December 15, 2025
If all is going according to plan, I’m in Paris when you read this! I will NOT be checking emails, messages, or anything else much. I WILL be posting on Instagram, if you want to follow along. I do that so my loved ones in the US know that I’m okay…
Have you read anything about the very controversial choice that Pantone made for their 2026 “Color of the Year”?
They chose some shade of white, which is virtually indistinguishable for most of us from every OTHER shade of white… They call it Cloud Dancer, which is pretty enough, but WHITE?????
So the wise people of the Internet got together and chose a DIFFERENT color: Phthalo green. (the “ph” is silent…)
And it’s lovely:
earrings – Anabel Aram; bracelet – Farra; bag – MKF Collection; sweater – J.Crew; shirt – Alex Mill; flats – Birdie
If you wear a lot of navy, or beige, or white in the summer, this is a color that you should strongly consider….
Cashmere wrap – Bel Cashmere; necklace – Edgar Navarro; ring – By Virgo; striped scarf – Ingmarson; watch – Pascal; bag – Veganology
If this color doesn’t flatter your complexion, you can always look at the bracelets, rings, bags, shoes etc. that are available.
And if you happen to have green eyes – GO CRAZY! Stock up! Take advantage of the wide availability of this wonderful color.
Crewneck sweater – L.L.Bean; earrings – Jennifer Behr; green agate necklace – Alex Mill; brooch – Anthropologie; zippered fleece jacket – Lands’ End; bag – Anthropologie
I’m old enough to remember when the Pantone Color announcements were a BIG deal, and when we used to actually change plans and designs to incorporate the colors they promoted.
Now, we pick our own colors!
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, I was sharing my experience in traveling to and from Paris, back in the days when American Airlines actually had a direct non-stop flight from Chicago to Paris… Sigh… Now, we connect through Dublin, and thank our lucky stars that it’s no more complicated than that!
Prefer this color and wardrobe? Save to Pinterest!
Green will always be my first choice.
I’ve collected quite a few clothes and accessories in this wonderful color over the decades.
I love browsing the archives at theviviennefiles.com for example, this post in green here:
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2024/10/want-to-fit-in-start-with-art-pines-and-sky-by-walter-j-phillips.html/
Have a great week everyone! 🎄
Oh, that wardrobe is absolutely lovely! Would LOVE to see more of that colour combination!
In the last post, I suggested to Janice that she create a year-round wardrobe using these fantastic colors: SOUTHERN WINDOW BY LOUIS LE BROCQUY
Oh, that was a lovely colour! I hope we can have a more extensive wardrobe on that painting!
Oh this is lovely. You’ve got me thinking as to whether I could wear periwinkle with green…. This is what I love about this group – inspiration.
Phthalo green will forever make me think of Bob Ross and his happy little pine trees living in his landscapes. Maybe one of his paintings could inspire a phthalo green based wardrobe sometime this year?
Oooh! Super idea!
A great color to match my eyes.
Oh, my word. The Cloud Dancer is such a disappointment. Yes, there are about two million shades of white, but the one they picked just looks DIRTY. I love a good white. I adore a good ivory. I can even get behind a light beige. But, what they chose? It looks like city snow after it’s had a few days to get gritty. Not a fan.
That being said, I AM a PHAN of PHTHALO GREEN. I actually went to the Boston Pops Christmas show this past Saturday night and I wore a gorgeous sequin blouse from Talbots to it in this very shade. https://www.talbots.com/sequin-velvet-top/P254075345.html?dwvar_P254075345_color=GREEN&dwvar_P254075345_sizeType=MS#q=green%2Bsequin%2Btop&lang=default&start=1
I am with you, Janice. I wish that this was the color of the year…rather than “I’m not a good white, but I’m putting it out there anyway” Cloud Dancer.
This is a very beautiful colour. And Ellens.s. blouse she wore to the Boston Pops Christmas Concert sounds absolutely gorgeous. The neutral colour for this is always Navy. But I am going to do the unthinkable, swapping out Black for Navy. Lol.
Love the green. I”m currently working on a blanket which uses white and a color called “pale silver” which with my slight color blindness I can not tell apart. I thought I had them separated, but ended up using the pale silver on an entire section where I should have used white. No big deal, except then I ran out of the pale silver and had to order more! :) Why on earth would you choose a white for color of the year???? Honestly.
Love the green! I have green eyes so have always been partial to green. But have to say that I think the “controversy” around the cloud dancer is ridiculous.
Marla, I agree with everything you wrote :) — I have green eyes and the controversy over Pantone color of the year is silly. Although….white wall paint is making a comeback after years of gray paint…
Agreed!
OH,YES! PHTHALO GREEN….coming to my house soon!
So am wondering, would this shade of green be considered warm or cool. I think cool?
Will look smashing with white!
Love this color that I would call hunter green. One of the paintings that you are considering for next year, Ruffled Autumn Clouds, has a beautiful deep green. I would love to see your development of that painting.
I have had many outfits over the years, starting in the 70’s, with this rich color. One outfit in particular, with corduroy pants and a matching jean jacket style topper was a favorite. I thought I looked fabulous! It does bring out the green in my hazel eyes!
Thinking of you enjoying Paris….
