Pantone Archives

Does a Different Neutral Color Make a Difference? Pantone London Autumn/Winter 2023-24

May 31, 2023

When we left these five accent colors, from the Pantone London Autumn/Winter 2023-24 colors, I think we had determined that many of us like all sorts of different combinations! But the question was posed that different neutrals might make a difference in how we felt about the various accent colors.

Good question!

The London neutrals were the following five colors:

I made the executive decision that I am NOT going to try to find Forest Night at this time of year! I don't know if I could tell it from Lava Smoke, unless the description of the item specifically mentioned that it was green and not grey...

When you look at the colors - especially when you look at the digital description of each of them - ... View the Post

Part 2: Pantone London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2023-24

May 24, 2023

Finally, I'm getting around to sharing the 2nd 5 of the London Fashion Week colors!

I've been thinking a lot about how one chooses their core neutral color - what if you chose it based on your favorite accent colors? Maybe you're really drawn to black, but your favorite accent color looks... wrong with black, to you.

Would it be wrong to put the accent colors cart(s) before the neutral color horse(s)?

Let's look at each of these 5 colors with black:

and with navy - almost identical garments, and I'm going to show them in the same positions etc....

Yellow and black? One either really likes it, or hates it!

And yellow and navy will forever feel like high school to me!

I couldn't find ... View the Post

New Colors! Pantone London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2023-24

May 15, 2023

It's sort of hard to conceive of this coming winter, since summer has just started, but the people at Pantone are always way ahead of the rest of us...

Today, I'm only showing you 5 of the 10 colors, because many of these colors are proving to be... elusive... If I'm successful in finding the other 5, I will share!

Let's start!

This persimmon is a pretty compromise between orange and red...

In order to see if these colors will work well for some of us, I want to add each color to a simple navy or beige outfit, and see what happens!

You could of course wear your new sweater with either pair of these pants, but I thought that the best look was bringing Persimmon accessories into simple, neutral ... View the Post

Accent Colors to Wear With Beige/Taupe or Olive Green – Pantone New York Autumn/Winter 2023

March 10, 2023

One last visit with these 10 colors - this time with both beige/taupe and olive green!

The first neutral grouping is mostly described as Cobblestone; Eileen Fisher regularly carries this color, and it's a consistent, excellent taupe. Other cobblestones may fall short, and look more beige... Sigh...

Conversely, olive green was simple to find; I'm assuming that this heroine isn't quite ready for warm weather!

From here to the end of this post, I'm just going to show you each of the 10 "Accessory Families," and then a couple of outfits using each of the 2 neutrals as base. I don't need to editorialize about what combinations I do and don't ... View the Post

Accent Colors to Wear With Gray – Pantone New York Autumn/Winter 2023

March 6, 2023

Grey for warm weather is hard to find! Later on, I might be able to find gray linen without a lot of trouble, but right now we have to think of grey as something we will wear on cool spring days...

All I'm doing here is showing all 10 of the Pantone Colors for Autumn/Winter 2023, as chosen from the New York Fashion Week shows... (which means that there will be ANOTHER bunch of colors for London, and probably ANOTHER bunch for Autumn/Winter, without any fashion show connection!)

I'm eager to hear from you all about which of these color combinations you like, and which you ... View the Post

Pantone: Colors they Love, Colors that Endure

December 9, 2022

I was browsing the Pantone website a few days ago, after their announcement of the 2023 color of the year. Viva Magenta!

Of course, that doesn't mean that we will EVER walk into any store and see a decent assortment of magenta clothes and accessories. Pantone doesn't seem to have the influence over retailers that they once did...

But I DID run across an article about "Colors We Love, Colors That Endure."

I'm not sure what they mean by endure - all colors endure, don't they?

Still - I had to see what these colors might look like, if we were considering a new wardrobe accent!

White Asparagus is a color that I would consider adding as a wardrobe neutral; to me it's really just a variation of beige or ... View the Post

Adding a New Accent Colors to Your Wardrobe? Pantone Colors Autumn/Winter 2022/23

March 16, 2022

"New" colors! Well, we've had this conversation at least a dozen times...

