Can Beige be the Colour of Fun?

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Can Beige be the Colour of Fun?

— by Angie

on November 23, 2010

Fabulous Maria from Colour Me Happy recently went to a Colour Conference in Oregon. There incoming president of the Color Marketing Group Mark Woodman posed an interesting question: What is the colour of fun? He added that the colour of fun is NEVER beige.

As someone who adores vibrantly bright colours, I am so with Mr. Woodman. It doesn’t matter how saturated, sparkly or iridescent the colour beige, for me it cannot conjure up feelings of fun. Even dull colours like black and grey seem more fun than any shade of beige. Why is that? Is it because I perceive beige to be lifeless?

In January I wrote a post on what makes a colour happy. I believe a happy colour is a personal thing, a colour that makes YOU feel happy. For some its bright colours like yellow, red and green, for others its pastels, jewel tones, neutrals or muted hues. And for some it might even be beige!

How do you feel about the colour beige and could it ever be the colour of fun for you?

Colour

52 comments · Add a comment

I just bought a Michael Kors top in beige with sparkling sequins and it is FUN FUN FUN! So, I think beige can be very fun!

November 23, 2010 at 2:55 pm

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I am with you, Angie! Maybe this is because beige is a “dirty” color – at least this is how Maria refers to it I believe.
For me really happy colors are fresh and clean colors – they can be not necessarily bright but definitely fresh!

November 23, 2010 at 2:55 pm

Kira

Active Member

Beige is always a fun color of you’re wearing it to a safari!

November 23, 2010 at 2:59 pm

Shelly

(website)

I agree with the safari comment- you can connect beige with adventure!
I’d say that though I like the color, slate blue is probably the least “fun” color I can think of.

November 23, 2010 at 3:01 pm

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Interesting! I have been on safari a few times – never wore beige.

November 23, 2010 at 3:13 pm

taylor

Veteran

I agree with you Angie! Beige is never a happy color to me either.
Although I think it looks classic and chic when done absolutely right. That usually means with other neutrals to me. Like pure crisp white , chocolate browns and blacks.

November 23, 2010 at 3:22 pm

Joy

Veteran

Beige may not be the color of fun but to me an all beige outfit of different textures, including pearls, is a color of sophisitcation. Beige with the right color of blonde hair or on a dark-skinned woman can be stunning. There are different tones of beige so we may be thinking of different colors.
To me red or orange are the colors of fun.

November 23, 2010 at 4:11 pm

Cynthia

(website)

When I think beige, I think the color of the outside of generic Dell CPUs from the ’90s.

On the other hand, I have seen so many awesome stylings of predominantly beige/nude/tea-dyed color schemes and layered textures by fabulous belly dancers like Deb Rubin and Zoe Jakes, that I’m starting to have a whole new respect for the look. Can’t do beige near my face, though.

November 23, 2010 at 4:13 pm

Beth

Veteran

Beige will never be fun for me, either. It’s a drab color that looks terrible on me. I don’t think black or gray are fun but I love them anyway:)

Green is happy! So is purple, blue, pink and any other bright color.

November 23, 2010 at 4:13 pm

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I’m with you Taylor and Joy. Beige, when the fabric is luxuriously textured and worn by someone who brings the colour to life – it can look stunningly sophisticated and feminine. But its still not the colour of fun

November 23, 2010 at 4:20 pm

Barbara

Not a comment on the post- although I really enjoy reading. But the ad for eSalon? Thank you, thank you. I have been looking for a replacement for a discontinued demi-permanent color for months and I’m hoping this could be it. I had no idea there was such a thing. Thanks for the resource!

November 23, 2010 at 4:49 pm

yublocka

(website)

Veteran

I agree, beige is not a fun colour. Doesn’t make it a bad colour though, even though its not a colour I wear at all.

Fun colours to me are bright blues, purples, pinks, oranges and greens. Yellow is also fun, and also a happy colour.

November 23, 2010 at 4:49 pm

Sihaya

Veteran

Not for me. Beige, is well, beige – ho hum in my mind. Can look sophisticated and stylish on the right person but not fun.

