Spring tees and the colour problem...and Hermès sale notice
Spring means fresh tees or tops, or at least a look at what the Pantone prophets have decreed as current colours.
Women for whom "budget" is not just a car rental company choose their price point and hope for colours they like, but the butter yellow tee offered last spring may have been replaced by nearly-neon lemon this year.
The hardest thing to find in mid-priced clothing is appealing colour, which is created by good dyes applied to good fabrics. Many women stack black, grey and white into drawers in a default strategy generously called a "neutral base". We do love neutrals, but hey, it's spring.
And besides, if you have sensitive graydar, even that colour is suspect. You may long for luminescent dove grey or that mysterious grey-with-a-wisp-of-blue, but 90% of mass market retail delivers Parking Garage.
Some women wear the spring 2018 colours below superbly, but to me, and therefore on me (since colour is potently psychological) these dyes look either harsh or flat. If you like cool hues and colours more on the desaturated side, you'll have to search this spring.
Left to right:
Private-equity firms own these companies, and they use jobbers for fabric for all their lines from super-cheap to mid-priced. I think they don't care about colour and cut corners every way they can. Do you have an alternative reason for the glut of harsh magenta?
So, is it another one in... navy? You might find an interesting green at the Gap, or 'your purple' at Target; that's luck. I'd like to find a refined, interesting colour selection in one place, and then, refresh every year or two without a search.
Clockwise, left to right, some vendors with a decent colour choice (but not always provided in a range of styles and sizes.)
Three Dots
Very good colours, but too often sold out. The reds are impressive, because most makers offer only one. TD have several, from claret to tomato. Above, their "Tide" tee, less strident than the "Burgee Blue".
Boden
Boden have been called "a kid with a box of crayons, run amok"; there is a fondness for harsh primaries, and some of the prints look juvenile—but this is not Etro. Even so, they offer some non-generic hues, like Rosebay, shown in a boat-necked tee.
Lacoste
Their men's polos have always incited my craving for the same choice for women. No such luck, but they offer eleven colours in a tee, if you can wear the narrow cut. Above, Lacoste tee in a washed-out red they call Sierra, which you can sometimes find at LL Bean, too, in a boxier cut and more sizes.
ça va de soi
Expensive, but of elevated quality. The colours, always subtle, purr on fine fabrics. Shown, "Tatiana" tee, Egyptian cotton and raw linen, in Palmier. Now available online.
If you love saturated colour but in unusual hues, such as twilight blue-purple, or that pink like the inside of a brick, you are doomed to being a colour sleuth, hunting all over the place.
Just give me a scarf!
I hear you.
Women for whom "budget" is not just a car rental company choose their price point and hope for colours they like, but the butter yellow tee offered last spring may have been replaced by nearly-neon lemon this year.
The hardest thing to find in mid-priced clothing is appealing colour, which is created by good dyes applied to good fabrics. Many women stack black, grey and white into drawers in a default strategy generously called a "neutral base". We do love neutrals, but hey, it's spring.
And besides, if you have sensitive graydar, even that colour is suspect. You may long for luminescent dove grey or that mysterious grey-with-a-wisp-of-blue, but 90% of mass market retail delivers Parking Garage.
Some women wear the spring 2018 colours below superbly, but to me, and therefore on me (since colour is potently psychological) these dyes look either harsh or flat. If you like cool hues and colours more on the desaturated side, you'll have to search this spring.
Left to right:
- Talbot's scalloped-neck tee in "Deep Periwinkle": I actually like periwinkle, but this is more towards a blue on steroids.
- Talbot's Everyday tee in "Nectarine": pretty colour, especially on a blonde, but when I saw it in person, dull—maybe because it's a cotton blend.
- Land's End tee in "Burgee Blue": muddy turquoise with none of the island appeal.
Private-equity firms own these companies, and they use jobbers for fabric for all their lines from super-cheap to mid-priced. I think they don't care about colour and cut corners every way they can. Do you have an alternative reason for the glut of harsh magenta?
