is nude a color sometimes? - YouLookFab Forum

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is nude a color sometimes?

Adelfa

Veteran

I was happily sporting the Cut Out Natural/Nude Leather Earrings (in medium!) by Nickel & Suede whose owner, Kylee, was recently featured by Inge. I felt cute in them, but I felt even happier when my leasing office person, a very well turned out African-American woman, praised the earrings extravagantly.

"Oh, I absolutely love them! Are they wood?"

"No, they're leather!" I said proudly. "They are super lightweight!"

She felt them. "Oh they're so different! And--they're NUDE!"

"Yes," I said uncertainly, wondering if she meant they were nude for me.

"A good nude is so hard to find!" she said.

"Oh, I know!" I said. "This one is perfect, not too pink, not too orange...."

I walked away feeling determined to buy her a pair, and also pondering the politics of the usage of the word "nude."

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10 replies

Latest reply was from Beth Ann

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I think nude is relative, as in nude for you, nude for the next person. It's a color that matches your skin, right?
The earrings are fantastic on you! They look a little 70s-inspired to me (the shape, I guess), and yet very current (probably the "nude" factor--ha ha!).

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Hmm I would have given the same affirmation they look nude or neutral to my eye. Then that says to me it will go with anthing.

Sal

Veteran

Haha I think nude is a beigy pinky skin colour...I normally think of it in association with shoes (Kate Middleton is famous for her nude pumps). But it probably is a pretty silly colour name!!

Anonymous

Hmm, I don't really mind the word. I understand, it's meant as a colour reference. It does sound a bit strange sometimes though. However, your earrings suit you so well. I love them! I too was enamoured by t the earrings made by Kylee. If only I wasn't in the UK as I'd snap some up for sure.

rachylou

Veteran

Well now, that's an interesting one (cute earrings!). I do think of nude as a colour... Except when we're talking shoes and extending the leg line. As a colour, it's that greyish, opaque peach that comes in a box of crayons that people will talk about as 'flesh toned' - except no one is that colour. Wait, let me amend that - no human is that colour. I may have seen a pig that colour, however.

DonnaF

Veteran

Good question. Whenever I see something, whether clothing, shoes, or makeup described as *nude*, I know that it will be too pink for me and that I need something with a touch more gold and yellow. I've given up on finding "nude on me" shoes and will settle for low contrast that isn't jarring.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Oh, I see the dilemma now. It's that "nude" is often used to mean a particular shade of white-person's "flesh pink." I'm not sure why I didn't get it at first, except that the way your friend used it, Adelfa, seemed to be the way I interpreted it. As in, the earrings are nude for you.

But DonnaF is right, as is Rachylou--"nude" as a color description usually means it's not going to be nude on most people.

Rachylou, you just put the image in my head of a pig in a bra.

Gigi

Veteran

Interesting post, Adelfa. I have sometimes wondered if people of African descent are put off by "nude" being used to describe a color that closely matches a Caucasian skin tone. I can see how in your situation, a person might wonder whether your coworker meant "nude" as "nude for you" or whether she meant "nude" as a particular Caucasian flesh color.

For me, I think they need to create a color called "pasty," ha ha!

Echo

Veteran

"Nude" to me has never had a specific shade, because "nude" is whatever colour most closely matches one's skin. I find it interesting that stores can get away with listing an item's colour as "nude" when Crayola was blasted for essentially the same thing (though Crayola used the term "flesh", which has always struck me as kind of a creepy word anyway).

Beth Ann

Veteran

Earrings are terrific!

The concept of "nude" has changed a lot over the last few decades. I've also noticed that foundation makeup has made some adjustments. As a young teen, I always went for a "medium" shade. Fast forward to 35, and I was "ivory," or, even better, "chamois!" Manufacturers were reaching out to "women of color" (another odd term), and that's a good thing.