By Grace Arenas
Lifestyle Editor
Well it’s certainly no “Shrinking Violet.”
In keeping with a now 14-year long tradition, Pantone, the company best known for cataloguing and critiquing every color on the spectrum and then some, selected its Color of the Year for 2014: Radiant Orchid.
While the name sounds about as robust and flamboyant as it gets, the color itself is just a perfectly pink-tinted purple that Pantone, in its press release, touts as “surprisingly versatile,” and which will no doubt complement the other hues rounding out Pantone’s predictions for what colors will be in style this spring, among them Placid Blue (more nursery or hospital-appropriate than those more excitable blue shades) and Hemlock (do poisonous plants really yield the most PR-friendly names?)
When it comes to fashion, the Color of the Year is partially influenced by the forthcoming collections of designers (Versace showed quite a bit of “Radiant Orchid” at Milan Fashion Week) and quickly finds its way off the runways and into more affordable arenas. Last year’s Oz-worthy pick Emerald, for instance, was as likely to be spotted in high-end couture form on a celebrity as it was on the shelves at Old Navy. But does it necessarily follow that in 2014 everyone should toss his or her current wardrobe in favor of a radiantly orchid new one?
Short answer: no. While the Pantone Color of the Year’s influence extends outside the fashion industry and brings changes to interior design, company logos, and even cocktails, the trends dictate, as trends do, that we jump on it immediately and start wearing the new hot hue whether or not it’s a flattering one. Yet Pantone has had a tendency towards picking the sort of candy-colored shades (2009’s Mimosa, 2011’s Honeysuckle, and 2012’s Tangerine Tango in particular stand out) that simply don’t suit everyone. And while being on-trend is by no means a bad thing, if you want to keep up with what’s currently in, you need to adapt the style to you, not the other way around. Radiant Orchid not going to work well with your complexion? A deeper purple might be the key. This spring’s midi skirts too puffy and preppy? Do a shorter and slimmer silhouette, but in an on-trend color or pattern. The personalization of style is the essence of what makes it stylish, while the blanket-statement proclamations that decide what is in or out can really take the fun out of it.
There’s something to be said for the psychology behind color, how soothing greens can calm you and relieve stress, or bright yellows and reds can jumpstart your appetite. But when it comes to the color you’re wearing, the positive effects are going to come from whether or not you’re confident in it, not how popular a gown color it was at the Oscars.
So until Pantone decides that once again black is the new black (or Midnight Onyx or Charred Raven or some other equally impressive name) and selects a Color of the Year that works as a color for whomever, it’s best to stick to your own palette and create with it a wardrobe right for you.