So, is it another one in... navy? You might find an interesting green at the Gap, or 'your purple' at Target; that's luck. I'd like to find a refined, interesting colour selection in one place, and then, refresh every year or two without a search.
Clockwise, left to right, some vendors with a decent colour choice (but not always provided in a range of styles and sizes.)
Three Dots
Very good colours, but too often sold out. The reds are impressive, because most makers offer only one. TD have several, from claret to tomato. Above, their "Tide" tee, less strident than the "Burgee Blue".
Boden
Boden have been called "a kid with a box of crayons, run amok"; there is a fondness for harsh primaries, and some of the prints look juvenile—but this is not Etro. Even so, they offer some non-generic hues, like Rosebay, shown in a boat-necked tee.
Lacoste
Their men's polos have always incited my craving for the same choice for women. No such luck, but they offer eleven colours in a tee, if you can wear the narrow cut. Above, Lacoste tee in a washed-out red they call Sierra, which you can sometimes find at LL Bean, too, in a boxier cut and more sizes.
ça va de soi
Expensive, but of elevated quality. The colours, always subtle, purr on fine fabrics. Shown, "Tatiana" tee, Egyptian cotton and raw linen, in Palmier. Now available online.
If you love saturated colour but in unusual hues, such as twilight blue-purple, or that pink like the inside of a brick, you are doomed to being a colour sleuth, hunting all over the place.
I hear you.
On Thursday, April 5, 7:00 a.m. EST,
I'll offer a selection of spring-y
Hermès carrés and pochettes for sale*.
These are my from my collection—and the colours are sublime.
*for buyers with Canadian and US postal addresses
*for buyers with Canadian and US postal addresses
Comments
I love green, but it is so hard to find a green that isn't very yellowish, either the light ones or the dark - always a sort of olive, and without the silvery side of shimmering olive trees.
I have found some decent colours and fabrics (though the fabrics obviously aren't comparable to ça va de soi) at Simons, in the Icône and Contemporaine ranges. These include a couple of very low-priced organic cotton tops, long and short sleeved. I can't wear ça va de soi anyway because even though I've lost weight, I need an xl in the bust; can't stand tops that pull there. There are some good linen tops at Simons every year, but at times they are muddy.
The colours in the ça va de soi men's range look splendid.
lagatta: ça va de soi do make several styles that are looser, oversized (relatively, for them), that IMO would fit, but I'm not sure the length would be right for you- you really can't tell from the online site b/c they do not give measurements. Simons usually have a big selection and some excellent sales.
The one company that I've found decent quality t's at a reasonable price is LL Bean. I also like that their t's come in a variety of necklines and sleeve lengths. I need a 3/4 sleeve if I'm wearing a t-shirt on it's own and those are very difficult to find. I think it might be time to place another order for a few new white ones!
PS - scarves are always a good choice!
One of my recurring disappointment is looking at those gorgeous new Pantone colours when they come out....... and finding clothes in stores in various shades of black, white, grey, burgundy, blush (a colour that I hate and is unflattering to most), khaki and more black. All unappealing.
I wonder who uses all those "Fashion" colours ? nobody, it seems.... but I remember buying an emerald i-pod when emerald green was "colour of the year" a few years ago.
And she is SHORT! Like most everyone, she has lost some height with age, but she was never very tall. That is also one of the reasons she has almost always opted for bright colours, unless an event called for white or black.
Kamchick: Agree, though I don't wear it. A certain khaki is everywhere, but not that unctuous beautiful cream.
Eve Benoit: The fashion colours are out there, often in designer clothes (see net-a-porter for some) but most retailers play it safe. But i learned the hard, expensive way that just because I find a colour beautiful, it may not look good on me.
Ann: Thanks for reminding me, they have tons of colour in many different saturations.
royleen: Oh yes, and there we can find colour galore!
