Pantone Autumn 2015: An Evolving Colour Landscape {Amethyst Orchid}

Tea cups by Gisela Francisco on Flickr

Bubble via Bottle of Rain on Tumblr

Untitled by Julie Marie Craig on Flickr

Ornamental Cabbage 12 by Thom-B-Foto on deviantArt

Last one, number ten of Pantone's Fall Fashion Colour Report and it's Pantone's self proclaimed, "jewel in the crown"... Amethyst Orchid 17-3628.

Can't really fault them on that one, it's certainly the brightest of the nine Autumn colours, and it's a very purple, purple. Last year Pantone's Colour of the Year was the opposite to this, Radiant Orchid was a heavily pink based purple, Amethyst Orchid on the other hand still has that magenta glow, but with a lot of blue mixed in.

It's weird though, during the spring and summer, fashion seems to have a lot of blue/cool lavender and lilac shades of purple available. They get darker as we go into autumn, richer, but a definite blue tone, then as we hit winter all of the plum shades start to appear. What is it about the seasonal period which makes us look for magenta based plummy purples, which I always think of as warmer, instead of their cooler counterparts?

Is it just because we look to cool down in the summer and warm up in the winter?

Doesn't matter, because what it really reminds me of, is a good old Crayola Crayons*...

... admit it, you want to be a purple crayon for Halloween now too?


* Other brands are available, but none quite so iconic. I still have a pack on my desk for old times sake.

Link || Fall 2015 Pantone Fashion Colour Report: Amethyst Orchid
Link || Adult Crayon Costume via Costumes FC
Link || Child Wisteria Crayon Costume from Halloween Costumes

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Listening: Hike - L Pierre

Pantone Autumn 2015: An Evolving Colour Landscape {Cashmere Rose}

Lavender Bottle by Carl Christensen on Etsy

Kefalonia by Mark Taylor-Flynn on Flickr

Untitled via Pinterest

Dogwood via Pinterest

Cashmere Rose 16-2215 is a blue grey pink, which almost borders on mauve, which is pretty, but at least in fashion could be a difficult colour. I say that purely because the colour could easily wander into a pastel shade, making it look a little bit Barbie, or into overly grey and murky tone, making it look dirty and in need of a good wash.

What I will say, is while I was looking for pictures for this board, I kept seeing pale pink jumpers, in that slightly downy/fluffy texture that cashmere has and while I would have been tempted to say this pink is bordering on summery, after seeing those images, I'm actually changing my mind. That fluffy grey tone Cashmere Rose has, actually makes it a really nice Autumnal colour.

Now, I don't know whether it's because I'm getting older, or it's just because my tastes have just changed randomly, but I have become obsessed with rose scented/flavoured products...

Some of my favourites are Lush's Jason and the Argan Oil Shampoo Bar, is my current shampoo and while I've never been daft over Lush's shampoo bars, as I have a lot of hair and it never lathers that well for me, I like this one. With a little of my normal shampoo mixed in to give it a head start, this makes my hair so lovely and soft, plus really shiny and if my conditioner wasn't quite so strong smelling, it would smell lovely and rosy too. Another product I really like is Imperial Leather's Rose Garden: Rose Petal and Eldeflower Hand Wash, which I would have by the sink all the time if I had my choice. That or Baylis and Harding Royale Bouquet Rose and Honeysuckle (or Wild Rose and Raspberry Leaf) as Shower Gel or hand wash, either is acceptable and both are pretty rose scents without being too granny-ish.

The only non-cosmetic product I've listed is Fentimans Rose Lemonade... it smells like perfume and tastes absolutely delicious, so don't be put off trying it. Also, damn you *insert terrible supermarket* for only periodically selling this!

Finally, the product which probably started this obsessive search for rose scented bath products, Lush's Rose Jam Shower Gel... ugh. Dad bought me a small bottle of this around Christmas last year and at first I wasn't sure. I thought it was a bit in your face, but I started using it when I ran out of my normal shower gel and I fell totally in love with it. Especially how I could still smell it for hours/days after I'd used it. Anyway, I raced through the teeny bottle, then came to the devastating realisation that it was a limited edition for Christmas and was gone! Sob.

Luckily, last week, my sister sent me an email telling me it was back! So over the next few months I'm stocking up!

If you know of any pretty rose scented products I should try, do tell!