November 23, 2010 at 4:55 pm

MsMary

Veteran

I had a blast wearing a beige top here: http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....u-need-him

November 23, 2010 at 5:05 pm

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

When I read this caption, I immediately thought of Maya and pictured her preparing a billboard-sized banner proclaiming “NO, NO, FOR THE LOVE OF CATS, NO!!!”
I echo those sentiments precisely. Beige is the colour of the pants you never choose to wear, the trench coat that’s absolutely screaming for a colourful scarf (though the coat itself would never make it into my wardrobe), the colour of the walls in your rental apartment (and the reason you phone a painter before you’ve even unpacked your bed sheets). None of this is fun.

My fun colour would probably red.

November 23, 2010 at 5:09 pm

Diana

I couldn’t agree with you more, Angie. Beige… blech. I’m not a fan of clothes that look like skin color, though, so that may affect my perception of beige. Taupe is nearly as bad in my book.
Fun colors for me are deep, saturated colors like teal, cobalt, emerald, plum, crimson.

November 23, 2010 at 5:31 pm

Lisa

Veteran

I consider beige a neutral color, for me this means a color that requires another color (or can easily add) another color to bring some “pop” to the outfit. I’m not a fan of neutrals in general, so grouping beige into this category, I’m not a fan of beige either unless it is heavily contrasted with other pieces. And anything I’m not a fan of, I’m not going to consider “fun.”

November 23, 2010 at 6:31 pm

Mochaccino

I just wanted to point out that the word “drab” originally meant beige. Before it meant “boring and lifeless”, it referred to the color beige, and before that it had a bunch of saucier meanings due to a general connotation of dirtiness. I have no idea where I learned that little fact, but I’ve always been a beige-hater, lol. A few times when I’ve been out shopping or something, and found myself explaining why absolutely do not want anything beige, I couldn’t help but mention that “drab” is another word for “beige”.

November 23, 2010 at 6:36 pm

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Okay so I’m not fun. Both of my bedroom walls are a warm muted brown, a variation on beige if you will.

November 23, 2010 at 6:51 pm

Maya

Veteran

No.

November 23, 2010 at 7:00 pm

D'Ellen

Veteran

Beige: (1) a soft wool fabric, formerly undyed and unbleached (2) its characteristic sandy color (Webster’s New World Dictionary).

Sandy = beach = fun!

November 23, 2010 at 7:18 pm

Kate

Veteran

I think cognac can be fun, but it’s much more warm than beige. So no, beige is not fun.

November 23, 2010 at 7:42 pm

Late Bloomer

(website)

Active Member

I’m sitting in my living room of beige and browns with a little brick color. It’s the colors of leather, pottery and the desert. It feels calm, warm and comforting to me. It makes me feel happy in a quiet sort of way.

November 23, 2010 at 9:25 pm

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I agree that beige in itself is not fun BUT it can be a base for fun, beige walls may offset the most beautiful vibrant artwork or a beige Burberry trench can spring to life when worn with the right components. I guess I’m just a sucker for contrast.

November 23, 2010 at 11:11 pm

Marley

Veteran

I don’t even think of beige as a color, to be honest with you! Now, a fun color is Yellow or Red! But beige? No.

November 23, 2010 at 11:49 pm

rute

Veteran

Oh.. I love some shades of beije! I’m all over camel right now, it makes me happy, it makes me feel so chic!
Portugueses love this color maybe because it goes so well with dark hair and olive skin!

November 24, 2010 at 12:41 am

Ginger

Active Member

If you feel like it looks good then go for it.

November 24, 2010 at 4:36 am

Laura

(website)

Veteran

To me, beige is about as fun as dental work. Given enough Novocaine (other colors), you can get through it (make it work in an outfit). But fun? Not so much.

November 24, 2010 at 6:02 am

daligirl

I’m a winter so beige never works for me. It totally washes me out!

November 24, 2010 at 6:25 am

Barbara

Veteran

Beige is one of the colors I absolutely CANNOT wear. It makes me look completely washed out and dreadful!

PURPLE is my color vitamin of choice. I am addicted.

November 24, 2010 at 6:37 am

Ljubica

Active Member

Beige is a no-no for me, because it makes me look like a zombie.

I’m also a purple girl as Barbara. It gives me an instant lift.

