Color of the Year

With all trends there is a certain degree of arbitrariness involved in their inception.  This is especially true with colors that come into style.  

Pantone is a printing company, that produces ink, textiles, and just about anything else that has color. 

Radiant Orchid- the self proclaimed purple to end all
purples

One of Pantone’s most prominent activities is producing standardized color palettes and suggested color combinations.  The Pantone color system has become something of an international standard for denoting color.  Every year Pantone releases its “Color of the Year.”  Pantone has large secret meetings in Europe to determine what color most matches the international zeitgeist.  Yes they take themselves that seriously.  Whatever color Pantone chooses as the color of the year will influence interior design, fashion, makeup, and just about any industry that utilizes color as one of its central elements.  This year’s color of the year is Radiant Orchid.   Pantone describes radiant orchid as a color that “blooms with confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination. It is an expressive, creative and embracing purple—one that draws you in with its beguiling charm. A captivating harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid emanates great joy, love and health.”  Personally I think it looks like a greyish redish shade of purple, but that doesn’t sell nearly as well as the description provided by Pantone.  Whatever your thoughts on Radiant Orchid, or the arbitrary way it came into style, it will still appear in fashion often throughout the year.  You might as well learn how to incorporate it into your wardrobe, so you can wear it, if you find you like this color.

Radiant Orchid tie and grey
vest compensate for the fact that this
man is missing the top half of
his head

Another man who doesn't even need the
top half of his face to know how to
pair "radiant orchid" with navy jeans
and a grey shirt

Bear in mind, while Pantone decided that the exact shade of purple called Radiant Orchid is the color of the year, no one is going to chase you down with a paint chip to make sure you are wearing the correct shade of purple.  Basically if a color is somewhere in the range between bright purple and greyish lavender, it counts as Radiant Orchid.  Some colors that will pair well with ‘Radiant Orchid’ are black, white, sky blue, navy, leaf green, bright yellowy green, grey, and purpley red.  For those of you presenting as men, radiant orchid ties and pocket squares look good with a black, white, or navy suit.  You can also wear radiant orchid more overtly by wearing it as a shirt under a blazer.  As with the tie a radiant orchid shirt will pair well with navy, grey, black, or white blazers.  Wear a radiant orchid t-shirt with some slim cut grey or dark navy jeans for a very casual but fashionable look. Wear it as a sweater while its still cold outside.  If you are feeling particularly preppy, you can wear radiant orchid shorts or jeans with a shirt in one of the brighter colors I listed that pair well with radiant orchid.  You can put different shades of purple into the same outfit, such as with a tie and shirt, which as long as you do so in a thoughtful manner will look good without resembling Barney.  Do not shy away from radiant orchid because it is a soft and rather feminine color.   On a strong confident gentleman such as yourself, it will simply come off as classy.

These ladies almost forgot that the colors they
are wearing still count as radiant orchid

Radiant Orchid can make a lovely companion to any black, white, navy, or green ensemble.  An easy way to incorporate Radiant Orchid is to use it as a pop color in your shoes, your handbag, a scarf a belt or some jewelry.  If you presenting as lady types wish to give radiant orchid a more central role in your ensembles consider wearing it as a blouse, dress, shirt, skirt, or any article of clothing you can conceive of really.  If it is a major element in your outfit you will want to wear a brighter relative of radiant orchid or add a bright color such as pink or red into the outfit to balance the lightness of Radiant Orchid.  Radiant Orchid will also creep its way into the makeup industry.  Purple eyeliner has long been a standard make up option, thus Radiant Orchid eye shadow with black or navy eyeliner is a mindlessly easy way to incorporate Radiant Orchid into your make up.  The other option for incorporating Radiant Orchid into your makeup is by wearing Radiant Orchid lipstick.  This can go terribly wrong and make you look like a cartoon character with hypothermia so wear it with caution.  You will want to keep the rest of your make up low key with pinkish tones.  You can look like a design student if you wear a few blocked colors with the Radiant Orchid lipstick. 

No wearing radiant orchid lipstick won't make you
look like this woman, nor will your face get stuck in
the expresson she has.  But she provides a fine example of
how to dress when wearing radiant orchid lipstick

This is what you will look like
if you wear rasiant orchid lipstick
badly

You can also get a very fun look by pairing the Radiant Orchid lipstick with other purple elements in an outfit.  Make sure radiant orchid looks good against your skin tone before incorporating it into your wardrobe.  More importantly make sure you actually like Radiant Orchid before incorporating it into your wardrobe.

