February
February to me is all about THIS colour!
Soft Aqua.
It is dusty, it is muted, it is chalky and cloudy. It is the colour of the icebergs and the sea in the polar regions, imagined with big grey skies overhead. The sea is quite calm, yet perishingly icy. The sea hisses with a sssssssssss. It is steely and tealy at the same time.
In February, I always think the sky’s daylight has an exceedingly cool tone to it. Nothing about it is warm. Outside we see snowdrops poke their heads above the parapet of winter for the first time. Most bulbs that appear with their grey-green leaves are very cool in tone – nothing juicy or ripe about them. The only flowers we see are cool dusky palest pinks (Viburnum, Daphne, perhaps) and the odd lemon yellow (Mahonia, perhaps). No juice of spring has yet arrived. Snowdrops: Galanthus –
It is the colour of cool minty-green atmosphere at 15,000 ft. Mountain air, perhaps. We are in the height of the ski season after all. The word I chose to describe February’s light quality is moraine. It is quite glacial. Gone are the vibrant midnight blues and warm purples of winter and Christmas. Gone are the warm festive hues of bottle green, cranberry red and gold. Gone are the deep blue greys of January. Yet we are still, I feel, in the throes of winter – snow could come at any time. We are not yet into the greens and yellows of true spring.
February: from my style notebook.
If you were going to categorize it, February has a lightness to it. It is winter, with added daylight. The days are lengthening at a ferocious pace (4 mins 30 secs per day extra daylight, calculated, where I live). February bleeds into spring, with its enhanced sun record. That lightness is light greeny grey-blue. And it happens to be one of my favourite colours!
Here are some of my February colour inspirations that I found:
Toni&Guy Spray Gel – I found this in Boots. Mainly bought because of the colour of its packaging, I have to say!
Acrylic Artists Ink – my own. Faux Fur Scarf in Soft Aqua – River Island sale for £5. Soft Aqua Feather Earring – Boots.
Feather earrings – as before. Turquoise and aqua beaded necklace – Kam Yip.
Soft mint / aqua silk top – my own.
Steely blue-greeny-grey tartan lambswool scarf – Johnstons.
Sequined scarf – my own. I don’t remember where it came from but it is good to liven up an outfit with its sequins. NB: This colour of soft aqua also gives us connotations of mermaids and marine-ness (think dulled, green, underwater sequins and shimmery scales) – and yet it is not spearmint turquoise.
So, February brings with it (for me anyway) the colour of icebergs and frozen water, the colour of sea at the poles (almost petrol, but greener, icier, lighter), and frozen duck ponds, surrounded by snowdrops. The whiff of sweet Mahonia x media is the only relief and sign that spring is just round the corner! Happy February!
Annie