Thursday, October 22, 2015

Pantone Fall Colors 2015


It's that time of year again, when I spend way too much time going through mainstream fashion's "it" colors. Here's fall 2014 (If you want to see my post on last year's fall 2014 colors, click here)... for those of you in the Southern hemisphere, you can see the newly announced spring 2016 colors here at the Pantone website.

So this year, Pantone has gone away withs separate men's and women's colors to create a set that they feel will be androgynous. This is the first year they've have one set to represent both genders. No doubt the cultural climate has affected them...indeed, what IS a "women's color"? Why can't a man wear amethyst orchid? They're just colors. Good for you, color gods..esses. I hope this continues. 

In the spirit of the new mindset, I made the below set kinda-sorta gender neutral, but it ends up being a little norm-core, ay?
Pantone Fall 2015


As you can see, the colors themselves...really heavy on the greens---like half of the colors. two orangey yellows, two purply pinks, and marsala, the 2015 color of the year, sticking out like a sore thumb, kinda. Green's probably the most gender-neutral color (except the neutrals, of course). Overall, a very safe matchy-matchy color palette.

Dried Herb: I guess military styles are going to come back? Even if this were a lolita dress, I'd still think military. Military is gender neutral, though after endless wars, military fashion isn't really cool to me anymore. I do like this color though, and it fits my current personal aesthetic, which is currently a strange blend of mori and tribal, best represented by the polyvore set below. Not "dark fashion" so I haven't been posing any outfit shots, but i'm enjoying the temporary departure.  

dried herb marsala

dried herb marsala featuring military boots (TL;DR, my current "look" these days)

Marsala: I did a whole post on the color of the year. I interpreted this as bloodwood in the set above. Also good for leathers.

Biscay Bay: For whatever reason, this dark teal stood out to me. It's basically a dark blue with a tiny part of green. It kind of reminds me of winter and ice. I could see it as an accent color for many dark-fashion styles, being used for everything from hair/makeup to statement pieces like the fur coat below. For accessories, I recommend matching Biscay Bay with...

Desert Sage: For me, desert sage can be interpreted as the warm-toned silver of sterling silver and other metals. It's basically gray with a note of green. I think this would also make a great haircolor. Just tone your platinum blond with an ash toner instead of purple. 


biscay desert sage


Stormy Weather: This is another good basic color for the winter. Personally, all of my jeans are in this color. It's a smart, professional color that goes with everything, especially a snowy backdrop.

Oak Buff: This kind of mustard yellow is such a fall staple. You'll look lovely among the leaves.

Cadmium Orange : "Cadmium"?!?! Another fall color, but I'd say this one more more suited for bold makeup, like eyeshadow. 

Cashmere Rose: Is it just me or is this color completely random?

Reflecting Pond: Basically black, this reminds me of the blue-black that every alternative person used to die their hair a few years ago (by "a few" I mean 15 years ago!) because it was the closest you could get to an alternative hair color in a drugstore box dye. Goes good with....

Amethyst Orchid: Oh, such an aristocratic color for romantic goths. I'm kind of thinking this look is going to come back in 2-3 years, once the nu-goth/modern witch thing ends. I do admit the below set was a lot of fun to make, though it looks so very out-of-date. (for now, mark my words that the bishop sleeve and big bell sleeves will come back in like 2-3 years). Romantic goths love this color, as do many mall goths when they're not in red+black (not judging--it's a legit style, love it or hate it).



Pantone Fall 2015 amethyst orchid reflecting pond

Pantone Fall 2015 amethyst orchid reflecting pond featuring a black lace maxi skirt. Reflecting Pond, the most accessible hair color for alternative folks who don't have access to other colors, combined with Amethyst Orchid, a stereotypically goth purple.



Which of the Pantone Fall 2015 colors is your favorite? How would you style some of these?