it's not easy being green

Tommy Ton from style.com

For as long as I can remember, except for a brief and requisite love affair with the color purple at age eleven, green has always been “my favorite color,” as children so fondly say. Today, upon proclaiming my love for this verdant hue to friends who still bother to ask, I inevitably receive quizzical stares, followed by: “but I never see you wear green.” While I’m pretty sure wearing one’s favorite color for said reason alone went out with middle school, I get their point. I wear every color— but green. Even on St. Patrick’s Day, you can usually catch me in black, blue, or even fuchsia.

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The main reason for this deliberate oversight? Well, it’s simple really. They just don’t make many green clothes. Apparently, Americans favor red, white, and blue garments (surprise, surprise), and retailers faithfully deliver. How many green dresses do you see on the red carpet? Or at prom? Or even just walking down the street? And how many of those are worn by women without red hair?

Green has traditionally been reserved for state flags, cricket uniforms, singing puppets, and yes, redheads. I’m happy to say, however, that that’s all changing. Not only are retailers offering green to the masses, it’s also quite the fashionable color at the moment. Emerald, forest, hunter, kelly, lime, mint, olive—there are more variants in shades of green than perhaps any other color of the rainbow, and just as many sartorial options this season.

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Read on to see how you can "go green" this season...

Going Green

Fall is the perfect time to opt for a rich forest green coat as a unique alternative to the standard navy, black or grey topper. For a dash of sophisticated 70s flair, pair a pea green silk bow blouse with a pencil skirt. And if you’re still loving the colored denim trend from the summer, bottle green jeans keep your look fresh and fashion-forward. For just a touch of viridian (yes, that’s another shade of green!), nothing is classier than a croc-embossed top-handle handbag to complement fall’s ladylike styles.

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So now that you’ve got the green in your wardrobe, the million dollar question that’s historically plagued me (and ultimately kept my closet a green-free zone): what other colors do you wear it with?! Notoriously hard to match, green is fortunately worry-free this season because, as you’ve probably gathered by now—everything goes. Try a celadon button-down with a hunter green cropped pant for a tone-on-tone look. Or for greater contrast—and more autumnal effect, pair your emerald green with burgundy, plum, or mustard; while quieter options include grey, beige and camel. And in perhaps the greatest chromatic surprise of all: green and red no longer spell C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S (but proceed with caution nonetheless!).

Even if green isn’t your favorite color, at least it’s now a viable (ahem) option. Hey, it’s easy being green.

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You can catch this article, and other fashion fodder by yours truly, on divanee.com.