Veri Peri.
Such a fun name. And, it’s the Pantone color of the year for 2022.
Pantone explains their choice here:
“PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression. The Pantone Color of the Year reflects what is taking place in our global culture, expressing what people are looking for that color can hope to answer,” added Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute.
This is the first time that Pantone has created a new color for their color of the year program. If there was ever a time for a new color to be created only to be named the color of the year, 2022 is it.
I usually take note of this announcement then quickly file it in the ole memory banks only to see the color crop up all over the place as the year goes on. This year is different for lots of reasons. One is people are interested to see where fashion is going after these two-ish (and counting) years of being at home so much. Color is a big part of fashion and style.
The other main reason, for me anyway, is that this color looks terrible on me. Like people asking “are you sick,” kind of terrible.
Come spring I’m sure I will see this color in every dress silhouette that I want to wear. In spring sweaters, t-shirts, skirts, pants and so on.
So what’s a girl to do?
How do you wear a color that you like, but it doesn’t look good on you? Using the Pantone color of 2022 as an example, I’ll show you a few easy hacks for how you can wear an unflattering color.
Keep it arm’s length
Unflattering colors should be as far from your face as possible. A purse, pants, skirt, or shoes in Veri Peri or any uncomplimentary color, is a great way to take part in a color trend without it coming into too much contact with your skin tone, hair, and eyes.
Small doses
Even if a color does look good on you, sometimes less is more. There are instances where a pop of a certain color is all you need. Veri Peri is one of those colors for me, but you can do this with any color that feels like too much.
Earrings, a belt, even socks are a great way to keep things to a minimum. Here are some Veri Peri examples.
How to handle large amounts of an unflattering color such as Very Peri
We’ve all done it, cut the tags off something only to decide, the color doesn’t work. So there it sits in your closet, unworn. The reason colors don’t work on you is they wash out your skin tone, clash with your hair, or dull your eyes. So if you can break up the space between these body parts and the offending color, with a color that works, you can make an item wearable.
For example, if I had a t-shirt in Very Peri that I really wanted to wear, I would add a bold pink earring. Or, tie a blue scarf around my neck. I could add a denim jacket over the t-shirt. These flattering colors close to my face, hair, and eyes make the Veri Peri t-shirt wearable.
Adding an extra swipe of your favorite shade of lipstick is also a great defense against a garment that washes you out.
You can do this with any clothing item in any color. It’s an easy fix.
My style challenge to you. Head to your closet to find an item that you’ve avoided wearing because of the color. Try one or two of the hacks listed above and see if you can move this item into your regular rotation.
Extra points if it’s in Veri-Peri hues!
Let me know how it goes in the comments or reach out with any questions.
And, as always, pass this along to a friend who may need some style love.
Kim
XO