Give Radiant Orchid a try let me know if any of my advice worked for you, or any ideas you might have about how to make this year’s color of the year your own.

Dressing Tall People

As I previously talked about short people, its only fair I take this week to discuss how to dress tall people.  While height is seen as an attractive feature for men, it is a somewhat confusing one for women.  On the one hand, models are tall, and tall women are seen as attractive in theory, while in reality tall women often feel unfeminine and undesirable to men, many of whom are shorter than they are.  When I look at tall women, I do not consider them intimidating; rather they strike me as strong and gracefully dignified.   As a tall person, you make a statement when you enter a room, simply by virtue of your height.  Instead of compensating for your powerful presence by trying to break up, or hide your height, embrace it.   

As a tall woman, you have a much more flexibility in how you can dress than women who share my tiny frame.  Many clothing styles require height to execute effectively.  Capris and full shin length skirts will look best on a body like yours because you can afford to cut your silhouette in interesting ways that would make shorter women look stubby.  Knee high boots will compliment your long legs without making them look short.  You can carry most of the looks that would break up or overwhelm smaller women.  This includes color blocking, which you can use to play up your best features by placing bright colors over your favorite areas.  

Here Suzette has an appropriately
proportioned print on her dress and shows off
the length of her legs by cutting off her torso
higher up with a bomber jacket.

The purple stripe down the middle allows
Suzette to show off the positive aspects of
her figure without loosing height.  Also note
the nude heels, because yes she has legs, and
yes they are worth showing off.

Large print patterns will suit you as well.  Horizontal stripes are great to wear on an ordinary day, but can also look classy under a matching blazer for business situations.  As you can carry large quantities of material without being overwhelmed, ruffles, wide legged pants, long flowing skirts and dresses, high low skirts, chunky belts, scarves, blazers, statement necklaces, and large handbags, are all things that will be appropriately sized for your body, and that you as a tall woman have the unique ability to wear well.  You will typically want to wear only one or two of these large attention-grabbing items at a time; otherwise you will look clownish and oddly proportioned. 

She can be sassy because she knows she can
wear ruffles without being overwhelmed.

Look at this strong tall lady. She isn't afraid of
pairing some excess fabric with skinny
jeans.

You also have the option of playing up your height.  For example, you probably have long legs, why not show them off.  Skinny jeans, and leggings, patterned or otherwise will show off your awesome legs.  Anything highwaisted will have a similar effect.  You can also show off your legs with a short skirt or dress.  Since you have a lot of skin to show, it is best to cover up your torso if you are wearing something short to maintain a look of class.  You can also show off a long neck with sweetheart necklines, or cowl necklines, which also work well because you can carry the excess material.  Finally do not fear high heels.  As I have said, you are already tall, there is no reason to fear being taller.  Heels will make your already good legs look even better, and help you make an even more dramatic statement with your presence on those occasions you feel like being noticed. 

This tree d definitely wishes it could wear patterned
pants like Jordan can.  Alas, it has no legs.

For tall men, many of the same rules apply to you as to tall women.  Your large physique allows you experiment with color and length more so than shorter men can.  As with tall women, you can wear bright colors, and even mix and pair different colors without looking awkward and stubby.  Interesting patterns, particularly horizontal stripes, are also a good option for you.  If your interesting pattern of choice is some sort of print, aim for larger prints.  You are big, so everything including the prints you wear should be scaled up accordingly. 

Casually rocking a 6 foot 7 inch frame with
horizontal stripes and slim cut jeans

A key thing to consider when dressing, is to show off your height without wandering into lanky territory.  You can achieve this by wearing straight or slim cut pants, these play up the length of your legs without making them look scrawny.   You can wear pants that end just above your ankle with bright socks.  This is a rather trendy thing to do, especially if you match your socks and your top, and it will counter any lankiness in your legs.  If you are into dropped crotch pants, or any of the more oddly proportioned pant styles currently on the market, your long legs are most suited to carry these looks, which would knock too much height off of shorter men.  You can wear shorts at or above the knees when it is warmer outside.  Shorts and pants should be mid-rise.  Adding a visible belt is always a good option as well.  If you are thin and tall polo shirts and layering (but not both at the same time), with the inner most layer tucked into your pants is a fashionable way to add bulk.  Crew and scoop neck shirts will also help maintain the look of width.  

