April 24, 2024
Color-of-the-year
Pantone’s Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid

(EDITOR’S NOTE: With the New Year come a few new features to the Meigs Independent Press. A feature on fashion is just one of the them. The staff hopes you will enjoy the new features.)

With each New Year comes lots of new things; one of the biggest events of the new year for the fashion world is the announcement of the new color of the year.

2014’s color of the year, which was selected by Pantone, is Radiant Orchid and can be described as a light lavender like purple. A lot of times however the color of the year does not end up in stores and everyone’s wardrobe, most of the time it gets used a lot on cars made in that year. Not every color of the year can be added easily to every wardrobe but Radiant Orchid is bright and youthful and can be very versatile for every season and personal taste.

Being a pastel color Radiant Orchid is extremely easy to integrate into a spring and winter wardrobe, just do not over think it because the color is very simplistic and can easily be over powered. Radiant Orchid may start popping up in stores this month with some of the stores introducing their Spring lines, but especially keep an eye out for it in the month of April since it can be considered an “Easter color”. During the winter season pair Radiant Orchid with darker blues with a cool undertone and silver. With this color trio let the blue be the star, use Radiant Orchid only in subtle pops such as in a necklace or scarf, a thin decorative belt over a blue cardigan, purses, or as the main color for shoes. Spring is when you can go all out with the purple color and when it should be the center of attention in your outfits. During this season Radiant Orchid should be readily available in dresses, cardigans, skirts, blouses, etc. and you can feel free to utilize it in anything you find it in. It’s spring complement colors are just about anything pastel goes, but I suggest light pastel yellow, mint green pastel, robin’s egg blue pastel, and even some baby pink pastel, but very minimally.

This light purple may seem tricky to use during the summer and autumn seasons, but it’s very easy to stay pretty in Radiant Orchid all year round. In the summer it can be used as the main statement color or simply as a complimentary pop. Good color matches during the summer are yellow, a grape or jewel tone purple, coral, a medium blue, and a green with a cool undertone. All of these colors will compliment your Radiant Orchid outfit but keep in mind, only pair it with one or two of these other colors. In summer fashions it can be tempting to throw a lot of colors into one outfit but you will quickly lose the delicate orchid. In autumn the trick is to take the cool color of Radiant Orchid and use warm autumn colors to make it really shine through. Brown is an obvious neutral autumn color but if you like to use brighter colors pair it with reds, oranges, olive green, jewel tone blues, a warm yellow, and a warm coral. Autumn is another season when you want to be minimalistic with the orchid color and go back to using it in accessories and keep it from taking center stage, let the warm autumn leaves colors be the show stopper this season. Autumn is the time of the year when the leaves start to fall from the trees and into your garden so why not take some inspiration by looking at those leaves. After you have found this inspiration, you may want to invest in a leaf blower that can help get rid of the leaves for you. It’s important you find a leaf blower that is right for you so make sure you do your research. By having a look at a website such as this (https://thebestleafblowers.com/worx-trivac-12-amp-3-in-one-blowermulchervacuum-with-metal-impeller-review/) can help you find a place to start. But not until you have found that perfect color.

I hope these color tips help you see how easy this color is to wear all year round and keeps you looking Radiant in Orchid this year. If you have any questions about what else to do with the color of the year or any other fashion help questions feel free to contact me at [email protected] and your question may be featured.