Wearing the Pantone Colors of the Year 2021- and Link-Up

Ultimate Grey and Illuminating Yellow are Pantone's colors of the year for 2021. Blogger Gail Hanlon from Is This Mutton gives her fashion take with a yellow maribou-trimmed jumper and grey skirt with mustard boots

The Pantone colors of the year are Ultimate Grey and Illuminating Yellow. These shades were, said Pantone, chosen for their warmth and dependability. It described Illuminating as “a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power.” Ultimate Grey, like pebbles, is emblematic of “solid and dependable elements which are everlasting and provide a firm foundation.”

I don't think I have exactly the right shades for my take with these two colors. but it gives you a good idea. My yellow jumper with feather trim is a cooler yellow, while the boots are a warm buttercup yellow. The skirt is predominantly grey, and the tights are definitely grey.

I've noticed that the Pantone colors of the year don't usually make it into the mainstream for a year or two. They're like the fashion shows: they give direction. When Ultra Violet was color of the year in 2018 I was keen to snap up pieces in this color but there was very little available. Now you can find quite a lot.

I asked Melissa Nicholson from Kettlewell Colours, who specialise in colours that you don't often see, for her view. "The Pantone colors of the year puts those colours into the consciousness of our customers who then request them. If we don’t already stock a color and the Pantone of the Year is something new, I'll certainly explore it and lab dip it. I’m forever on the lookout for new colors – not easy when you already have 300 in the collection."

Blogger Gail Hanlon from Is This Mutton in her take on the Pantone Colors of the Year 2021 with a yellow maribou-trimmed jumper and grey skirt

Fashion commentators were not thrilled at the prospect of these two colors. Individually I think they are great. Grey is dependable and reliable, and goes with lots of colors. It's exactly what we need in these troubled times. Yellow meanwhile has been seen a lot lately in the fashion magazines, and many blogger have been wearing it. It's a cheerful color that reminds us of spring, but not easy to wear for many of us.

The secret is to determine if you're cool or warm toned, and you can do this by looking at the veins on your wrist. Blue toned equals cool, green equals warm. It's not very precise however. My color analysis showed that a bright warm yellow is actually best for me. My coloring is neutral so I can wear a combination of certain cool and warm shades, as long as they are clear / bright. More on color in next Wednesday's post.

Yellow is often thought of as a difficult color to wear but for most of us it's finding the right shade, cool or warm toned. Here Is This Mutton's Gail Hanlon wears her take on the Pantone Colors of the Year 2021

I have fond memories of grey and yellow together. In the sixth form at school we were allowed to wear a grey skirt and a round neck jumper of any colour, with no tie. The freedom! I had a midi length pencil skirt in grey - a lighter shade - and v neck jumpers in yellow, pink and a weird green, knitted by my mum, and a darker green that was prickly.

V necks were more fashionable but it was a daring move because if the deputy headmistress, Miss Collins, saw you wearing the offending item, she would make you turn the jumper round and wear your blazer over the top. Fortunately it never happened to me.

What do you think of the Pantone colors of the year? Let me know in the comments.

Sharing this post with: #OnMondaysWeLinkUp at Glass of Glam, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style, Chic & Stylish at Mummabstylish, #LinkupOnTheEdge at Shelbee on the Edge, #AnythingGoes at My Random Musings, Thursday Moda at Elegance and Mommyhood, Turning Heads Tuesday at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, Style with a Smile and Stylish Monday at Stylesplash, Style Six at Coast to Coast, TFF at Doused in Pink, Fancy Friday at Nancy's Fashion Style, Fabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertold i, #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb, Lizzie in Lace and Confident Twosday at IDoDeclaire, Beauty by Miss L, Rena at Fine Whatever

It's a busy week on Is This Mutton - I'm back on Friday with the Favourites - books, podcasts and TV, and on Tuesday with Sentence a Day for January. Hope to see you then.

Now it's time for #WowOnWednesday, where bloggers find new readers, and readers find new blogs to read!

Last week's readers' favourites - most clicked - were:

Suzy Turner introducing her new fashion and beauty blog, "Welcome to the Grey Brunette."

Pamela from Style Yourself Confident with her post "What's Autumn's Magical Color?"

My favourite fashion post was by Christine from Bon Chic Style, "Recovering from COVID-19 & French Chic Black Slip Dress." I love the different ways she styled the dress, and the b&w photography, with one color image, is a visual delight.