bits and bobbins

ny mag’s monochromatic new yorkers

(photo credit: tina tyrell/new york magazine)

writer joanna goddard (who blogs over at a cup of jo) recently penned an article for new york magazine about monochromatic new yorkers: cultural creatives in the big apple who are obsessed with wearing only one color every single day. small interviews get into their heads and shed light on their chosen colors and how they maintain their personal style within the confines of their color choices. the results are stunning, and the peek into these people’s minds is absolutely fascinating. the whole article resonates with me on so many levels…but suffice it to say that i relate to all of these folks on a very deep level, being so color obsessed myself!

in her own blog post broadcasting the release of her article, jo asked:

If you had to wear only one color, which would you choose?

i think you all might know my answer.

***

what color would you choose to wear, if asked to choose just one?

February 18 2008 | Posted in check this out!, culture-vulture, fashion musing, this inspires me!

1. February 18 2008 at 9:55 pm

   Hailey

   a red-orange? I would wear purple.

   
   

2. February 18 2008 at 10:06 pm

   Jessica

   I’m so glad they put that green lady in there!! I see her walking around the Garment District all of the time!! I couldn’t do the color thing. Although I find myself always buying pink-orange-turq.

   
   

3. February 18 2008 at 10:15 pm

   whimsicalnerd

   I would definitely go with red. It is my very favorite!

   
   

4. February 18 2008 at 10:30 pm

   Jenn

   I doubt I could actually do it, but if I were going to try, I’d go with a deep-but-bright-and-saturated indigo-blue. It’s a favourite, it’s one of the best colours next to my skin, and it would allow for my beloved denim (and maybe even those lovely denim trousers that I lust after at J. Crew.)

   
   

5. February 18 2008 at 10:38 pm

   Eve

   I went through a phase where I was wearing only green. I’d stick by that choice! It’s easy enough to do now that it’s a big colour.

   
   

6. February 18 2008 at 10:56 pm

   joanna goddard

   yay! i’m so glad you liked the article and thank you so much for posting about it. i would wear blue all the time, because i like it and also because i’m too pale to wear much else

   xo joanna

   
   

7. February 19 2008 at 3:52 am

   Binal

   Plummy red.

   I always have a touch of black in my daily outfit from shoes, accessories or hoodies but actually my favorite colour is red, brown, yellow and orange.

   
   

8. February 19 2008 at 6:13 am

   buttercup rocks

   Oooooh, I love so many colours so much this would be torture for me! I think it would be between emerald green or hot pink…though turquoise is also a consideration. Did I mention I find this hard?

   
   

9. February 19 2008 at 7:17 am

   missmilki

   I want through a phase in my teenage years of wearing purple…it wasn’t monochromatic as a rule but I was coming close to it! Eventually i had to ban myself from buying any more purple to force myself to wear more colour! Now I love combining colours and I’m not sure i could do monochrome…but if I was going to do it I’d probably go back to purple again.

   
   

10. February 19 2008 at 11:15 am

    Caitlin

    hands-down, scarlet red. i always have at least one red thing, and if i could wear only red for the rest of my life i would be happy.

    
    

11. February 19 2008 at 11:32 am

    WendyB

    I love people like this, so dedicated to something most people wouldn’t think of. I think I come alarmingly close to wearing all black already.

    
    

12. February 19 2008 at 2:08 pm

    Aurora

    I am wearing only black for 12 years now… it is an obsession for me that i can not explain and when i try to wear a different color i get an anxiety attack!!!!

    
    

13. February 19 2008 at 3:28 pm

    karen

    Probably Green for me – but what made me laugh so much was the silver girl’s family photo on her wall. It looks like she was maybe traumatised into wearing only silver after the whole family were forced to wear matching red and white striped jumpers to the photo shoot!

    
    

14. February 19 2008 at 3:42 pm

    S.

    Gold!

    
    

15. February 19 2008 at 4:46 pm

    sarah

    I’d like to say some kind of green but I’m kidding myself. Well, maybe if I started over and did it intentionally, I could. Otherwise, one look at my wardrobe now, and it’s obvious: there’s more grey-blue in there than anything else.

    
    

16. February 19 2008 at 5:54 pm

    Guerreira

    Just came across your blog and already love it, especially this post about the colours!! I love people that have a trademark like this! But me, I am into neutral and muted colours for myself (but love strong bold colours in others!!), so I would probably wear charcoal grey!

    
    

17. February 19 2008 at 10:09 pm

    MsKilian

    I could live in all green, so long as I could use the whole spectrum – from muddy kakhi to lime and back again.

    
    

18. February 19 2008 at 10:47 pm

    Erica

    blue.

    
    

19. February 19 2008 at 11:03 pm

    morgan

    LOVED this – and my color would probably have to be grey (is that so boring?). and speaking of colors, i read through your last few posts the other day and decided that your bebe is a little florida orange…

    
    

20. February 19 2008 at 11:35 pm

    tricia

    everyone: love your reaction! but the idea was to choose JUST ONE! bravo to those who did.

    morgan: you are cracking me up! especially because i used to live in florida, for almost 20 years!! i wouldn’t be surprised if i gave birth to a fruit basket come the beginning of august! hahaha!

    
    

21. February 20 2008 at 12:22 am

    Virginia

    Mine would be purple. I not only have purple clothes but purple everything from kitchenware to mousepad. I love the article, especially the part about Elizabeth Sweetheart, the lady in green. She looks like some little garden gnome, so cute!

    
    

22. February 20 2008 at 6:03 am

    laura

    that’s such a difficult question, because there are many colors i love. however, i think i’d choose red.

    
    

23. February 20 2008 at 8:22 am

    woodscolt

    I’d go for green, because there are so many greens, but if I had to narrow it down further, then light spring green, almost lime but gentler.

    
    

24. February 20 2008 at 4:33 pm

    tressie

    I get in moooods where I will wear only one color….only 2 colors….or dress like a sky…..or a sunset …..or a rainbow from head to toe. Also, I get the Creeps every once in a while…..and I purge all of one color from my life …..the last time was brown…..that’s kinda dumb…so I’ve been re-adding brown, but only below the waist. Red got purged after my divorce 13 yrs ago….That Was Really Dumb! Red is back for me.
    In the 70s, I dressed in peach and purples for a whole year……
    I am a Canvas of my Desires.

    
    

25. February 21 2008 at 7:52 am

    Susan

    I’d say black. Since it’s technically a mish mash of colours and maybe I won’t count that, my next choice would be hot pink. Or anything leaning toward the cool colours on the colour wheel related to red.

    
    

26. February 21 2008 at 9:50 pm

    Zoe

    Well, if it was a conscious decision, I’d probably go with either white because it’s always so classy, or yellow, because it’s my favorite color, or blue, because it seems like all shades of blue go well together. But if I woke up one morning and said, “My GOD, I’m monochroming!” I’d most certainly be monochroming with green. It’s taking over my wardrobe.

    
    

27. March 2 2008 at 6:00 pm

    courtney

    Oh my! Very creative and dedicated individuals, however I can’t wrap my brain around the concept of coloring Louboutin’s with Sharpies!!!