Color My Mood

Today we were taking end of season inventory in my warehouse.The spring/summer season is over and it's time to make room for the fall collection. It was interesting to see what we were left with and what was totally sold out. We shipped many colors this season...black, white, stone, khaki, aqua, turquoise, fuschia, magenta, coral, lime, purple, brown, olive, chestnut, grey and charcoal. And these were just the pant colors. There were even more colors in the tops.

But the colors that were left were surprising. Black, white and stone....the tried and true basics that always sell were now the season's most unpopular colors. But it's not surprising.

Color plays a huge roll in how we feel. Changing our mood can be as simple as changing our clothes. For example, if you're stressed, try wearing mint green or light blue. If you're a bit down, try wearing bright colors. If you feel a bit tired and weak, try red. And if you just feel like being left alone, try wearing beige and simply blend in. There are so many ways that color and variations of different colors can change the way we feel. And most of it is subliminal. We don't even consciously realize why we gravitate to different colors at different times or why we only will wear certain colors even if they don't look good on us.

But here's what I discovered about how, as a country we're feeling right now. In doing the numbers of what colors actually not only sold but reordered the best there were two that outsold every other color...and you might be surprised. The first was turquoise. OK...not so surprising  as a summer color. Turquoise is about optimism, hope, fun and frolic. It's the color of the ocean at it's best. It's how we like to feel in the summer. And it's typical for summer. But then there was the second #1 color for spring/summer.....Brown? For summer? It's completely atypical for the season. But it makes sense. Brown is the color of security, particularly financial security. It's what we wear when we need to feel grounded and safe. It brings stability and normalcy and a sense that it's all going to be ok. And isn't that where we're at as a country today? With elections around the corner don't most of us need a little more reassurance that things are going to get better in our world?

We choose colors to wear based upon how we are feeling both consciously and unconsciously. It's both personal and collective...meaning that, we not only subconsciously choose color based on our own mood but also the mood of the world around us. And since our physical bodies and how we've chosen to "adorn" them for the day is one of the first things people notice when they meet us, wouldn't it be beneficial to pay attention to the color or colors we choose for all to see?


So when you go to your closet to select what you're going to wear for the day remember how we subconsciously choose color to define our feelings at that moment and ask yourself if  what you've chosen to wear will help serve your day in a more positive way.

 www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net