Saturday, February 19, 2011

Orange pop

Yesterday, I commented on how I'm seeing this color (scroll down to picture 6) everywhere. It's lost somewhere between orange and red, but bright enough not to worry too much about its identity crisis. It's all things bright and garish, beautiful or painful depending on how it is used. It's the color that's literally on everyone's lips.

I have had a tricky relationship to orange my whole life. The color was verboten in my house growing up because of a stupid football rivalry. (Note: If a football rivalry brings value and joy to your life, good for you. I think they're stupid.) I was always attracted to its pop, and perhaps even a little to the controversy it stirs up at home. So now that I'm out on my own I've started adding it into my life, and now that it's the color of the moment there are a lot of ways it can be incorporated, which is good because I have one huge problem: my skin. I have a mix of Eastern European and Mediterranean heritage, so I have olive undertones, but I'm super pale, especially in winter, so big blocks of bright color tend to look terrible on me. The big, bold a-line coat on the trendy Japanese lady in my photo would probably make my face look like runny pistachio ice cream. So what's a girl to do? Accessorize!

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My beloved laptop's happy sleeve, and a thermal vest that's perfect for adding warmth under a tight coat without the added bulk of a sweater.

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A neckerchief is the perfect quick way to class up any rough outfit. (Plus the boyfriend totally has a thing for the flight attendant outfit so, everyone wins.)

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An awesome-smelling candle from innisfree

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While bright makeup is also usually a trap for me, this blush adds just the right amount of healthy color.

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A detail from a sweater I picked up from a mall in Europe.

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The gorgeous color is the perfect contrast to my favorite room freshener, lavender.

Will my fascination last? Maybe, maybe not. I am probably just appreciating the brightness it's bringing to the home stretch of the Korean winter. When spring rolls around, my preferences normally turn briefly to pastels, before looking forward to fall neutrals, but who knows? The hardest thing about spending a lot of money on clothes is not knowing how your tastes will change.

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