He's not looking at her. She's not wearing marsala.
My friend Robb and I have a field day and geek out together every time the Pantone corporation releases their new “color of the year.” For those unfamiliar, the good people at Pantone are THE color experts for designers, and their Pantone Matching System (a different kind of PMS) is the industry standard for designers to ensure consistent color across various media. Their “color of the year” celebrates current color trends and forecasts which color will be that year’s color to remember. Well, it’s good branding for them, and it’s a fun way to cement their prominence in all things color-related. It’s also just a tad ridiculous. Mostly, because this all-important announcement is rolled out with a PR blitz and self-aggrandizing media tour reminiscent of Time’s “Person of the Year.” And also because, rather than the boring and efficient numbers that designers know from their color matching system (PMS 1817 is the color of the Jettoe logo, for example), Pantone assigns “fun” words and phrases to their colors of the year. This year’s color(s) of the year are “Rose Quartz” and “Serenity,” for example. It’s a bit of a cop out on behalf of Pantone, that they couldn’t narrow it down to just one. (Has Time ever chosen two “Persons of the Year?”) Anyway, I was thinking of this recently because Robb was appalled by the choice for 2015, “Marsala,” (née Pantone 18-1438) which Pantone describes as “a naturally robust and earthy wine red.” Pantone goes on to say that, “marsala enriches our minds, bodies and souls,” and that “this tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness.” (C’mon, you kinda have to laugh.) Well, I, for one, love it. It’s a color that I wear all the time. And if you’re wondering if I have a point, it’s that “marsala” is scarily close to the aforementioned Pantone 1817, the color of Jettoe, although 1817 is darker. It’s a color, I might add, I chose to represent me ten years ago in 2006. So now I wonder, is it so super trendy that in a few years it may look dated? I hope not. If so maybe I’ll choose another color, maybe a dark blue Pantone might call, “Worried Witching Hour" or "Discombobulated Duskiness.”