Color of the Year

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Color of the Year

Did you hear? Did you hear the big news? Pantone, which I heretofore believed was a manufacturer of paint chips, has revealed the 2015 color of the year and it is…wait for it! Wait for it! MARSALA! That’s dark red to the uninformed set to which I belong, whose crayon wrappers were always missing in action back when we were pulling waxy stubs out of old cigar box.

I try very hard to picture the meetings of the Pantone Color Picker board, the heated discussions in which the Color Powers That Be determined that 2014 was a very radiant orchid year, while 2013 had more of an emerald green vibe going. All I come up with is an image of Robin Williams in a Hawaiian shirt playing all members of the board at once, each with different accents and gaits, and one of whom keeps screaming “Chartreuse is the third Mitford sister of the color wheel!”

Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, was quoted as saying, “Much like the fortified wine that gives Marsala its name, this tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal, while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness.” Dark red with red-brown roots does all that? I don’t understand it, but after seeing this clip from The Devil Wears Prada, I can’t discount it.

So it’s official: non-natural redheads, this is your year. And I assume it’s party time for these Marsala-adjacent entities.

Marsupials – I don’t know if there is a Mammal Class of the Year Picker board, but I vote for Marsupials in 2015. Actually, I vote for them every year because marsupials include numbat, bandicoots, bettongs, quolls, and quokka. All words I considered for my “Word of the Year” announcements that were floating around on Facebook last week. (I ultimately went with numbat.)

Mars – to be fair, Mars was already having its close-up during 2014, what with the Rover Curiosity mission mapping the red planet and beaming back fantastic photos of Whale Rock and the Mars outpost of Mos Eisley’s Cantina. But calling it “red” planet will not fly anymore. For the rest of 2015 let’s refer to it as the Marsala Planet, due to its shade and its “sophisticated, natural Mars-iness.”

Chicken Marsala – I’ve never cooked it, but since one of the girls renounced pork for her New Year’s Resolution (curse you, Charlotte’s Web) this year is shaping up to be Chicken Every Way Except Bacon-Wrapped. Anyway, I’m generally a fan of any dish that calls for simmering in fortified wine.

Malala. It should always be her year. Has anyone printed up a What Would Malala Do? shirt yet? If you do, please make it reddish brown and send me a sample.

Masala Bhangra. It’s still January, plenty of time to make a fitness resolution to incorporate this Bollywood dance fitness craze into the list of things you’ll give up by February. We can always wear wine colored workout clothes. WHO’S WITH ME?