Pantone and Stacy Lomman : New York, Choose Orange

screen shot from Pantone's website

And the winner is... drum roll please... Tangerine Tango!!!  Pantone just announced its color of the year and it's bright and cheery, just in time for the holidays.  Now, some people are afraid of such bold hues and feel that they don't look good in orange, but if you select the right pieces and style them the right way (I agree... easier said than done), you can "make it work."

"Safety Orange" Nylon Rip Stop Gown -- from STACY LOMMAN : NEW YORK Spring 2012 Biohazard Collection

Photo: Shane LaVancher

I tend to wear mainly neutrals myself, however, I've been feeling orange for quite a while.  In fact, I did not one, but two posts on the happy color back in June.  I guess I just couldn't get enough because a little later, I included an orange gown in my Spring 2012, Biohazard Collection.  I called my color of choice, Safety Orange, which evokes an entirely different emotion than its relative, Tangerine Tango, but it's still just as lively.

"Safety Orange" Nylon Rip Stop Gown -- from STACY LOMMAN : NEW YORK Spring 2012 Biohazard Collection

Photo: Shane LaVancher

So, taffetadarlings, be bold, be fearless, go forth and conquer.  Wear some orange... you might just like it!

"Morange"

Yes, it's more orange!  Maybe next week I'll move onto something in the green family.  Color of the week?  Might be fun.


I guess I've been feeling this color for a while and it's not just a sudden or fleeting affair.  I realized that I have had a few storage boxes for magazines and miscellaneous items in pumpkin orange for several years now.  I really love how this color works with grey or white interiors.

Bigso of Sweden: available at Sam Flax

Then, I remembered the orange lip color that I envisioned for my first collection (Spring 2011) and after searching high and low, I found the perfect shade at M.A.C.  They cleverly called the lipstick, "Morange."

M.A.C. lipstick in "Morange" color. 

model, Cynthia Kirchner in my Spring 2011 show wearing "Morange" M.A.C. lip color

And then there is my silk double knit dress with shell shoulder detail.  It wasn't just the buttery softness of the fabric that appealed to me, but also the color.

my spun silk double knit draped dress

Last but not least, let us not forget Alexander McQueen -- ever.  I adore the simplicity of this piece.  It works perfectly without fuss or muss.  A color blocking masterpiece.

Alexander McQueen, Resort 2009

Photo: Style.com via Marcio Madeira

Okay, now that I have written two posts about pumpkin orange, I'm over it!  Hahaha.  I'm so jaded.  Hmmm, jade, now that's a nice color...

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: I just came across this amazing kitchen designed for the one and only, BETTE MIDLER!!  I had to ask interior designer, Mary Douglas Drysdale if I could post it and she graciously allowed it.  Thanks Mary!  Visit her web site to check out more of her beautiful work.

"A Little More Orange Kitchen!"

Mary Douglas Drysdale, Interior Designer

Orange Ya Glad To See Some Color?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "I'm a neutral girl."  Not neutral like Switzerland, rather, I'm partial to a neutral palette when it comes to my clothes.  It's a New York thing.  But, I certainly appreciate color and I go through little phases of loving a particular hue that speaks to me until I get bored with it and move on.  Story of my life!

I snapped this pic. of these cool vintage shades available at VEDA on the Lower East Side

Bottega Veneta's Montaigne bag, Spring 2011

Right now, I'm feeling orange.  Not fluorescent, safety orange, but something a little more sophisticated, a little softer and slightly more yellow than red.  Pumpkin... but a little more intense/saturated.  On one hand, it's a bit retro and on the other, it looks fresh.  Damn, I wish I had kept that leather skirt from high school... it would have been the perfect time to recycle it!

Jil Sander's Raf Simons used orange as one of the staple colors for Spring 2011

Photos: Style.com via Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com