Living for Living Coral

Happpppy Monday! Did you know that 2019’s Pantone Color of the Year is called Living Coral? Do you even know what a Pantone Color of the Year is? If not, no worries. It’s basically just a color that’s “forecasted” to be popular throughout the seasons in industries such as fashion, home décor, and even marketing/design. Last year’s color was Ultraviolet, and while I can’t say I saw a ton of vibrant purples, gorgeous lavender shades were a huge hit in the past year and even still to this day. Keep reading to see some ideas for how to style this year’s fun new salmon-esque color!

Here’s what the Pantone website has to say about their new shade: “Vibrant, yet mellow PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment.”

If you can show me how a color can add buoyancy to my continually shifting environment, that would be greatly appreciated. But nonetheless, I love the personification and life they give to each color. You may be wondering how they arbitrarily choose a shade to declare for the year, and it may come as a shock that it’s not just “eenie-meenie-minie-mo” (spellcheck, please?). Instead, a lot of trend-tracking and data go into it. See kids, math can be important.

I can totally get on board with Living Coral. It’s not too pink (because not everyone digs the Elle Woods look) but it’s not too orange either (people love to hate orange…and despite what you might think, it’s not the new black). I think coral/salmon shades are one of the rare colors that look good on almost every skin tone. Pops on dark skin, works well with a tan, and even flatters the whitest of the white. A few years ago the color was Millennial Pink, and while I lovvvve everything blush-colored, it completely washes me out! Coral is just dark enough to make me look living…you see what I did there? It just embraces me in warmth and nourishment (wink wink).

So how can you rock this vibrant yet mellow shade in 2019? Here are some colors to pair with it:

• Living Coral and burgundy—As you can see from my outfit today, I love the look of this salmon shade (my cardigan) with maroon and burgundy! I think they complement each other so well and look great in the winter as well as fall later this year.
• Living Coral and white—I adore the idea of a slightly cropped coral sweater with white skinny jeans and a pair of mules for spring. The perfect transitional outfit!
• Living Coral and denim—Of course, you can never go wrong with classic denim. If you’re concerned about not having enough to wear with this shade, stick with a blouse or sweater in the color, and then you can always pair it with stylish jeans or a denim skirt for spring.
• Living Coral and plaid—I think various shades of brown also look nice with coral, and as I sit here typing this, I’m gazing at a super cute beige and brown plaid mini skirt hanging in my closet. Next preppy outfit, ready to go.
• Living Coral and olive green—I love interesting color combos, and this one would definitely keep you on your toes. Coral top + olive green military jacket + tuxedo stripe jeans = killer outfit.
• Living Coral and leopard—This may be my favorite combo of the lot. So sassy! And I realize that a lot of these combinations sound more like fall looks, but so many of them would pair great with white skinny jeans to spice it up for spring. Like I mentioned before, a pair of mules or flats would complement that pairing as well.

I also can get behind a color that (hopefully) promotes awareness of our dying coral reefs. Did you know that coral reefs are a vital part of our ocean’s ecosystem but are disappearing at an unprecedented rate? I won’t get all biology-nerd on you, but if you’re interested, the Netflix documentary Chasing Coral tries to discover the culprit behind the diminishing of these beautiful creatures. I’ll warn you now, while very interesting, it’s not the pick-me-up movie of the year. You might need some Lindor Balls to get you through. Living Coral is actually, unfortunately, a somewhat ironic name.

So on that somewhat depressing note…How would you style coral this season?! Are you into it or is it safe to say you’ll take a hard pass? If you wear it, you could use it as an excuse to strike up a conversation about our reefs. Go planet. But just remember, if you’re not into it, you might miss out on added buoyancy to your outfit. I’m not sure you’ll want to sacrifice that. (Fun fact, I once kicked a buoy on a beach when I was really little because I thought it was a soccer ball. Turns out, they’re rock hard. My toes did not like that). Anyway, hope y’all are having a fantastic Monday, and let me know your thoughts on this fun color in the comments below!

Miles of smiles,

Grace

Living Coral Cardigan: unknown, $30 // Burgundy Patterned Dress: Arizona via JCPenney, $25 // Purple Knee Socks: DSW, $12 // Brown Booties: DSW, $35 // White Infinity Scarf: unknown, $20 // Tortoise Sunglasses: Loft, $30 // Burgundy Circle Purse: Nordstrom Rack, $50