Color plays a key role in the business of change
10/31/2007 05:20 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
How do you know when to keep or let go of color?
There are times when you simply have no choice. After all, change is inevitable in our lives and color is often used as a way to mark a change. The best example of this comes in the way of products.
Products determine the lifecycle of a color, so when you find your self being told, “Sorry, that color has been discontinued” it comes as no surprise. Products like appliances and automobiles improve and change over time, and therefore, color makes the change sweeter, as the medicine goes down.
I will have to say that upgrades these days come in a wide range of “lack of color” shades like practical silver and kind-of-silver stainless steel.
Fashion and design also influence the lifecycle of color. More than color, it is the cut, lines, or style that makes it no longer fashionable. Think of “mauve” trapped in the design silhouette of old-fashioned drapes—It is the style, more than the color itself that deems them passé. Once fashion recycles, and gets incorporated into new collections, it becomes trendy again, regardless of color.
There are times you want to get rid of a color for no reason and I believe the reasons people crave new colors in their lives are often personal. So how do relieve yourself of the guilt of wanting to let go of a color, even if it’s in perfect condition, available and current?
It’s time to let go of a color when you no longer want the memories associated with that color. You often see this in life-changing situations, like hook-ups and break-ups. Think of newlyweds, leaving their white-apartment singleness behind to form new color alliances, a divorcé who will erase and replace a previous partner with new colors to declare their independence, or an empty nester who will refuel the empty nest with new colors.
It’s time to let go of a color when you want to change what a color says about you. This is more about personal growth, like a grown-up who wants to add a level of sophistication to reliable blues with mysterious purples or kids wanting to leap onto teen hood from pink cradles to red and gold bohemian lairs.
You will know when it’s time to let go of a color when you absolutely fall in love with a color you haven’t noticed before but now has got you hypnotized in its grip. This color is now so important you are willing to get rid of all the other colors that will not look good with it. You are willing to start all over again. This is a case of our human fancy to “want what the heart wants!” This response mimics our spontaneous human ability to fall in-and-out of love unexpectedly. These personal reasons, and many others you might think of, fall into the ”it-absolutely-has-to-go” color category.
So then, on the other side of the moon, how do you free yourself from the guilt of not wanting to get rid of a color and keeping it forever? When you love how the color makes you feel, what it says about you and how beautiful it still looks with all the other colors you love. Colors that you keep a lifetime should produce great feelings, and have wonderful memories.
Falling in and out of love with color comes at a price, but it is without a single consequence so this makes it a self-indulging, guilt-free, delicious pleasure.
I hope you read my ‘Lars and The Real Girl’ blog where mauve rules. I believe the movie shows us a pink river of nostalgia that flows between the banks of old-fashion community values and soft, modern, vintage fashion. The movie reinforces my point, that color is timeless, and it is design that determines the lifecycle, with its example of a bedroom covered in pink wallpaper. You wouldn’t even know the wallpaper is old, except for the outdated pattern. The pink colors in the wallpaper are all over the current clothing, accessories and set design of the film.
Those who have loved their mauve and hung on to it in bits and pieces, captured in timeless style, will get to enjoy its renaissance. Like the seasons, color changes become historical snapshots of different stages in our lives. How long should you enjoy a color before it has to go? As long as you know you are the beholders of its beauty.
Gretchen Schauffler
Artist and Founder of Devine Color®
Check out http://www.vintageous.com, it is a beautiful collection of color throughout time…here is a preview!
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Dear Gretchen,
I am posting on your blog ,and it’s pretty sweet. I found this website in my bookmarks and I thought I would say hello. Bet you don’t remember me but I’m that really cute kid from Puerto Vallarta. Hope everything is well in Oregon!
-Alex
— Alex Portera 11/24/2007 04:52 PM #