink in the spring, as well as sherbert orange (my dh calls this “circus peanut orange”–know those awful candies??). Very pale pink is also okay, if it has that warm undertone (ballet pink, say, as opposed to baby girl pink). Do those distinctions make sense?

    My own pink-wearing limitations aside, I do a full load of pink/lavender laundry every single week–for my dd, who is 4 1/2!

  6. ” I wonder if I relate to pink because Iā€™m simple and friendly, without being demanding and aggressive. ”

    I think so!

    I used to wear a lot of pink when I was younger, but I’m not drawn to it now. Although I love the look of pink with brown, and I guess my favorite color (wine) is actually a very deep pink.

    I have a hard time with Spring also. I don’t care for the typical “spring” fashions, which all look like Easter dresses to me! I’m also still stymied by the “what to wear on my legs” question. If not black/brown/grey tights, then what? (I know, nude sheer hose or – gasp! – pants) I could see adding a few greys and pinks to my wardrobe, to lighten it up a bit for spring.

    What do “Winters” wear in the spring? I’ve always seen myself as a Winter (am I wrong?)

    I pulled out a few things for my “style file” from the catalogs. I am starting to realize that I see the perfect “me” outfit as a portrait collared fitted jacket, and pencil skirt. And I always think of you when I see a pink suit!

  7. Sheri – I totally get the distinction you’re drawing between pinks. I have been a little surprised to discover that I can actually wear most of the paler tints, although the ballet pink and other coral pinks are the best. As far as brights go, coral is pretty much it for me.

    Beth – what do you think about colored tights? I recently picked up a pair at TJMaxx for really cheap that are about the color of the far right sidebar and match my flats. I’m not certain if I’ll be able to actually use them though. Part of the trouble with spring fashions may be unlined skirts.

    Winters wear black and white in the spring, by itself or with red or another bright.

    I LOVE the idea of the portrait collared fitted jacket! That’s perfect! šŸ™‚

  8. I definitely agree about red being entirely un-subtle … I think that’s why I got sick of it so fast šŸ™‚
    To clarify my comment about removing pink as a means of achieving a more sophisticated look, pink had been a favourite colour of mine throughout highschool. As such, many of the pink pieces I had were less sophisticated styles regardless of colour. I still do like pink, I just buy less of it and only in more “grown up” styles since it can widely be perceived as a young colour, and I look younger than I am already.

    I love the pink-black-white combo – it reminds me (in the best way) of a 1950s soda fountain. My bedroom furniture & linens were all white and pink, to make it a little more chic I added inexpensive black accessories (a lamp, bedspread, storage baskets) to the mix.

  9. What’s interesting about a lot of the outfits on the sartorialist is the number of colors in some of the outfits. I’m not great at doing more than two colors, but it would be interesting to pair the pink and black (my favorite horse racing silks colors) with other accent colors and see what happens.

  10. I don’t know why that shade of pink shirt irritates me with the men’s outfit but the khaki
    plaid scarf tucked under the arm of the dummy makes it almost bearable. I think adding
    in a probably subtle print makes a whole lot of color schemes work better.

  11. I wonder why men’s pink shirts are almost always the bluer pink?

    Karen & Emily – I like the palette you came up with! The clarity and warmth of the colors are wearable and contemporary looking.

    Karen – I’ve noticed that too, about the number of colors. I normally tend to wear like three at a time, but maybe I should be more relaxed about it. šŸ™‚

  12. Color seems intimidating to me, but it probably shouldn’t be. I appreciate the articles you have been doing on color. I was at acting class tonight and one of my classmates was wearing a pair of green boots, brighter than olive, just a great almost grassy green color. I would love to wear something like that but I’m such a chicken. The first step to wearing great color combos would be collecting pieces in interesting, inspirational colors (and textures) and then playing with those finds.

    I also love the idea of a monocrhome gray/silver/pewter in interesting textures. More interesting than black and it would be great with silver hair.

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