March 10, 2014

A couple of weekends ago I was catching up on some television and stumbled onto The Graham Norton Show. I was initially taken in by the vibrant colors he uses on his show and, interestingly enough, on his website. This almost-but-not-quite Radiant Orchid hue is quite captivating and it creates a very luscious environment that is the perfect “eye candy” backdrop to his invigorating but sometimes silly talk show. But there are times we need some relaxing silly stuff.

Not only was the stage enticing, his line up that night was exceptional. Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Hugh Bonneville were there to talk about The Monuments Men, a book I am currently reading.

What really got me giggling was the fact that three of the four people on the stage including Graham Norton himself, were all wearing a similar shade of red. That fact was not lost on Hugh and was not even mentioned until nearly 27 minutes in. Hugh refers to this shade as a deep red. I would place it in the Eggplant, Oxblood Red, Port or Cordovan range.

Eggplant (aka Aubergine), is considered a classic in the world of fashion. It is one of the Crossover colors that is explained in my book, “More Alive With Color”. This is a color that looks good on all skin tones and it is a hue that is readily seen in nature and works well with many other colors. 

On another interesting Hugh Bonneville note, as the Earl of Grantham on Downton Abbey, he is a very aristocratic character and wears a range of traditional English colors on the show. There has been a lot of purple on Downton Abbey—especially first in the mauves because it is considered the color of “half mourning after a death,” worn after a prescribed period of time. Lady Mary, the lord’s widowed daughter, wears black immediately after her husband’s passing, then moves on to mauve as her grief dissipates somewhat  and then ultimately blossoms forth in more elegant purples and purplish wines.

Take a moment or an hour to watch the clip or the entire Graham Norton show as it was certainly worth the respite from my preparations for presentations at the Housewares Show to be held in Chicago from March 15 through the 18th. If you don’t have an hour to watch his show, the really funny stuff begins at 27:20.

Anyone got a woolly jumper and a lippy I can borrow?