Naming Fashion Colors

  I hate shopping for clothing other than jeans and t-shirts in normal colors.  I see a color and I'm always wrong about its name.  My conversations include comments like this:

"What do you mean its not purple?"
"Eggplant?, That's a food."
"Peach is last season's color?  This is seashell?"
"When did that color change to eggnog from pale yellow?"

I can never keep up with all those color changes. It got me to wonder how they come up with these names.  Names that only the fashionista remember and the rest of us are still on the basics.

It turns out committees not individuals are responsible for naming fashion colors. This committee is made up of 10 people whose identities are kept secret and they meet in Europe twice a year (May and November).  The committee members are not only in fashion but are in other fields as well.

This group decides the up coming shades for a company called Pantone whose only business is the make color and dye samples to be sent all over the world.  This group decides the colors used by various designers.  Since the colors are standardized, manufacturing companies can just ask for certain colors and know exactly what they are getting.

On the other hand, some of the crazy names for nail polish are named by the companies, or perhaps copied from names out there.  The colors are individual rather than via a committee.  I just look until I find the color I want and buy it.

I've gotten to the point where I look at the color, don't ask what its called or call it by some name and go for it.  I hate trying to figure out what the shade is currently called.

Just think about this the next time you see a color with a new name.  Let me know what you think.