I have been thinking a lot lately about colors in our lives, and primarily what colors we choose for our clothing. On my morning walks, I have been inspired by all the natural and vibrant colors in all the spring flowers. Tulips seem to be blooming in everyone’s gardens and now the wisteria hanging over porches and arbors are about to burst into bloom. Then there are all the various greens that are so new and fresh this time of the year.
So why is it, I have been wondering, do we not look like we are celebrating life rather than mourning life? I realize there are many personal and vast world problems, but this is a given whether we like it or not. Yet many of us, myself included, continue to wear black or gray or beige or dark blue as a staple tone in our wardrobes. I cannot stand apart and cast blame because I, too, wear mournful colors a lot. Yet, if people were to mourn my death, I would hope they would all wear the colors of vibrant and beautiful flowers, the colors that we encounter every day in nature.
I am curious if this is a trend over a number of years or is it an issue of politics. If I dress in somber tones will I be considered serious, capable, accomplished? I do think the issue of feminism has directed women of all ages to assess how they come across in a culture predominately ruled by men. Therefore to compete for the better jobs in the corporate world, perhaps women need to look confident. Possibly color in a corporate setting makes one appear frivolous. That said, when one has a day off or if one works out of one’s home, why not set the black jacket or sweater aside and embrace color and celebrate being alive for this moment and maybe the next.
Vogue Knitting Winter 2009/10, Page 72
Page 73
Page 70
All of the photos are similar because they use the same green more somber color, but pair it with some other vibrant colors. I think it works. It actually sings!
Page 47
The texture, color, and pattern are brave but worth the risk.
I have spent some time this week going through some of my textiles looking for fun pieces to use in clothing. These two pieces I purchased in France many years ago. A woman, Brigette Singh had moved from Paris to India with her husband and was making colorful wood block prints using original blocks from Mughal textiles and using the old methods of dyeing. She opened a shop in Paris and was selling clothing as well as fabric that she had printed in India. I was captivated. I bought a few pieces and then returning a few years later, went back and purchased a few more. I made a few decorative pillows, but now I am considering their application in clothing and how colorful and fun they would be to use.
I posted this vintage linen piece in another post awhile back. I pulled it out of the cupboard a few days ago and asked myself why not use it for a jacket or a skirt. I have two long pieces. They used to be curtain panels, but no one is keeping track of its use except I. There are so many ways to create new stories for a piece. This coming week I plan to begin cutting and sewing as well as finishing my linen blouse with the antique trim.
Wear what makes your heart sing. I love the colours in the first set of tulips and the Indian print fabrics particularly. I hope you photograph your garments for us.
You may also be interested in the fashion sense and colours worn by some of the older individuals celebrated on Ari Seth Cohen’s Advanced Style blog. These are urban dwellers with a lot of style.
I love that phrase, “wear what makes your hear sing.” Thanks fro the Ari Seth Cohen reference. Perhaps more and more this is an awareness that is taking hold, older women with style and pizazz.
I think those fabrics would make wonderful clothing. Although I do agree with your point about wearing subdued colors to look more professional, I have to say that I love a gray sweater. It makes me think of fog and gray tabby kittens. And navy blue I love too. I think part of it is that they are generally flattering colors for most people. But they are more fun if they are mixed up with other colors….
It is funny that you mention a gray sweater. I have one that has become like my warm, fuzzy blanket. Yes, and I think you are so right about those basic colors being flattering on most people. Some of the brighter colors can be a little harsh as we get older. Perhaps wearing those colors as a skirt and pants and a softer tone on the top is a better way to team them.
I am really liking short jackets lately. I haven’t bought or made one yet but I am definitely drawn to them. Short sleeves and short length. Then the orange fabric worn with a deep teal blue slinky shirt would just look fantastic.
I have puzzled why I wear grays so much and the answer I have come up with is: when skin ages, bright colors look rather abrasive next to the skin. It doesn’t seem to add to a person’s beauty. And wearing gray just is easier to do. I don’t have to look to find the bright color that will go with my skin tones. Usually when I get a bug into my head about a certain color, I can’t find it in the market place, so I would have to make it. Then maybe I would even find it at the fabric store, then I would have to dye it. Then I would decide. humbug too much work! Grab something gray and be done with it. Lazy, lazy, lazy! I just don’t put enough attention to how I present myself.
I don’t think you are lazy. Honestly, I think sometimes our lives can be so complex and demanding that we all need a part of our lives to be simple and easy. I wear things that don’t take too much thought most of the time. I guess what I am thinking about lately is a way to add a little sparkle and creative interest to my life where, for years I have had none, my wardrobe. I know I will continue to opt for the easy and most comfortable decisions on a daily basis, but there are days when I do want to walk out the door looking a little different and adventurous.
i actually think there is an economic issue. subdued colors are easier backdrops for other accessories and also, as a working person less choice is always practical.
you need more clothing when you wear colors, people remember if you wear more than once a week. not like that bothers me, ha! and also subdued colors make you look thinner. sometimes.
nothing makes me look professional….
and it is easier to get dressed in the dark in the morning, when you have to catch a train at dawn!