I haven’t seen the actual white colour they have chosen and thought they were trying to bring light into this dark world. I can only wear cool greens and this looks like it might work.
I love it! 💚 I’m very into greens right now. That color is very rich & sultry. I think it could pair well with brown, black, or burgundy.
Marshall Field’s Green! Yess! I’m very intrigued at how this color has already been making its way into my world recently (was wearing a new to me sweatshirt in this color yesterday, and have seriously been debating painting my bedroom the same shade…). As a hazel eyed gardener, I definitely find it a calming, “peaceful place” sort of color. 😊
Very curious where you found the “internet consensus” that chose this shade? Sounds like a spot to watch!
Oh, this is great. I was so annoyed about the white, but love the phthalo green! As luck would have it, I already bought two things in this colour this Xmas season. I love wearing them with gold jewelry.
I love this! I have vivid light green eyes already and can wear any shade of green! Great pick!
I wore this yesterday with no idea I was cool! I have a mohair sweater from the early 90s I wore with deepest green ponte pants. I love this color. As for Cloud Dancer, it looks like fog. We’ve had fog in our valley for several weeks now. Only fog, no sun.
Cloud Dancer earned a great big “meh” from the viewing public. The problem with chasing the “color of the year” is that if you went all in on each year’s color, you’d most likely end up with a closet full of outfits that can’t match be built into more outfits.
When retailers lean into a color I don’t like, I look elsewhere that year.
That green is certainly a better choice for color of the year than “Cloud Dancer.”
On the other hand…if anyone could prove that it’s possible to dress well (and even practically) in mostly beige and white, it would be some of Janice’s heroines. Like this one: https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2016/05/start-with-art-study-for-muses-by-brice.html/ .
I also call a dark green with some blue in it “hunter green” and it’s long been a favorite of mine. I have green eyes, so greens are easy for me to wear. And as a teenager, I painted my bedroom this color. My parents were extremely skeptical because it’s so dark but let me do it…and afterwards, they were surprised that it looked pretty great! :D My apartment has walls that are a bit of a creamy ivory rather than “Cloud Dancer” white…which I greatly prefer. I have to assume the choice of white was oriented more toward interior design than fashion.
Since I saw the announcement for Cloud Dancer a few days ago, I have been waiting to see what everyone here would make of the choice. I struggle to get my head around having a non-color as color of the year. On the other hand I love any shade of green and this one seems so rich and vibrant and earthy all at once.
Since, yesterday is full with comments on what everyone likes. What about a 12 month wardrobe based on Canadian Artist, Arthur Lismer’s “A September Gale, Georgian Bay”. This is a Canadian painting that you have knowledge of. So, it should be easy. Thank You.
So pretty! Thanks for sharing Raj!
September Gale is a longtime favourite for me too, but maybe it’s too close colour-wise to this past year’s Delaunay.
Looks like comments on the paintings for 2026 are closed so I’ll throw in my two cents here.
I can’t begin to express my appreciation for this website and all you’ve taught us. I’m especially grateful that you’ve brought us to view artists we’ve not encountered before. (You’ve got to get to a lot of museums to find all the great art!)
I’m obsessed with Natalia Gontcharova so her PORTRAIT THEATRAUX is my favorite. ( Even though I like her Blue Cow even better.)
PETIT MATIN by Joan Mitchell
MOUNTAINS AND SEA by Helen Frankenthaler
and ABSTRACTS by Tony Daley round out my favorites. I’m not particularly moved by the others. Except to say right now dark colors are kind of overwhelming to me. The geoduck one seems too predictable, but I’ve always leaned into abstracts.
I hope Paris is as wonderful as you expected. It’s such an amazing place. I hope you got in some quality time at the Pompidou!
Beautiful! I love this colour!
Wow! This is going to be great for my green experiment.
I’m wearing dark teal shades today – muted dark teal cords are very similar to Phthalo Green – and a slightly brighter dark teal cable knit jumper. I have a silver grey polo neck underneath.
Looking at your choices, I was struck by the different shades that this could be. I was intrigued as to where Phthalo Green sits in colour charts. Apparently, it can have blue or yellow undertones which gives it broad appeal. It is also the choice of artists when creating greens. On some charts it sits between Veridian and Emerald on the blue-green spectrum. On other charts it sits between Permanent Green and Hunters Green (yellow undertones).
Here is a description from Windor and Newton who make artists paints:
https://uk.winsornewton.com/blogs/articles/phthalo-green
It will be great if designers and retailers take this up in their collections.
Absolutely love this color! Just wore an emerald green velvet dress for an anniversary dinner. Looking forward to building on this.
I think it’s about time we the people picked the colors we love, lol. Why do we allow some folks in some stuffy room in New York tell us what we should wear or put in our homes this year? Power to the people! LOL.
And I would totally wear something Phthalo green…
White (along with silver, lavender, and ice blue) is one of my go-to colors for Mondays. It’s minimalist and serene. Cloud Dancer is a perfect vibe for the day of the Moon. I hope I’ll see lots of it in furniture, fashion, and home decor in 2026. Meanwhile, Phthalo Green would be nice on Saturdays. Those Birdie flats are adorable, but I’d never get my big feet into them. :( It seems not every color or shoe is for everyone. It’s nice to have choices.