blue - The Seventh Sphinx

Zoya’s Blu nail polish is just what I hoped it would be, a pale powder blue with the barest hint of lavender, opaque in two coats.

You know how you can be drawn to shades of polish you wouldn’t really consider in any other wearable life category? Not that I’m virulently against powder blue but I don’t own anything else in this shade, hardly anything that could be considered pastel at all, and that’s not a coincidence.

Michael Kors open arrow ring, other rings…

In the land of nail polish, though, suddenly an entire different set of criteria seems to be at work. The touch of lavender makes the blue pop against my olive skin, the pale, opaque color pops on the hand as white would, but in a softer, more intriguing manner than straight white. I’m not certain why this doesn’t convert me to the shade all around…but it doesn’t. Though maybe it should?

Nails, like shoes, are a style zone of their own, with bold colors and patterns not at all unusual, even arguably boring, now, with a demand for more and more creative designs to catch the eye of the machine of cultural interest. I appreciate this, though I wish this trend would spread to more and more categories. Which it is, I think, spreading…but, you know, I wish it were faster.

Vintage beaded clutch

Full marks to this shade for being pigmented enough (not too close to white) to pair well with every white accessory ever.

While blue seems to be the favorite color of a significant fraction of the population, it’s one of those colors I often overlook when picking out clothes and accessories. I do like teal and turquoise, which is to say I like my blue with green in it.

When I notice holes like this in my wardrobe (there is also almost no red in my possession, I noticed recently) I like to think about them – about why there might be such an omission, and whether or not I’d like to remedy it. I do abstractly like ultramarine and cornflower blues, baby and powder blues…but there is a great difference between liking a color and wanting to wear it. It’s a decided personal stamp of approval, it seems, to wear (and so, often, to purchase, to have purchased) a color.

If there was ever a time I would want to sport a true blue, summer is it.

This saturated cornflower blue t-shirt (I know, a t-shirt. So adventurous) is now the brightest blue on hand. The part of me that wants to wear some combination of white, cream, caramel, and cognac at all times thinks it’s a bit garish but I do like it. Fashion baby steps.

J Crew tee, Joe’s skirt, Steve Madden sandals, vintage beaded clutch, Skagen watch, Vuarnet sunglasses, 10mm pearl studs from Pearls of Joy, pearl ring from Pearl Paradise, 6mm pearl necklace* from eBay, vintage amethyst bracelet. On the lips: Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in La Favorite. On the nails: Deborah Lippmann Girls Just Wanna Have Fun polish (a really bright, pretty coral).

*I’ve been wanting a choker length pearl necklace in a small pearl size for a long time, basically because of the costumes in movies like Dangerous Liasons, Valmont, and anything set in 18th century France, in which they are often worn by young, unmarried women to great effect. I like how they ever so gently mold to the curvature of the throat, the 6mm size youthful and understated.

Tag: blue

powder blu

summertime blues