Hello, Yellow

Yellow is everywhere this lemon drop-splashed autumn, more brilliant than any fall I have ever witnessed in Santa Fe. Blond leaves litter and transform sidewalks into a vision of French’s mustard-coated shag carpeting, dropping onto chamisa like awkward buttercup toupees.

From the deep summer sunflowers to this extended amber glow of early November, the canary dust is everywhere in every shade, and baby, it makes you happy.

But are you yellow-bellied when it comes to that very color of the sun?

Do you own a bright lemon dress? Pants of gold? Creamy citrine culottes? No? Well, that's just bananas. Not only is this color the number one color of happy, it's also the polar opposite of basic black.

Black. Oy, black. Now what's more chicken than wearing all black? It's total vampiric wuss wear.

No, not you art kids and "goths." I get you. Been there, done that.

As a recovering death rocker, I was a full-blown blackaholic. I even thought my blacks were colors like … I'm working my blue-black sweater with my brown-black skirt and green-black tights and yes, my black-black wingtips.

But I digress—yellow is power; it's solar; it's energizing and uplifting and it is absolutely the most immediate way to shine bright. From a dapper bow tie to a breezy skirt to a frisky bikini to a playful raincoat, it is wonderfully insouciant! And so, with winter coming, let's dust off some sunshine colored threads and SMILE. Now that's hardcore, that's punk rock.

For the norm-core fellas, Carhartt WIP (that stands for Work In Progress) has upped their work wear into a more street style line over the past few years.

Being from Detroit, you wouldn't expect their clothing to be drizzled in so much sunny honey, but yes, kids, yellow took on a major part of their Spring/Summer 2016 casual style. Structured jackets to pop-your-eyes-open hoodies, the daisy-bright color would make a bumblebee blush.

But this was ancient history. This was 2016.

Since then, yellow has hyper-blasted into the fashion world like a tangy yuzu twist in your schmancy martini.

No, not entire monochromatic egg yolk collections, but a glimmer here and bubble there to brighten the palettes of cuckoo-crazy Moschino, whose SS 2017 acid-yellow leather dress (complete with "tags" as in you are a "paper doll" to attach the said frock to your doll frame) is pure insane brilliance.

Andreas Kronthaler's debut prêt-à-porter AW 16/17 line for Vivienne Westwood was entitled Sexercise and showed a warm butter-creamy satin gown of wild architecture. It featured male togas and men's dresses of which Westwood said, "Unisex is good for the environment; couples would not have to buy so many clothes if they would just share their wardrobe." Oh, did I mention Andreas is Westwood's husband? Adorable, boo!

Back on home soil you can get your freshly squeezed sunshine smoocher on by popping into the Cos Bar (128 W Water St., 984-2676) and asking radiant assistant store manager Audrey Martinez for Giorgio Armani's Lip Maestro in #302. When I queried her about everything hello yellow, she grabbed this neon lip gloss and I protested that it was too orange. She instantly applied the kiss paint to her pucker and perfection—hot, marigold perfection! A swirling swoon of a hue that screams I-am-happy-and-quite-cute. Audrey worked it like a champ. For your talons and tootsies they have Yves Saint Laurent's nail polish in Jaune Babouche #62, which translates into yellow Moroccan heelless slippers. The color is totes New Mexico flag-yellow, blindingly bright and bold.

Lastly, if all this is too much for your now-jaundiced eyes, treat yourself to a fab turmeric shot at Modern General (637 Cerrillos Road, 930-5462). The interior decor is soothing and deliciously clean urban and gosh darn snazzy. The concoction of fresh turmeric and orange juice rimmed in crunchy black pepper and coconut oil (the pepper apparently enhances the anti-inflammatory effects of the turmeric like a million-billion percent) is wonderfully refreshing and zests you right up. I get these weekly and they boost my pep and add a zing to my step.

So get happy, snappy, loud and proud, sunshine-kissed beauties of Santa Fe. 'Cause you know what? Yellow ain't so mellow.

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