FALL Into An Explosion of Color!

My favorite season is almost upon us…FALL! For as long as I can remember, fall has just been the best season of the year to be alive. Growing up at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains provided a fall that was full of beautiful color, crisp mornings and pleasant afternoons. I love the food of fall, college football and most of all, the clothing of fall. Most people consider spring the season of “rebirth,” but for me it was always FALL!

The boots!

The sweaters!

The jackets!

The scarves, hats, and gloves!

The suede, leather, velvet, and wool!

They all fill me with such bliss and excitement about getting dressed! This is a season of optimism…anything could happen! What about you? Does fall dressing excite you or give you the blues? For the rest of September, I am going to be talking about fall dressing and how to have a wonderful fall. If you are less than thrilled about fall, I hope you will read along and allow me to attempt to persuade you to the lush, glorious life that fall has to offer.

In starting this month-long conversation about fall style, it seems the obvious place to start is with color. Most of us have a preconceived vision of what the colors of fall are and a previously formed opinion about whether we like them. Well, this fall you may be a little surprised by the colors shown at New York Fall Fashion Week. I know I was! One of the trends for fall is bright, saturated color and the Pantone Fall 2021 official color palette did not disappoint in representing this trend. There are a few traditional “fall” colors, but they were outshined by the BRIGHTS. Here is the Official Palette of Fall 2021 from Pantone (https://www.pantone.com/articles/fashion-color-trend-report/new-york-fashion-week-autumn-winter-2021-2022 ):

(NOTE: In case you are wondering who Pantone is, they are the color authority of the world. Every color known to man has an identifying number and formula for creating it and Pantone is the keeper of ALL that information. Artists, fashion designers, interior designers, graphic designers, advertising, and branding specialists, etc., all refer to Pantone colors in their work. When I worked for the Gap, back in the 1990’s, Gap, Inc. bought the sole rights to the navy used in their branding from Pantone. It is Blue 655 – forever known as Gap blue!)

As you can see from the palette above, there is literally a color for everyone - regardless of your taste and/or personal color palette! You will see these colors pop up EVERYWHERE this fall and winter. Watch for them not only in clothing and accessories, but in household items, decorating, advertising, art, magazine spreads, etc.

If you are one of my clients who has done their colors with me, let’s break this down into seasons.

For my Autumns, here are the colors you can rock successfully:

For the Springs, give these a try:

Winters, you will be stunning in:

And for the lovely Summers, you will stylishly glide through fall in:

My 4x4 Color clients already know that all colors convey messages, but did you? You can see a little bit about each color’s personality and a hint about their message listed below each color swatch above. As a side note, I review color messaging with all my clients and ensure they understand how to use color to tell their story and inform the world about who they are and what they want. The color fans they receive list each color’s unique message on the back of its swatch. This way, my clients always have that at their fingertips, enabling them to thoughtfully put together their outfits. (If you want this incredible tool in your style arsenal, you can purchase your color analysis session with me by clicking here.)

When considering adding any of these colors to your existing wardrobe, I would first ask you to consider your own personal coloring and choose the hues that will help you shine the most. You might also look to see if perhaps you already own pieces in some of these colors. If you do, this season bring those out into regular rotation and build outfits around them. This will send the message that you are modern and relevant and know what is going on. Plus, it is an economical and sustainable way to approach getting your fashion thing ready for fall. And of course, don’t forget to check your shoes and accessories. Accessories are a fabulously inexpensive, creative and easy way to update your wardrobe to reflect the current season’s colors.

Now, if the brights don’t excite you or you need a nice neutral base to put a pop of bright on, you might want to consider Pantone’s Core Classics for Fall/Winter 2021.

Summers and Winters will look best in Coconut Cream and Ultimate Gray, while Springs and Autumns will stand out in Soybean and Olive Branch. These Core Classics are a nice addition to any wardrobe and should be used as staple pieces, such as blouses, shirts, etc.

So, there you have it, the *NEW* colors of Fall/Winter. In the comments below, I would love to hear how you will incorporate these into your wardrobe…or will you? Also, pop any style questions you might have down there, and I promise to answer.

Check back in next week when we will start dissecting the clothing trends for Fall/Winter and discuss how to decide whether to add them to our closets!