“Beige Is Bullshit"
Some thoughts on a trending color.
“Beige is bullshit,” Mr. Big says to Carrie Bradshaw over the phone in episode 9 of season 3 in Sex and the City. “I thought you wanted beige,” an overly breathy Carrie responds. Even if you’ve never seen the show, all you need to know is that the main character played by Sarah Jessica Parker is speaking in simple metaphors, as she always does. “Beige” is referring to Big’s wife Natasha who painted the room beige and bought beige furniture, making her the boring woman to Carrie’s curly-haired fiery persona. There’s also talk of Carrie being a red wall too, but it’s not important.
The point is that beige has long been looked at as basic – which is not untrue. Beige is boring, beige is uncomplicated, and beige is apparently trending. According to global fashion shopping platform Lyst, searches for Beige grew 23% since the beginning of October. The report also notes that “Puffer jackets and knit dresses are currently the most saved beige-colored pieces with demand for the latter increasing 56% month-on-month.”
What I found interesting about these stats is that it doesn’t immediately reflect the current trends we’ve been seeing on the runways, on social media, or even in street style — at least not if we are thinking of beige in the traditional sense like Carrie and Big were. This has been a time of reemergence, and people are coming back to life with their wardrobes. We’re seeing bright colors, sequins, lace, and cropped tops that are decidedly not a bland neutral tone. However, when I dig a little deeper, I think I can understand how beige fits into the overall fashion mood right now. According to Pantone, Fall ‘22 style was all about “pragmatic hues infused with vivifying bright pops.”
To me, those pragmatic hues are what we picked up over the last year. Safety and comfort are the base layer now. When things feel so overwhelming and scary, there is no room to be insecure at the foundation. So we wear neutral shades of white, black and gray because we know it works. At the same time that we find ourselves again in a still chaotic world, it’s clear that those feelings of safety can only go so far. Life is short, and we need to explore.
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October Fashion Alignment Chart
October is over, so let’s review the last month of fashion in a completely unscientific way.
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