SPOTLIGHT ON ... FASHION
October 2006
Fall Jewelry Fashion
by Thomas Soles
Labor Day signifies a tidal change each year for those who follow clothing and jewelry fashion. The unwritten rule declares an end to the white wardrobe and accoutrement until Memorial Day returns. At this time, darker clothing finds its way off the rack and onto the shoulders. Regardless of whether or not you follow this fashion law, now is a great time to begin shopping and stringing darker pieces.
A good idea, prior to stringing jewelry for the Fall, is to refresh your knowledge of colors. Colors can trigger different emotional responses and to know how your palette will work on the beholders eyes will make your design that much stronger.
Beginning with one of the strongest emotive colors in the spectrum, let's look at red. Red is a flashy, loud color. Red is the vehicle that attracts police officers. Sirens and streetlights are red. Red is a full and commanding presence. Red walls tend to evoke blood. It is the antithesis of a shy color. For designers, one could use red to symbolize lots of different things. Red is strength and courage. Red is vitality, passion, or even danger. Deeper hues of red tinged with an earthy-brown can suggest Fall and emotions we link with the early holidays in the holiday season.
Another strong Fall color is orange. Often intermingled and associated with red during the Fall and then black as Halloween nears. Orange is softer and less boastful than red, but can evoke similar feelings of passion and warmth. Orange is also strongly associated with the fruit that bears its name.
Yellow is a color that tends to get a bad reputation. The color can be associated with cowardice. Yellow is the jaundiced color of sickness. Yellow is a color that is often meant as a cautionary color - placed on streetlights, it signals us to slow. Like red, it can also be flashy and an attention grabber - utility vehicles and taxicabs lean toward the color for his presence. The positive aspect of yellow is its ability to highlight a stronger, darker color. Purple and gold, blue and yellow - the color has an ability to turn an ordinary palette into a playful, happier setting. It is also a strong visual link to red and orange and the landscape of Fall.
>Green is a primary earth color. We associate it with nature. Green is blossoming fields, renewal and vibrance. Green is the color of an expert gardeners thumb. Green is the blanket of thriving pastures. In city life, green is our happy friend while we drive through intersections - it is our pass to move forward while the opposing traffic sit still at their red beacons. The negative aspect of green is the color's association with inexperience - the new guy at the job is green. It is also a color that suggests envy or greed.
Blue is a big variable color. It can mingle with a great deal of other colors or stand alone. Blue is the color of the sky. Blue are the lakes, oceans, and swimming pools. Blue is tranquil and relaxing. Blue is a color often used to promote a sense of intellect and knowledge. Blue is the color of the corporate lifestyle and the dress amongst military units. The downside of blue is the connotation of sadness and depression. Blue is also the mouth and humor of comics that cut their act with a heavy dose of vulgarity.
Brown, like green, is a color that has deep associative connections to Earth and nature. Brown is the skin of the forest trees. Brown is the hide of the animals that live in nature. Brown is the soil beneath our feet. Brown is a staple color of the American Southwest. Brown is an ultra-conservative that prefers to mute or complement a design, rather than call attention to itself or overtake a piece. On the downside, brown is nose of the sycophantic follower.
Gray is the conservative. Gray are the sleeves of corporate business suits. Gray is neutral and does not call attention to itself. Gray is a calm color. Sometimes it describes the tone of the stormy sky. Sometimes it evokes the image of the elder man's hair. Gray is the color of industry, metal, and concrete. Some people have a gray day, when they are blue. Gray is the mediating balance between those that believe the world is black and white.
White is the behaved color. White is innocence and purity. The bride dons this color to signify virginity. Angels are often clad in white. A hospital may use a lot of white to denote sterility. The white knight is the champion. A white or albino animal is cherished and celebrated and most often exceptionally rare. White is the field of snow and the untainted landscape. Milk, the earliest meal of the living animal, is white. There are very few negative white symbols: among them are the flag of surrender, the swirling water that river rafters can fear, and the color of the knuckles when we are afraid.
Black is the dark and mysterious color. Black is the absence of light. Black is almost universally seen as a color of death. We fear black cats and cast away the black sheep. Black is secrecy - governments have men in black, black operations, squads, and helicopters. Black is the market that sells illegal items. To destroy a foe, we might blackmail them. Black is the favored clothing of nearly every villain that has become an icon. On the positive end of the spectrum, black is elegance and sensuality. Black is formal and classy. Black is business and serious. Black slims the figure. Black is authority - police officers, judges, and priests all wear this color. As a color complement, black will make lighter colors burst out on a piece.
Go get creative. Turn out a Halloween necklace that grabs the viewer with a sinister charm. Design a delicate dinner piece that shimmers with sophistication. Embrace the fall months and go dark.
