Comments on Colors

I've realized that I am particularly fond of color. Although I admire those clean, white homes, or those with varying shades of white (like Nora Murphy's gorgeous home), I just don't think I could ever create that for our home. I just

adore

color so much. I have been known to stop in my tracks to study a particular color combo. I stare, agape, at displays of colored pencils. I stop and study the nuances of green in moss growing on a rock or tree. I like analyzing the composition of a color..does it have yellow undertones?...or brown? Perhaps I'm just a bit obsessed.

I love studying interesting color combinations in clothing. I have an entire Pinterest board devoted to it. There I pin intriguing color combos that one doesn't see every day, or were more popular in the past. Did you realize that certain color combos were very popular in past fashions eras, but we rarely see them now? And nature, being created by the Author of color, has unending colors and combinations that never fail to awe and bless us with their beauty. Here is some color inspiration for you. I hope it inspires you to look through your wardrobe and try something new!

Robin's Egg Blue and Rose-Pink

: This is one of my favorite color combos from the past. If you watch for it in old paintings, you will see it everywhere. But you won't see it much at the local mall.

A Pensive Moment, Eugene de Blaas

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here

Thus Perish the Memory of Our Love: 1865

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here

And it can be varied with great results too! For instance, you can increase the red in the pink-rose:

Red & Blue Fair Isle

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here

Or you can deepen the blue:

Blue-green and salmon-red together.

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here

Or add a bit more green to the robin's egg blue and alter the pink-rose to a salmon, and you get a striking color combination!

Pretty for autumn.

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Different tones of brown:

Brown is an underappreciated color. I never appreciated it until I moved to New England (probably because so much of the natural world in southern California is brown). I never owned a single article of brown clothing until I moved here. And now it's one of my favorite colors to wear in the autumn. It's frightfully out of fashion this season. I know because I'm in need of a new brown turtleneck, and haven't seen a single one for sale anywhere. But check out these beautiful ensembles from past eras made striking by just altering the tone (the shade or tint) of the brown.

Toffee brown and coffee brown.  (Dress 1880, American, Made of silk)

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here

Coffee on toffee.  Coat    1898    The Metropolitan Museum of Art  #1890s

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Dress 1818, British, Made of silk (Gothic Regency)

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here

This is probably my all-time favorite brown-on-brown ensemble. Isn't she elegant? She looks like a cup of tafetta hot cocoa! Brown makes a stunning evening color...when it's done right. And this ticks all the boxes!

Brown on brown.  Brown is an under used color for evening wear...but how stunning it can be!

Source unknown.

Cobalt blue and green.

Cobalt blue has the distinction of looking good when paired with a myriad of greens. And the combo looks equally good on men and women.

Purple-blues and green.

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Jacket from a skirt suit, made in Great Britain, c.1895 (source). to love many things

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Olive and denim blue..

Source unknown.

Wine and Pomegranate Red:

This is one of my favorite combinations to wear. I wore it just last week. Looks great paired with gold jewelry. And it can vary into burgundy and purple and look just as good.

red and purple-brown

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Autumn Red

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Eggplant and greens:

I must admit to not having much eggplant in my wardrobe, but someday it's going to happen. Just look at the gorgeousness here!

Vogue September 1993 The Velvet Touch

Source unknown.

aubergine and blue-green #wedding bouquet + eucalyptus

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here

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And in the "honorable mention" category, since I don't have many images of these combos (yet), are:

Midnight blue and purple:

(note how they photographed this against a green background).

navy and eggplant

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Navy blue and brown:

Navy and brown . C. 1905 Afternoon Dress Marine blue silk & chiffon dress with gold soutache

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here

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Grape purple and copper-brown:

Lavender and copper-brown.

Source:

here

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I hope you enjoyed this little dose of pretty and found something to inspire you! Thanks for letting me "geek out" (as my kids would say) about my passion for color.