Sunday Styles No. 7

This weather...ok, more than that, these shorter days! Short days combined with PMS are like the kiss of death for me. It doesn't help that Los Angeles has been uncharacteristically grey. Basically, all I really want to do is stay in bed, watch marathons of horrendously brain-numbing reality television, eat sleeve upon golden, delicious, processed, salty sleeve of Ritz crackers, and feel bad about my lack of productivity...but be too exhausted or downtrodden to do anything about it, so oppressed by my own self-loathing I am. (Whoa. Got a little dark there, didn't it?) Ok, maybe I don't get that dramatic. I'll leave that to angsty teenagers...though the part about the Ritz crackers may or may not be true.

But, seriously, I know I can't do that. There's a life that needs to be lived. Work that needs to get done. I can't just sit around all day, so I need all the help I can get.

That's when you gotta bring out the big guns, m'friends. You gotta bring out bright colors to keep yourself from falling, spiraling ever downward into an aesthetic void of darkness. If you haven't noticed, my visual surroundings effect me quite a bit. I really don't know how I survived in NYC for so long...maybe I was just always a little bit gloomy there. I'm almost certain I get a serious case of SAD (seasonal affective disorder.) In short, I like sunlight a lot.

Colors so bright, Merlin can barely see!

Despite my need for brightness, color is still a little foreign to me. I've finally come to embrace it, but had someone asked me a year or two ago if I would ever wear this color, I would have probably scoffed or made a "girl, please" hand gesture as I've been known to do in times of absolute disbelief. Back east, I was strictly a navy, grey, and black kinda gal with the occasional foray into a color (not a neon color) in small doses. Never-ever-ever-ever would I have thought "neon kiwi" would savagely blaze a trail into my little closet...but here it is.

...and it's here to stay.

What I'm saying is: bring some bright light into your wardrobe. You can mimic the sun without setting yourself on fire! (Because that's both painful and completely impractical - good luck getting out the door alive.) It can sure help elevate your mood!

I'm done constantly being serious when it comes to my clothing. I will always appreciate good tailoring and soft knits, but they don't always have to be a muted color...or no color. They don't always have to be solid. There's a whole world of aesthetic play out there. It's an easy way to make life more visually interesting...and, being a visual person, it intrigues me, it fuels me, it makes my creative soul sing. So, yes, I'm into looking like a highlighter threw up on me. It's really easy for people to find me in a crowd too! No worries of being hit in the middle of the night crossing the street!

Merlin opens his eyes to the possibility of color.

This isn't just fashion, people. It's practical. Functional.

So, next time you reach for your black sweater and black pants with your black shoes and your black coat, take a minute to consider your bright pink scarf or your cobalt blue hat. You haven't taken the tags off those chartreuse socks yet. Or, perhaps that lemon yellow bag wants to come out and have an adventure with you. 

Bright can feel oh-so right! (And help you avoid pedestrian accidents during these darker days.) So, it's time to lighten up, lovelies!

A Note About the Clothes: J. Crew Cashmere Tippi Sweater (Neon Kiwi), In God We Trust High-Waisted Cropped Pants (Navy) - no longer available, G.H. Bass Weejuns Collection Wayfarer Loafers (Black), Globe-Trotter Centenary Suitcase - this color no longer available

Image: Created by Nami M. Scott

Photo: Taken by Charles L. Scott