I was thinking about how I would describe color to someone who couldn’t see. Who’s never had a sudden emotional reaction to a fleeting sunset, while doing something mundane like sitting in traffic.To the particular muted green of a decades old olive tree as its hues dance in a breeze. A collage of fall leaves on a sidewalk. Because color is never just the physical hue. It carries within it an energy that moves something in us. That has the power to stop us in our tracks. My description would be that color is like music for your eyes. Like that particular song you turn on, that shifts you into a certain mood. Color shifts us in the same way.
I’ve been really inspired by Jenny Walton’s new book, Jenny Sais Quoi: Adventures in Vintage & Personal Style. It’s a beautiful mix of writings about her personal style, her artworks and photographs with a scrapbook vibe. It’s chock full of color and has been an incredible source of visual inspiration for me. When I feel like I need a dose of joy, I open it to a random page and just sit it on my desk while I work, and slowly feed off of the pages while the hues dance in my peripheral vision.
One of the pages with a mix of blues particularly spoke to me. It made me think about how blue is such a strong calming force. There’s something about it that just feels vast and endless. That feeling of smallness you get when standing by an ocean with its incredible power, and simultaneous calm. As I flipped through more pages I thought of a look I wanted to create, that would express some of that same energy. Layers and depth, movement and whimsy. Later that week my photographer Marie and I were taking photos of this look, in front of a beautiful historic building we found. A few women passed us, and all commented on the outfit. Smiling wide. I could tell that the energy of this mood was contagious. Happy and confident, strong and joyful. One of the women twirled in a circle as I commented on her own blue look which matched my shades of blue all too perfectly. We both laughed that she should join our shoot and I did a twirl back. Thinking about her now and that fleeting moment of sparkle among two strangers makes me smile. I could tell that it vividly brightened her day for that quick moment, as it did mine.
It reminded me of a feeling I had briefly, while walking on a busy Manhattan street, during my last trip to New York, and seeing a butterfly flutter by. So whimsically unexpected among the honks of cars, grey buildings, and the relentless hum that is the hum of New York City. Fleetingly sharing its carefree beauty and whimsy for those who noticed. It was a feeling of joy I wanted to bottle up, and keep in the back of my mind, like a little beam of light in a pretty vessel. To open up when I’m feeling blue and unsure of myself. Unsure of a creative direction, artistic integrity versus the business of being a content creator in 2026, and for when I wonder if what I do matters at all. To have it float up and remind me that however fleeting the mood created is, we all need those butterfly moments. Those moments when you’re just going about your day and something takes you out of your head and reminds you about the beauty of life. Of how magical it is to be alive. To remind me that I create these butterfly moments and share them with those who notice. And that no matter how different we all might be, we are all still part of the same color wheel, even if the tones of all the blues are an endlessly vast range. All turning and flowing together. And that is a kind of “feeling blue” I can really get behind. No onto the fashion of it all!