Link || Fall 2015 Pantone Fashion Colour Report: Cashmere Rose
Link || Jason and the Argan Oil Shampoo Bar from Lush
Link || Rose Garden: Rose Petal and Elderflower Hand Wash by Imperial Leather
Link || Rose Lemonade by Fentimans
Link || Baylis Harding Royale Bouquet Rose and Honeysuckle Shower Creme via Amazon

Link || Rose Jam Shower Gel from Lush

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Listening: Sober - Childish Gambino

Pantone Autumn 2015: An Evolving Colour Landscape {Cadmium Orange}

Vintage Penguin Trilogy by Raggedroses on Flickr

Untitled via Resolute Woman on Tumblr (Pinterest)

Untitled via Brit+Co

IMG_1355 by Chuyên Blue on Flickr

It's pretty, it's peachy, it's summery... is it the orange I think of for Autumn? Not really.

Autumn is, in my mind, the season for beautiful rusts, browns and burnt oranges, which still have that beautiful warmth without any lurid overtones. They're the colour of beech leaves littering the ground and either curling up for people to crunch through, or sticking to the pavement in the rain. Even, given we're a few weeks away from Halloween, a pumpkin shade would be an acceptable nod to the wonderful natural orange tones of autumn.

Now, I love this board, I love the orange hair which reminds me Eternal Sunshine, the Rannuculus are beautiful, the photo by Chuyen Blue has a beautiful tone to it and who doesn't love a classic Penguin cover? And I'm not saying that Cadmium Orange 15-1340 is lurid or that it's a horrible colour. It's not, but, it's soft, it's more peach than rust and has an almost flesh tone to it, which I think of more as a spring or summer colour than as an autumn/winter one. Then again, seeing Dulux's colour of the year is Copper Blush, this choice for an orange hue could perhaps be a nod to that, with a little more orange overtone that Copper Blush's pink.


My feelings towards Cadmium Orange isn't being helped by the fact that the jumper I'm currently wearing (and slightly obsessively since I bought it... I even bought a second one, I love it so much) is burnt orange and it's putting me in the seasonal mood where I want to start wearing boots and darker lipstick. I wait every year for those rust hues to hopefully appear in the fashion world because I love them and they're one of the few colours I feel I actually really suit* and they are like gold dust** and every year I've been disappointed. So for me, I'm swapping this pretty peach out for rusts.

Sorry Pantone.


* I would look so so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, SO bad in Cadmium Orange! It wouldn't even be funny!

**  Which, funnily is less rare if you're a jeweller and spend most of your life with gold and silver dust embedded in your clothes


Link || Fall 2015 Pantone Fashion Colour Report: Cadmium Orange

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Listening: For You - Rae Morris

Pantone Autumn 2015: An Evolving Colour Landscape {Reflecting Pond}

trees (3) by Alina Valitova on Flickr

1920's Art Deco Sheer Black Beaded Flapper Dress (Detail) via 1860-1960

Tarte amandine aux myrtilles (Recipe) by Julie Longet of Bonne Table

Anemones by sara.robin on Flickr

Reflecting Pond 19-4326 is causing me a headache. Purely because, after staring at it for ages, finding dozens of images and putting together this board, which I am very fond of, I noticed that depending on which source swatch you look at, this colour sits on either the purple side of navy or the distinctly greener side.

The swatch I worked from was of the purple variety (left), the Pantone link below the greener (right), but I'm loathed to redo the board as I really like it and seeing the internet seems to switch sides, I think that's okay, right? After all, we all see colour differently... I see colour differently out of each eye! If only to prove my weirdness, out of one eye colours are warmer, out of the other they're cooler and periodically my dad explains why, at which point I instantly forget again!

My odd vision and the true colour of  Reflecting Pond aside, this incarnations is a really, really pretty colour. It's inky and deep and dark, and team it with any of the other Autumn Forecast colours and you'd be laughing. Really it's the indigo denim jeans of the bunch, goes with everything and makes life a little easier...

... accept of course when you're trying to make a mood board!


Link || Fall 2015 Pantone Fashion Colour Report: Reflecting Pond

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Listening: Gone Til November - Wyclef Jean

Pantone Autumn 2015: An Evolving Colour Landscape {Biscay Bay}

Diamonds by Bator Horvath on Flickr

Untitled via Glam Radar

Milloux V by Charles Hildreth on Flickr

Water Drops by Guen-K on Flickr

Okay, so the next on Pantone's list is their colour of the year, Marsala 18-1438, and seeing I've posted about Marsala before and we've looked at the various things the fashion world is translating the colour into for 2015 - and it is a wonderfully easy* colour to find! - I'm going to skip straight to Biscay Bay 18-4726, in all its peacock/teal glory.