November 24, 2010 at 7:08 am

Julia

As a “Winter”, I avoid beige like the plague if I can help it. Gimme a nice cobalt blue or true purple and my skin sings!
Even for rooms, I prefer a crisp white. I guess I’m just not a beige person. LOL!

November 24, 2010 at 8:13 am

Golden

Veteran

Yes, I love beige, creams, browns and they can be fun. You just have to do it right!

November 24, 2010 at 8:54 am

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Laura, you crack me up.

Rute, not to split hairs, but camel is not beige. Also the jury is still out on whether camel is the colour of fun

November 24, 2010 at 9:07 am

Sarah

(website)

Personally beige is not a fun colour, BUT that’s because it makes me look washed out and feel blah. I have a friend who is from the Indian sub-continent with lovely dark skin, and beige looks amazing on her. Seriously, when she wears it, it looks fun! So, I guess it depends on the colouring of the person and how they wear it…

November 24, 2010 at 9:34 am

Carrie D

Active Member

I like beige better in theory than in application. I find it difficult to get a color of beige that doesn’t make me look wan. When I do wear it, it’s usually with an accent of crisp white or black near the face, via a neck scarf or a layering T, tank or camisole. And I almost always wear beige with a red lip.

The color of elegance? Perhaps. The color of fun? No way!

November 24, 2010 at 9:44 am

Gracey

While I think there can be fun clothes in beige (i.e. those covered in sequins or feathers or sequins and feathers), I don’t think that beige itself is a fun color. Ever. Because a sequined beige dress isn’t fun because it’s beige, it’s fun because it’s sequined! Also, I don’t think beige is very flattering to many skin tones – I know that it’s certainly not to mine. So, no, I don’t think beige is ever the color of fun. (Sorry, beige).

November 24, 2010 at 10:14 am

Kari

Veteran

No, not for me either. I don’t really like the color to begin with, and very muted, diluted colors (such as beige or khaki or pastels) speak “subdued” to me rather than “fun.”

White, and even cream and off-white (though the latter isn’t really a color that I wear), are bright enough that the addition one of those colors lifts my mood.

I do think that some colors that other’s *wouldn’t* classify as fun – such as certain shades of brown – are very fun colors. Cognac and chestnut, and some other medium brown tones, are so warm and make me smile. Black, charcoal gray, and chocolate brown aren’t “fun” colors to me, but they make me feel dramatic and elegant.

November 24, 2010 at 10:23 am

Mimi

I have a simple very light caramel beige t-shirt that lights up my face like no other garment. So yes, happy colour and not dirty at all.

November 24, 2010 at 10:59 am

shellbydean

I’m truly shocked to admit this, but THIS year I decided to do an experiment and try to wear some beige colors. I often refer to this color as “BLAH-ige” because it has felt so uninspiring for me. I am a warm season so I really have to watch this color on my body or I am washed out completely.

So I did it, bought a beige”y” type of colored shirt for work. Then *gasp* I found some rockin flats at DSW that made my heart sing and they were a similar color. My husband asked what I had done with his wife. LOL! I’ll admit, I have enjoyed the experiment and am wearing the color combo with a pair of pinstripe pants and I look quite fetching at work. BUT…this color does not make me HAPPY. I would say it’s the color of ‘content’ like the feeling of a nice regular cup of tea on a cold day, nice, warm relaxing…but not happy.

My happy colors are turquoise and organge. I love them and even wear them together in the spring and summer. I feel like my body is bursting to sing a show-tune that’s how happy these colors make me…

But beige…well, I’ve enjoyed my experiment but my funky red Fluevog’s are calling out for a good walkabout!

November 24, 2010 at 12:40 pm

lynne

I think “Beige” is a fabulous “neutral”-sooo “IN” currently-looks great as a canvas on which to paint your jewel tones! Or, beige can be mixed and layered with other neutral colors-creating a “totally” together look! Think about vibrating “warm” neutrals” next to “cooler” ones-. Or accenting a lighter, or medium beige with a deeper, rich cherry-chocolate color. Regardless, enjoy comparing the results! Lynne

November 24, 2010 at 1:25 pm

Active Member

I’m with you Angie, I don’t think of beige as the color of fun. I also agree with Taylor, it can definately be classic and oh so chic when worn well but that still doesn’t conjure up feelings of fun for me.