Jordan can relax now because his bomber
jacket has evened out the proportions of
his long torso relative to his legs.

The kind of jacket that best suits you depends on your particular build.  If you have a longer torso, a bomber jacket that ends at the waist is the best option for you.  If you have longer legs, a double-breasted trench coat that reaches mid thigh will create balance in your proportions.  As always its important to find clothing that fits properly.  This as always, is the most important part of dressing well.

Remember, because of your height you make a statement wherever you go, you might as well have fun with it, and make it an interesting one. 

Mauritanian Ideal of Beauty

This week i'ld like to investigate a standard of beauty quite unfamiliar to those of us living in the western world in the year 2014.  Today, one of the most important characteristics of a beautiful western woman is her thinness.  While we can easily launch into a discussion on the damaging effects of our obsession with being thin, or about how only 60 years ago, and for much of history, plump women were preferred, I think a look into a current society where bigger is still more beautiful would be more appropriate.

 

Mauritania- No snarky comments are available
for this map 

You have likely heard about Mauritania as a result of the media outburst that took place just a few weeks ago.  If you haven’t seen any recent articles about Mauritania, then here is a brief introduction.  Mauritania is a West African nation almost entirely within the Sahara Desert.  Mauritania is predominantly Sunni Muslim with a Sufi minority and a tiny group of Roman Catholics.  The country is split up between a fairer Berber minority in the north, and a black majority in the south.  Slavery is more prominent here than in any other part of the World.  However, this is not why Mauritania recently received quite a bit of press attention.  Ever since the military coup in 2008, the government has encouraged a return to traditional values, among which is the love of overweight women.  That’s right.  Mauritania, this isolated Sahara nation, is one of the few places left on Earth where heavy women are still seen as the ideal. 

When shown images of thin western
celebrities, Mauritanian women
laugh at what would be considered
hideously thin by their standards.

Mauritanian men don’t even idealize your ordinary zaftig woman, no, they like their women morbidly obese, with stretch marks to testify just how fast they gained weight at puberty.  Before you recoil in horror at such an ideal of beauty, understand where it comes from.  This is a thousand year old Berber ideal, such a long held tradition does not die easily, even as the government petitions women to maintain healthier weights.  In a poor Sahara nation, fat, which equates to wealth and bounty, is certainly more beautiful than the starved look of a skinny woman.  Further thin women are seen as being ‘sick. ’  Sick can literally mean slightly ill, but is often used as a euphemism for having AIDS.  Finally extra pounds equate to curvaceous femininity to most Mauritanians. Essentially if you were born in Mauritania, and wanted to look like a wealthy curvaceous woman who doesn’t have AIDS, you would strive to be obese.

 

A Mauritanian mother force feeds her daughter.  Pinching her
feet between wooden sticks is a common form of
punishment for not eating enough

How far will Mauritanian women go to achieve this ideal?  In cities women will overeat and take illegal diet pills intended to fatten up herd animals.  In the countryside a practice called gavage or leblouh predominates.  Gavage is the practice of force-feeding girls to encourage them to rapidly gain weight.  Some girls are sent to force-feeding camps where they are expected to eat constantly, and punished if they stop eating during mealtimes, do not finish the food they are given, or vomit.  In order to get girls up to a weight worthy of attracting a husband, they may be forced to consume 20 gallons of camel milk, and two kilos of pounded millet mixed with two cups of butter a day.  Instead of condemning Mauritania for the dangerous weight women are expected to achieve to be beautiful, consider how this ideal of beauty isn’t too far from our own.  Both cultures encourage girls to put their health at risk in search of an ideal centered on their weights.  Encouraging western girls to eat more, and Mauritanian girls to exercise more isn’t the solution to the serious health problems associated with the pursuit of a physical ideal.  Presenting a diverse range of bodies of different sizes, colors, and physical abilities as ideals, or beautiful, or even normal within the media, will greatly reduce the hardship individuals put themselves through to change their bodies, because they will be shown that their bodies are already beautiful.  A good example of this is the Debenhams diversity ad campeign http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/15/debenhams-look-book-plus-size-models-paralympian_n_3083547.html.   We as a culture must also get over our obsession with beauty—which sounds ironic coming from a fashion blogger. Only when we learn to appreciate appearances as a personal art form, not as a metric of a person’s worthiness or value, will we cease to obsess over becoming the impossible, and realize that we already are exceptional.