To me, this is a quintessentially Autumnal colour, it's not a full jewel tone, it still has that dark, muted hue to it, but it's as near as dammit and the reason I agree wholeheartedly with Pantone as Biscay Bay as a good fashion colour for fall, is down to how beautiful it looks alongside the rusts and orange colours which is often teamed with. The second image on my board is a perfect example of this, where a teal shade is teamed with the rusts leaf tones and it just looks made for one another.

It also seems like an appropriate colour to post tonight**, as the last episode of Shane Meadow's This is England '90 aired and Smell, portrayed by Rosamund Hanson, had her hair dyed teal. If you've never watched the film, This is England or the subsequent three television series (This is England '86, '88 or '90), I recommend it, it's heart breaking, difficult and wonderful, all at once, but worth every tear.

And, just because I love it, and was reminded of it due to the dedicated at the end of the episode. Here is a cover of The Smiths, "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want", which featured at the end credits of the original 2006 film. It is performed by Gavin Clarke (of Clayhills and UNKLE), who died unexpectedly at the beginning of the year and whose music has featured in all of Meadow's work over years.





* Easy, but I'm yet to buy anything clothes wise in Marsala... I've found a few I like, but inevitably their in fabrics I hate! Which is annoying, as it's exactly the kind of dark, jewel tone red I like.
** Eagle-eyed readers might notice that this is being posted on Monday 05/10 when the original broadcast of the This is England 90's finale went out on Sunday 04/10, I didn't cock up, my internet connection failed completely last night as I finished writing it. So I'm just pressing Publish now. Sorry!

Link || Fall 2015 Pantone Fashion Colour Report: Biscay Bay
Link || This Is England on IMDb
Link || This Is England '90 on IMDb

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Listening: Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want - Clayhills

Pantone Autumn 2015: An Evolving Colour Landscape {Oak Buff}

Untitled via BodyRock (Pinterest)

Lovely in Lavin by Marianna Rothen from Tales of Endearment on Tumblr (Pinterest)

Honeycomb by Whitney Ott Photography via Her Paper Weight on Tumblr

Cold, sore throat & too tired to leave bed by Karin AmeLda on Instagram (Pinterest)

Summer lellow is bright, it's clean and pale, it's uncompromising in its cheerfulness, but as the seasons change, the colour deepens and becomes richer. We lose the pastel, custard and neon yellows we most commonly see during the summer for honeys and ochres, green tones for reds and cheerfulness for comfort.

Autumnal yellows, like Oak Buff 16-1144, have a warmth to them which is different from the sunshine hues fashion looks too during the summer months. It's like well worn gold jewellery, which has lost it shine*, but still keeps it's warmth and glow.

That's the nice thing about this as a fashion colour. It's muted, but that under lying glow and easy association with jewellery makes it remarkably easy to wear.

And easy to find. I took a quick trip into town to look for a pair of shoes for work that don't have a hole in the sole and of all of Pantone's Fall Forecast colours, Oak Buff, and similarly rich ochre/gold yellows were amongst some of easier to find. Had I gone out looking for the colours? No. But I did notice a lot of the ones I've already posted and the ones to come...

... which is nice.


* While jewellery which is highly polished becomes slightly matt over time, matt jewellery goes the opposite direction and polishes up... I have a fight with my mums wedding band to keep the gold section polished and the silver section matt. I haven't done it for a while and feel guilty every time I look at it!


Link || Fall 2015 Pantone Fashion Colour Report: Oak Buff

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Listening: Wake Me Up When September Ends - Greenday

Pantone Autumn 2015: An Evolving Colour Landscape {Stormy Weather}

Untitled via Laura Loves... on Tumblr

Tears of Mermaids: The Secret Story of Pearls (Tahitian Pearls) via Linzee McCray on Etsy

 On a Sunday Morning || Kartoffelrækkerne (The Potato Rows), Copenhagen via Copehagen Pics on Tumblr
Untitled via ZsaZsa Bellagio on Tumblr

Don't know why
There's no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps raining all the time

Life is bare
Gloom and misery everywhere
Stormy weather
Just can't get my poor old self together
I'm weary all the time, the time
So weary all of the time
[...]

