Creating a Color Story

Color stories are common for apparel collections. A color story is a palette of colors which designers use to identify individual garments as part of a collection for a season or line. Retailers use color stories to organize product and create a visually appealing display. Check out the current shipment of fall apparel for Lauren Ralph Lauren (available at Macy's):

Which colors do you see in this color story? Furthermore, think about why a color story is useful when you are shopping.

Did you know that a season's colors and prints are determined up to two years in advance? Forecasting companies use data research upcoming trends in color and fabric to determine what will be popular for the season they are researching. However, culture (pop culture, street culture, the arts) also has some influence over upcoming trends. Once colors are determined, fabric mills will dye fabric which they will then bring to trade shows for designers to look at and ultimately buy sample yardage for the collection they're working on designing.

Think about it: your favorite mustard yellow sweater from last fall was determined to be a popular color back in fall 2010. Crazy, right?

When I am pulling together an outfit, whether for myself or for a cluster of mannequins, I try to keep an eye out for pieces in a similar color story to create a cohesive outfit without looking monochromatic. Here are two outfits I styled in May of last year which provide a pretty good example of a color story:

In the first photo, my color story was cool with teal and seafoam green, anchored by black. In the second photo, my color story felt nautical (and cool, again) with navy/white stripes, blue, and a pop of yellow to warm up the look a bit. While mixing several colors can be impactful (ie: colorblocking), it's often much easier to stick with one or two main colors and one accent color. One of the reasons designers stick to a color story for a collection is to encourage shoppers to buy multiple pieces at once. Basically, color stories provide a one-stop-shop opportunity for people who might otherwise have a hard time coordinating outfits.

All of this said... I generally like to jam as many colors into an outfit as possible. As easy as color stories can be, in my book, there's nothing wrong with going for gold and dressing as a rainbow!

Finding Color in a Sea of Black

I make it no secret that if I could wear every color of the spectrum every single day in the form of prints, patterns, color blocking and whatever else, I would do it. Unfortunately, I now work somewhere where the dress code mandates black. Black, black, black.

Black - /blak/
Adjective
Of the very darkest color, the opposite of white; colored like coal, due to the absence or complete absorption of light.

Are you as depressed as I am right now?

Being on the visual team, I am allowed to wear a colorful top (as long as I have my "black layering item," of course), accessories and shoes ... but every time I look in my closet, I realize that most of my colorful stuff is cardigans, dresses and collared shirts. So what do I do? I resort to wearing head-to-toe black. I even skip the fun shoes these days, simply because my feet get so sore that I now wear squishy Crocs flats, sneakers, and ohmigawd....... DANSKOS. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!! I'm embarrassed to admit that I recently purchased a pair of Danskos, but I maintain that I did it out of necessity. They're clunky and strange to walk in, but my feet are so happy when I have them on, that I almost forgive these shoes for being so damn ugly.

Please don't judge me.

Let's pretend like I never confessed to that bit of fashion faux pas. Moving along.

So, here's my question: If you were forced to wear black every day, but wanted to infuse color into your work wardrobe, what would you do?

Cashmere

Soft Sweater, Warm Sweater, made of goat fur, Snuggly Sweater, Pretty Sweater, perfect lay-er!
Big Bang Theory fans might enjoy singing the above lyrics to the tune of "Soft Kitty."

My store is one of 42 Macy's locations across the country selling Charter Club cashmere earlier than normal... which seems crazy, considering it was 90-100 degrees last week. I'm not convinced that our customers are ready for sweaters, but I still love the shop. It's so pretty (and snuggly, and soft, and warm)! I had a lot of fun working on this project, and it's the first time I've done all of the visual by myself (lettering on the wall, the mounted sweater bar, the light box, the mannequins and the bust form), so I feel like a proud mama. Here are some photos I snapped with my phone (hence the crazy lighting):

FB #9 - New formats for creating hype

One of the things I love about the Internet is how it's accessible in so many ways. Computers, tablets, mobile phones, and even gaming systems (I can attest to having web access through my Wii) are the most popular ways by which web surfers do their browsing, research, shopping, work and socializing. Because there are so many ways to access the Internet, there are so many different ways fashion companies can connect with consumers to create hype for their products.

Today, having a presence on the web is about more than just having a webpage. Social media used to be about connecting people with people. Now it's connecting people with brands, organizations, educational institutions, causes, and any other thing you can think of. Utilizing social media has practically become a requirement for brands looking to get all of the visibility they can muster, with the added benefit of not paying a cent. That's not to say that advertising budgets can go out the window in favor of free publicity on social media, though.

For a rapidly-growing lifestyle brand like Michael Kors, connecting with their target market via social media is the way to go. Web-savvy Millennials with money to burn and a love for affordable luxury fashion are already dialed in and ready to pay attention.

Michael Kors has a presence on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Pinterest. One of my favorite ways to get my daily MK fix is through Instagram. Here are a few of my favorite recent posts from Instagram:

One of the things I love about Michael Kors product is the abundant use of color. To get my MK color fix, I take a quick browse through the Michael Kors profile on Pinterest. I can't help but love how The Color Edit board is so deliciously colorblocked with inspiration and MK product. I love color, but I also love tidiness and having everything in order, so this page appeals to my senses and sensibilities. Click through to check out how blue transitions into green... gorgeous! I happen to be in the market for a spring/summer handbag, and anything in green or blue would do!
 
If you're ever looking for a new hashtag to follow on Twitter, I would recommend #JetSetGo. Sometimes you get a random person tweeting about how they're on their 13th flight of 2013... But at least half of the time you're led to tweets from Michael Kors, and tweets about Michael Kors. I love the tweets with photos!

Then of course, there's Facebook which features many of the same photos from the prior three social media sites, and YouTube which has some great behind-the-scenes videos, as well as footage from runway shows.

All of this stuff is on top of the budgeted advertising plan... it's a ton of work keeping multiple social media pages fresh and interesting (as many bloggers know, and new bloggers will find out!). As someone who follows MK on Instagram, I admit that every time I see a new picture I get really excited. It keeps the brand at the front of my mind and makes me want to go shopping! This is precisely what retailers want, because when consumers have a little extra cash to spend, retailers want to capture share of wallet before their competitors do. Putting effort into social media as a way to promote fashion is arguably the most important way to get consumers' attention today. Welcome to the new norm!