I grew up in Oklahoma where the winter months were dark and grey and somewhat depressing. No leaves on the trees, dead grass, and sometimes snow on the ground, it still gives me a little chill when I look out the window at a grey sky. These days I find comfort and solace in grey days. Now they make me want to curl up with a good book on a cozy couch with a cup of tea. Unfortunately, we can’t schedule grey days to land on Saturday or Sunday, so laying around reading a book all day isn’t always an option.
The color of compromise, grey is the ultimate negotiator. It lives between two extremes; it is the fence-sitter, the color of the middle ground. Most people don’t love or hate grey, that’s how neutral it is. Too much of it can create sadness or depression but the right amount can convey intellect and maturity. When you see a grey pinstripe suit, you might think conservative, and formal but grey also allows more vibrant colors to take center stage which can create a modern look with a twist, like slate grey with bright orange or lime green. The darker the grey, the more sophisticated and dignified it appears and the lighter it is, the more illuminating and lively it becomes.
Grey works well on a range of skin tones, so if black or white is too harsh for you, grey can take the edge off. To me, grey is reminiscent of the 20s and 30s. I think of women wearing bias cut, full length, satin gowns sipping fancy drinks in beautiful art deco rooms with chrome details and wall murals. Silver and chrome are lovely metallic variations of grey and can be worn as jewelry or even nail polish.
My best friend, like me, is not afraid to step out wearing things upside down and backwards. She is very stylish and instinctively knows how to layer and belt things which I both admire and respect :). She has had short hair for a LONG time, and I always loved it but for some reason I thought I couldn’t pull it off. Eventually she and my husband persuaded me to cut my hair. I would have a little taken off each time I went to the salon. It took months, maybe a year, for me to get it to the length it is now. During this transition, I started to notice older women with short, grey hair and I thought they looked so chic and stylish, like they knew something the rest of us didn’t know, so naturally, I was excited when I started sprouting a little grey hair. When the light hits it just right, it sparkles, like it’s winking back at me in the mirror.
I realize now, all these years later, that that those “older” women were probably my age now. Over the past couple of years, I have seen so many women embrace their grey and grow it out, and regardless of the length, I still think they look chic and stylish. Perhaps that is because ultimately, grey is timeless and enduring, it conveys a quiet wisdom. Clearly those women do know something about grey and none of them seem like fence-sitters to me.
XO-
Mel