- Harold Arlen "Stormy Weather"

I love grey, some people might think it's a boring colour, or it's practical or dirty, but it's not, it can be warm or cool; tinged with blue or with a hint of red; so pale it's almost white or so dark it's may as well be black. Stormy Weather 18-4214, definitely sits on the dark/blue side of grey and if I had to compare it to anything it would be pieces of slate, but even that ranges wildly between blues, purples and greens. That's what makes it beautiful.

It's also completely the wrong colour for today, given we had another gloriously sunny day, albeit cold to start, by lunch it was warm! It has actually been nicer the last two days, than most of the summer was this year. Which just seems alien when you a) live in Scotland and b) have started getting used to wearing jumpers again.

Stormy Weather may be literally on the horizon for next week, but as a colour, it's a classic.


Link || Fall 2015 Pantone Fashion Colour Report: Stormy Weather

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Listening: Stormy Weather - Joni Mitchell

Pantone Autumn 2015: An Evolving Colour Landscape {Desert Sage}

Untitled by T. Fougere via Muchaboom on Tumblr

Blue Pumpkin by Becky Stromberg on Flickr

Food and Farming by Gabriela Herman via Brown Dress with White Dots on Tumblr
Untitled via Thankful Sage Farm School on Tumblr

Desert Sage 16-0110, number two on Pantone's range of autumnal colours, is one of my favourites from the list, it's not green, or blue, or grey, and yet it's an amalgam of all three. It's the colour of those frosty grey mornings, later in the autumn, when you really don't want to get out of bed, because it's too cold outside the warmth of the duvet* cocoon you've created over night.

Let's face it, as it starts getting colder, the urge to hibernate with a cup of tea and a good box set will definitely start to increase. So it's probably lucky that you see more home furnishings in shades similar to Desert Sage than you do clothing. For example, this beautiful 100% wool herringbone cushion** by Bronte by Moon.

Throw in a blanket and you're good to go. Perfect for cold, box set weather.


* Just as a point of interest, Desert Sage is pretty much the colour of the repeating pattern on my current and favourite bed sheets. 
** I'm 30 and still have no idea what use cushions are for other than for decoration, seeing you always inevitably remove them from the seating ensemble prior to getting comfortable. But I want it and the matching blanket, seeing I love, love, love anything herringbone. I think it's bea-utiful!

Link || Fall 2015 Pantone Fashion Colour Report: Desert Sage
Link || Herringbone Pure Shetland 100% Wool Cushion in Aqua by Bronte by Moon via Amazon

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Listening: We Are Going To Be Friends - The White Stripes

Pantone Autumn 2015: An Evolving Colour Landscape {Dried Herb}

Untitled via Pinterest

Country Living Cornwall Artist: Amanda Hoskin by Andrew Montgomery via I Am A Dreamer on Tumblr

Untitled via Misty Morning on Tumblr

Untitled via Pinterest

Autumn brings another run of colour boards inspired by a Pantone Fashion Colour Report, but this time, obviously, for Autumn 2015.

Much like the outside world right now, Pantone has become a little more muted with the Autumnal predictions and, oddly, removed the neutral tones they had in their Spring/Summer selection. Are neutrals a bad things in Autumn?

Also, I have a question for Pantone, why did summer get sixteen colours, while autumn only gets ten? Is the start of the colder weather taking it's toll on the Fashion Report team, making them need to cuddle up under a blanket for a nap and say, "Sod it, ten's enough, isn't it?"

Just seems a little odd to me. But anyway...

Dried Herb 17-0627, the first on their list of potentially fashionable autumnal colours, is that dimming green of the leaves on the trees, as they start of go prematurely auburn. Which, as I post more of the colours from the Fall Report, at least half of them you'll see can be taken directly from the colours of a rusting leaf before it falls from the trees.

I was thinking about it as I drove from town today and looked at the trees which flank the road home. Each of them has over the last few weeks turned from lush green to tinged with reds, yellows and oranges, which while beautiful, reminded me of two things. Firstly that in America, there is a phenomena known as leaf peeping, which basically means going on holiday, purposefully to see the leaves changing colour. Which I suppose if you live in the city, where there is little to no foliage to be seen, I can understand.

Secondly, it reminded me of Monty Python: The Meaning of Life and their Suicidal Leaves...

