How to wear emerald

You may have heard: Pantone's color of the year for 2013 is emerald.  (Pantone is a color system and forecasting service. Now you know.)

Rep. Michele Bachmann selected emerald for a hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke: http://youtu.be/NsZaaV5JSEs


Emerald is a strong color, but many people can wear it. The key is to break it up a little bit, as Rep. Bachmann has done here with a necklace. She also kept her makeup strong, preventing the color from washing her out.

Here's how you can wear emerald too:

Emerald: 2013 Color of the Year by styleofpolitics featuring a crystal pendant necklace

Day or evening?

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake held a press conference this week on her ten year fiscal forecast.  She wore gray: http://youtu.be/oNEfEN9kRgo


This would be a really lovely look for an evening out to dinner or the theater. This cool gray compliments the Mayor's skin tone, and the necklace hits her first balance point perfectly. But the richness of having multiple textures and patterns, a grosgrain ribbon edge to the jacket, and shiny rhinestones on the necklace take this outfit out of the "work" space and into something more social. The high neckline keeps us out of "date night with Fox" territory, but I would have still recommended a much more businesslike look for such a businesslike subject.

What it means to be part of the conversation

 I just got back from the IFB conference. Here's what I learned:

1. If I really think you need me, gentle readers, (and I do) then I have to give you what you need. More posts in 2013!
2. If you want people to listen to you, you should have something to say. I learned that from my new blog crush, Hilary Rushford of Dean Street Society. Ok, I already new that, but I just like Hilary.
3. What we say matters, but how we say it matters too. I learned that from Neil Blumenthal, co-founder of Warby Parker. Here is is in front of a slide of their super cool mobile pop-up shop on a school bus: