Technicolor Dreaming

THE COLOR CORNER

I was dreaming in technicolor about hues and textures of hats and what people will be wearing to the Royal Wedding. Remember the colors in Princess Diana’s hat collection?

There were lots of cool blues in brims and bows, reds for excitement and flirty, girly pinks. Green-casted turquoises or aquas for the calm and meditative look. Queen Elizabeth is completely free of psychological classifications in her selection of colors and textures. Sometimes I think that her color choices have nothing to do with her outfits, but there are always lots of colorful bird feathers attached. The daughters of Prince Andrew wear abstract hats sometimes in complimentary colors to their dresses. Prince Edward’s wife wears neutral grays with whites that look like origami. Charles’s wife looks like she is always wearing a warm-colored analogous flower arrangement. Princess Anne wears lots of beige neutrals with netting and textures.

The Spring 2011 Women’s Collections showed a great variation in colors that began with straw naturals and eco colors from Yohji Yamamoto and D Squared to Marc Jacobs’ bright warm oranges and yellows. Textured natural straws with wide brimmed bands were used in Prada’s black alternating with brilliantly colored stripes, creating a total coordinated color ensemble. Chanel’s pink and white hats push all the Princess buttons.

Barbara Arlen teaches SXC 100: Color Theory and Culture, SXC 110: Color Discovery Interactive Workshop, SXC 260:Color Painting Studio, and SXF 840: Career Opportunities for Working with Color