While the leaves haven't quite reached this extreme stage in their cycle, they have begun to dry, and change into their Pantone desired hues. Dried Herb, being the good old fashioned green tweed of the mix. It's traditional and a pretty safe bet for Autumn.


Link | Fall 2015 Pantone Fashion Colour Report: Dried Herb
Link | Leaf Peeping on Wikipedia

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Listening: Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground - The White Stripes

Hello Autumn...

Today, is the Autumnal Equinox, meaning today is officially the start of Autumn in the UK, even if it actually seems like it began a couple of weeks ago.

I love Autumn, but that may be more to do with preferring cold weather to hot weather, but frankly, I live in Scotland, hot is really a foreign concept we see about twice a year, for a couple of days prior to the summer actually beginning. We seemed to have our entire summer in April this year and I hate to say my dad was right when he said that was all the summer we'd have, but he was. I hate it when he's right.

Anyway, I have a few Autumnal posts for your over the next few days and they shall be posted with PVA glue all over my hands, as I'm in the middle of making things for the window at work. This being out last window prior to Christmas.

A fact that I had been blissfully unaware off up until lunch time yesterday when mum asked what I was planning, as I'd need to get started soon. I haven't really got any so far, which isn't good and it will need put up in mid November. Which means as soon as October hits, it'll pretty much be all I do when I'm not at work.

It genuinely feels like five minutes since I was making the gingerbread house! How can it be that time again already?

And I'm sorry for invoking* the "C" word before we're even finished September! I can only apologise.


* I'm not the first! I swear! I've already had emails about Christmas offers from Hobbycraft and Mollie Makes - the only magazine I really buy regularly - has started it's Christmas projects off already! There's a bloody Christmas Tree ornament on the front!

Link || Autumn Canal Leaves by Mightyhansa on Flickr
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Listening: Shake It Off - Ryan Adams (covering Taylor Swift)

Mushrooms

On Tuesday & Wednesday, Louise and I put in the last window display before Christmas. A forest floor of handmade mushrooms, paper cut trees and leaves and various mosses. I admit, it's been a bit of a slog getting it ready. It was supposed to go in a while ago, but between illness and me underestimating how long it would take to paper mache 25 balloons to make 50 mushrooms and then fit them with stalks, painting them all, painting on spots, repainting a lot of the spots with glow in the dark paint...well, it took a little longer than anticipated. But I think it's my favourite window this year. Plus it has been funny having every appliance (fridge, tumble drier, freezer etc) in the utility room covered in rainbow coloured mushrooms that glow when you leave the room. Though it has made finding a clear surface interesting.

The practice has also been getting its front repainted. It's a big change too, going from a plummy maroon to cream. It's so bright! And does give the window a good frame.

We also arranged them in a little bit of a rainbow, though not going for the obvious ROY G BIV and more G BIV ROY. But it is really pretty like that and for once the shelves have actually been a benefit! We even made mushrooms short enough to go under the very bottom ones, which barely ever seems to happen!

I think I'll be quite sad when this one comes down at the end of next month. But we will definitely be reusing this one. If not in Blair, in the Ferry &/or Carnoustie.

Yesterday I went in and for this week we have bats, spiders and little pumpkins as our nod to Halloween. In some respects I think being as obsessed with Halloween as Americans seem to be would be great, as we could do a truly outlandish window, but for one day out of the year? Nah, a nod is good enough for us.

Did also take a couple of photos of the window before this, which used our paper cranes again, but they're on Louise's camera (though I took them - it was cold and she goes blue) so I haven't downloaded them yet. I'll post them once I get them. And while it wasn't as fancy as this one, I really liked it too!

Think we're getting our window mojo back post summer!

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Listening: Doves - There Goes The Fear

Monday Mood Board: Early Autumn

Row 1: August '10 by Anthropologie, Miss August by Sebian

Row 2: October by Cedarkayak

Row 3: I Miss Winter, Flickr, If I Can [...] by Chantel Baggley

I think it's pretty much time to dig out the scarves, throw a quilt on your bed and retrieve the heater for the workshop. Autumn has arrived and there's a distinct chill in the air. Isn't it nice?

What? I like Autumn and Winter, it's pretty and I get to wear a hat!

Apologies for the lack of September posts, I blame illness and my designers block spilling over into blog block. There should have at least been a new macaroon post by now but I'm on disastrous batch number two and they may be edible, but they're not photogenic and if they think they're getting butter icing they're very much mistaken!