New blue

Blue and I have a complex history.  For a brief time in my childhood it was my favorite color.  For most of my life it’s been my least favorite.  And little-by-little, over the course of about 2 years, I’ve slowly begun to regain respect for this hue in a highly unexpected way.

The story goes like this:  blue was my favorite color from about ages 8-11, mostly because it felt “cooler” than pink, which was starting to feel babyish at the time.  Then I started taking art classes, and began studying the color wheel and playing around with shades – and I grew a particular distaste for aqua, cerulean, and baby blue, all of which felt  artificial, flat, and plastic.   I began discovering way cooler non-pink colors like slate gray and olive green and taupe.  And then, blue started to feel…well, rather pedestrian.  So I dismissed it for a long time.

The rekindling began very subtly, with navy, because it wasn’t overtly blue and was a sophisticated alternative to black, or even better when paired with.  Prussian came back into the picture too, with a lovely hand-me-down scarf from my mother, with a Burberry-esque plaid print.  Royal blue was a distinct blue-purchase last December, in the form of a silk, 80′s secretary-style dress on sale at Banana Republic, at a price that could not be ignored.  And then came Kate Winslet in her cobalt blue SAG dress this past Spring, and it was at that moment that I was ready to admit that I liked blue again.

A month ago, while scouring Shopstyle.com for harem pants (another current obsession), I came across a watery, storm-blue silk pleated pant by Maje, that had to be mine.  In 2 days I was holding it – fluid, drapey raw silk, high-waisted and cinched with an elegant sash.  I keep the pants clipped on my very best pant-hanger, on the one hook on the inside of my closet door so that I can see them, alone and beautiful, every time I open my closet.

I wear them with a simple, thin, white tank tucked in, and merchandise it with just one accessory – sexy Russian Red lipstick from MAC.  Absolute perfection.