But for those of us who have a pretty good idea of what we're going to wear when the weather warms up (in the Northern Hemisphere, of course!), it's always fun to consider adding a fresh accent color to go with our signature neutrals...

Please note that I (obviously!) can't guarantee that these items will all go well together if you get them into your home. Between the variations in the colors of the items themselves, coupled with the variations in the rendition of color inherent in computers, all sorts of issues are possible! But we do the best we can...

First up - I would wear this color more in the autumn or winter than in summer, ... View the Post

Accessories “Families” based on Pantone’s Spring 2022 colors

January 12, 2022

It's time to look at some "new" colors. (Yes, I never cease to be amazed by the hubris of calling a color "new"...)

But the announcement of these colors does give us a chance to think about what accent colors we prefer, and what we might want to consider. During these VERY short days (in the Northern Hemisphere!), which are very VERY cold, something to brighten up your wardrobe routine isn't crazy...

Please note, when you're shopping for socks, make absolutely sure that you're ordering what you have in mind - some socks are NOT meant to be worn with shoes! They're for lounging, or sleeping, or maybe worn under heavy boots. Trying to get a pair of those into a trim little loafer is going to be disappointing... ... View the Post

The Common Wardrobe in Navy and Ivory, accented with Potpourri pink

October 20, 2021

I'm been looking at the Pantone Spring 2021/22 colors; looking may be as far as I get with some of them - there are a couple of truly odd colors on this list!

But we can always start with a neutral wardrobe core, and then use one of the more accessible of the colors for accent, right?

This version of The Common Wardrobe is not a long way from the original, shown below. The jeans are unchanged, the knit pants, long-sleeved tee and cashmere turtleneck are navy rather than black.

For other garments, I tried to stick with the original role that the garment played - 2nd layer, top, bottom - and then looked for a navy or ivory version, in a "long over short" option.

Today's heroine has been wearing her navy ... View the Post

Accessory Accent Colors – Pantone Fall 2021/22

May 14, 2021

Just when it feels as if we're NEVER going to wear warm weather clothes, and when all of my things start to look... too familiar... some new colors (ahem...) are introduced! Some fresh accessories could brighten up our cold-weather clothes as they finish their run, or could be all you need for warmer weather!

yes, there are THREE shades of blue in these 10 colors - I used these sandals more than once, because frankly I really like them! They look comfortable...

Great happiness - if you look good in yellow, GO FOR IT! The rest of us like it but don't wear it to our best effect...

I love this next color - with navy it would be glorious, but against white, in hot weather, it would be great fun...

yes, ... View the Post

Need Something Bright? Accessories in 10 “New” Colors

December 21, 2020

Pantone gifted us with 10 more "new" colors for the 2021 London Fashion Week! Actually, we've seen Illuminating yellow before, but the rest of these are new names for lovely colors that have existed since we first had rods and cones in our eyes...

Their colors for 2021 are Illuminating Yellow and Ultimate Gray, which made me laugh; back in about 1998 or so, I worked at an ad agency that unveil their new logo in the very edgy colors of yellow and grey!

The more things change, eh?

So if you're in the mood for a gift to brighten up your wardrobe, I've got a few suggestions!

First is an elusive but really lovely cool pink - almost lavender...

This might not be the easiest shade of green to wear, ... View the Post

Is It Time for a Wardrobe Brightener? Pantone 2021 Spring Colors

October 30, 2020

Most of us are being very disciplined with our wardrobes right now, but I think that we (and those around us) might benefit from the occasion cheerful update. With that in mind, I tackled the "newest" colors from Pantone.

First up - if you can wear yellow, DO IT. Many of us look like a Halloween decoration when we wear it, and that's too bad. Nothing is more eye-catching and smile-prompting.

And this gingham sweatshirt comes in 4 colors, including pink. I AM tempted...

This shade of blue might be an accent for some of us, or for many it will just be some pretty new additions. I wasn't able to exactly match the Pantone color (heck, I wasn't able to match ANY of the colors exactly!) but I tried to ... View the Post