Good points that I did not consider. It is true that you need more clothing when you wear colors and then, as you said, it is always easier to wear something more than once in a work week if it is more basic and not so flashy. Funny about dressing in the dark. I recall my daughter telling me once that she went off to work with two different shoes on because when she was dressing early for work, she could not see what she was grabbing!
Your post made me remember this description from a Natalia Ginzburg novel (All Our Yesterdays) of a character who wore “extraordinary clothes cut out of old curtains or bedspreads, with a hat made out of newspaper on her head.” I never finished the novel (don’t remember why), but I underlined these words, and have never forgotten them. I’ve been wanting to write about someone who is wearing the parlor curtains ever since. I myself dress in gray and black and faded plaid, but I dream of brighter and much more daring and wonderful outfits! xo Kari
Well now, there is a woman of my own heart. I have always looked at interior design fabrics and imagined different clothes made out of them. I would have underlined that part too! Half the time, when I buy older textiles, say curtain panels, I am buying them to make a coat or a jacket. Faded plaid is really nothing more comforting, and I would say flattering, and as Deb said, a gray sweater is always the best choice sometimes.
What lovely flowers! I think most people tend to
be drawn to neutral colors due to the practical
side of fashion; economic, ease with choosing, etc.
I have always loved denim and turquoise jewelry but, I always
add a splash of color! I love comfort too, so natural
fibers are a must.
Recently, my daughters and I bought the same shiny
black converse type shoes. I wear them on my “fun”
days with my hair in two braids.
The fabrics you have chosen are going to be fabulous
and I say bravo! for choosing fun and vibrant colors/fabrics
to create a new style/voice/you!
I think this is a universally held opinion, similar to jude’s. My mother always loved to wear bright colors. She made many of her own things or she would buy something and then redesign it. Sometimes, she would ask me why I did not wear more color. I think she thought I always looked so subdued, but I have to admit that sometimes I thought she looked too bright! But as we age, I think it is better to wear a softer, more flattering color next to our face. A “splash of color” too is sometimes the best way to wear it.
I am compelled to say that this is a wonderful forum that you have opened up. I pulled out my chartreuse jacket and I flaunted it proudly.
Thanks,
Chartreuse is one of my favorite colors. I actually packed a sweater to wear in Mendocino that I have not worn in over a year and guess what color it is? Chartreuse!
I began working at a law school during the week students were interviewing for jobs. I truly beleived someone had died–there were all of these black suits (and nothing else!). I was told it was what was expected by the law firms–a black suit (skirted for women). I was horrified. It seems to me to be a corporate thing–I know many, many New Yorkers and Chicagoans who always wear black.
I have black in my wardrobe now but for many years I didn’t own any at all. I’ve found it’s a nice foil for brights and I like brights.
It’s also easy–most any bright or pastel will work with black but not all will work as well with navy or dark green or brown. For me the dark colors are a base to which I can add bright and lively colors, scarves and jewelry.
Great advice. Funny that you mention black with a foil for brights because just the other day I saw a woman with a black skirt paired with bright hot pink on top, and she looked great. I really love navy with bright colors too. So many great ideas are being offered here, and I love them all!
Hi Phyllis, I really appreciate you bringing up this topic of how older women can dress. I don’t know what it is, but I love, love, love high fashion clothes. Even though I am a practical person and a liberal, politically, who thinks we have important social issues to spend our money on, so that all of society can grow healthily, I still love to look (drooling) through high fashion magazines and ooh and ahh over the wildest designer clothes. And if I had the money I would probably buy some of them. I think clothing is an art form, pure and simple. When I dress, I am expressing myself as clearly as I am when I make a piece of fiber art. My love of color carries through in my clothes. I do not have nearly enough basic pieces. If I have something that is neutral I just look at it as a palette for colorful embroidery or some other kind of vibrant embellishment. No subtlety here! I also think the darker the world becomes with problems born of greed, fear and powerlust, the more we need to wear vibrant, fearless, joyous colors on our bodies, to protest this death dealing mentality that passes for political leadership. I am happy to notice that, as I age, I am coming to appreciate the beauty of grey. It is such a magical color that can summon up so many pleasant memories or aspects of nature, and worn with little embellishment it seems to just wrap one in comfort. The other thing I am discovering is that I don’t mind dressing up and drawing attention to myself even though I have lost my fabulous figure of my youth. Who cares?! I do appreciate clothing patterns that allow for the ease of larger tummies, breasts and hips, and styles that don’t try to youth-ify my shape. Your clothing examples are great about this. Thank you again for discussing this difficult topic. Keep at it. You are onto something.
I really loved the clothing site you recently referenced on your blog, “Alabama Chanin.” I agree that it is fun to journey through the pages of fun clothing. I think high fashion is like performance art, lots of theatre and experimentation, and that is why it is so much fun to see. Yes, clothing is an art form in so many ways. I love the way you experiment with so many of your ideas with clothing and color. It is great! And as we age, we definitely worry far less about our bodies, thank heavens! I think it is far more important how we feel inside and how we express this externally. Gray is really such a fine tone in so many, many ways as has been referenced by so many here as a favorite. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful thoughts and ideas, Julia. I need to get back and respond to comments awhile back because you left such a lovely one and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. I will in the next few days.