Melissa Hebbard: I am a true winter, and I do not wear harsh jewel tones, with the exception of a bit of it in a scarf. As I wrote, the effect of colour is psychological and jewel tones make me feel jangly. I admire them on the Queen, and I like them on others and agree with lagatta that quality is the key. The Queen has the jewels, not just their hues on fabric.
I like Kettlewell's site and it's great to hear the quality is good- have never ordered.
lagatta: I read an interview in which the Queen's dresser said she is always in brights to stand out in a crowd. People come to see her, so she needs to be highly visible. (I wonder if it is a security strategy, too?)
The V-Neck for summer for example has only 6 colors. I'm between size 12 and 14 and wear Size L which is their largest size.
American Vintage's "Jacksonville" offers a lot of subtile shades, but the fabric is very thin and gets little holes quickly. Lighter colors fade away after a few washes. But great for hot summer days, they are airy and don't cling to your body.
ca va de soi is wonderful. Unfortunately not available in EU.
Melissa O'Neill: I really like Uniqulo tees but their service for online shoppers is not the friendliest and the low price is wiped out by shipping and import duties. (I buy them when I travel.) It's easy to track down a good white or other neutral, depending on the style and price a woman wants, but even with those, you may find from year to year the cut or fabric content has changed.
Barbara Schieren: I am that size too. Your American Vintage tee is a blend of cotton and viscose, which gives it a nice drape. Pricey for that quality.
While I can't attest to the quality of their tees, I do like Uniqlo's color numbering system. I own a #10 pink shirt and sweatshirt and I know a #10 tee would match.
I always like to see colors in person. I don't trust a computer monitor.
dana: Writing this post led me to a few sites on colour theory, which I enjoyed. I've been obsessed with textile colour for a few years and I cannot find anyone who is willing to say why colour looks so cheap and monochromatic, even on "bridge" priced clothes. I notice many more clothes of the subtle hues you describe when I am in Europe.
Also, the North American market seems to •want• those primaries. In France, Italy and Scandinavia for example, I notice that women will wear that brown with purple in it, or the unusual greens. Women will dress their infants in pinky-taupe. I wonder if in North America we have accepted what we can get and trained ourselves to avoid the less-common hues. What do you think?
I love vintage clothes and imported clothes (Indian Madra, Scottish woolens) with something special: natural fabric, beautiful drape, special detailing, "imperfect" textures.
Option b: interesting prints. I'm wearing a nicely fitting old cotton sweater with burgundy, tangerine, and hot pink "dabs" on white. Target.
Fun: Unflattering light colors take on interesting variations of teal or blue or charcoal
(my favorites).
I've put in linen, silk, cotton all in the same batch and each garment sucked up color differently. If I don't like something I can re-dye in a darker color.
I like the element of surprise and delight.
Risky: Natural fabrics may shrink from hot water and hot dryer.
I don't mind as often I start with somewhat oversized men's shirts in lovely fabrics.
Previously invisible sweat stains come out darker. Could be cut out and made sleeveless if one was gifted with sewing prowess. Or refashioned. I like reading about pao's sewing adventures on her project minima blog.
dana: Intriguing theory, yet- the French flag is red, white and blue, and the Italian, red, white, green. (Flags are generally bright and primary colours.) I don't find interesting prints much easier to find, or I like the print but not the palette. I was always this picky but now I find the selection narrower. one of the main reasons why I buy Eric Bompard and Brora cashmere (besides the fact that I need it here a good 5 months of the year), is for the unusual colours, whether sober or bright.
Carol in Denver, and tess: Dyeing is either an artistic pursuit or a rescue operation, and sometimes the former becomes the latter. I have done some of it (when I had a yard, to deal with the mess). Now I just want to be able to order good colours and be spoiled by a little parcel on my doorstep.
I do dry the items on my balcony, but must make sure that there is no dripping (They are pretty much dry when I do that; it just helps fix the colour) as I don't want to adorn my downstairs neighbours' laundry with artistic spots!
I wash the dried item alone in the machine the first time, or several times by hand.
I agree that the harsh garish colors are terrible. Private equity funds are not doing anyone but themselves and their investors any favors.