November 24, 2010 at 3:21 pm

Maria Killam

(website)

Thanks for the mention, you are so sweet! And the colour of fun for me is definitely anything but beige!!
xo
Maria

November 24, 2010 at 3:23 pm

cloud9

Veteran

Beige is one of the colors that makes me look sick. along with oatmeal. Anything muddy looking is just not my friend. Certainly not a FUN color by any standards.

November 24, 2010 at 5:07 pm

Nicole

I’m not sure if I’m going to express myself right but I think that the reason beige is the colour of elegance is *because* it is not the colour of fun. Not that fun and elegance can never go together, but I suppose my mental image of “fun” would be a bright yellow patterned sundress and running around barefoot on the grass doing cartwheels and somersaults. The dress is made of cheap cotton so you don’t have to worry about grass stains.

Whereas “elegance” would be a tailored outfit of in all neutrals. The fabrics are fine so you’d never want to risk the dry cleaning bill associated with grass stains hence cartwheels across the grass automatically precluded, and the tailoring means that you probably can’t stretch your arms all the way over your head anyway. This outfit is suitable for calmly standing around sipping cocktails in a candle lit room and participating in sophisticated conversations. This activity may be very enjoyable but to me strictly speaking you cannot call it “fun.”

Of course most people with great style can mix aspects of elegance and fun together in one outfit but in their purest forms to me beige cashmere = elegant, yellow cotton = fun.

November 25, 2010 at 3:14 pm

greenglove

(website)

Veteran

I think beige gets a bum rap. It can fun on the right person. A beige fitted T shirt with turquoise pants or skirt. Beige and black with red. All beige outfit with a great tan and copper jewelry. Beige on peaches and cream skin with coral lipstick.
Beige can be spectacular and fun if the person wears it with confidence and style. I rest my case, will never understand why so many are opposed to beige. There are also many shades of beige and all work differently with different skin tones, hair color, etc.

November 25, 2010 at 7:52 pm

Elle Darling

Member

While I like beige colored clothes I don’t think I’d choose that article of clothing to jazz up my outfit. When I think of beige I think of more professional or classic outfits, I don’t think to add it into a clubbing or party outfit. It’s a more reserved color in my opinion.

November 25, 2010 at 10:19 pm

shana

Veteran

Ummm, no…I definitely thing that people can pull it off with sophistication and polish but fun?? I could never associate beige with fun!

November 30, 2010 at 5:54 am

Mac

Veteran

I like beige in many instances, but it’s is not a “fun” colour. But, I don’t think that any of my favourite colours to wear are fun, in fact. Olive green, warm brown, charcoal grey… Luckily, “fun” isn’t something I aspire to, style-wise.

November 30, 2010 at 10:09 pm

Kim

I think it most cases I don’t associate Beige with Fun and Happy. It’s more of the dull, relaxed, unnoticed color. It’s something to wear when you don’t want to stand out … just blend in. Beige is kinda boring. I am a complete fan of grey though, which many people say is boring too. But I feel that grey can be matched with yellow, teal, orange red and look awesome. Beige …doesn’t have the same affect

July 5, 2011 at 6:53 am

Raquel

I recently went from high lighted & low lighted brown hair. To a dark aubourn. I’m a warm tone, with green eyes an slightest pink tone also. Ihad red low lights in my hair before but im more of a fan to natural colors instead of the burgandy that most hair stylest give me. I’ve had aubourn hair before an know i can pull it off. Anyways i rock my beige motorcycle jacket & red hair. Totally fun!

January 28, 2012 at 4:20 pm

Melanie

I always remember Billy Connolly saying when he got old he didn’t want to be ‘one of the beige people’, who are people he finds boring and soul-sucking (aka the fun police)!

Personally I like beige, but tend to have to mix it with another colour (orange and red work particularly well for me in combo with beige) to make it more fun. Beige alone makes me look a bit flat. That said, I’m on the look out for the right shade of camel/taupe/tan that has a bit more lift to it.

November 5, 2012 at 3:47 pm

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