The color obsession continues! We’ve looked at color once or twice before, and it seemed to me I’m long overdue for another glance. Autumn has arrived* and with it a change in popular tones, from the cool brights of summer to the warmer jewel tones of calendar-perfect New England fall foliage.

The crystal-ball-wielding wizards at Pantone told the world what we’d be wearing (and decorating with, and even eating) this fall:

Well hello, familiar faces. That Millennial Pink and Blue look an awful lot like 2016’s co-colors of the year, Quartz and Serenity. Both pastels are certainly the least seasonal of the bunch, but their popularity can’t be denied.

My personal wardrobe tends to favor tones similar to the blueish-green Shaded Spruce, cold oceanic Navy Peony (what? navy peonies?), and the ever reliable Neutral Gray. But recently, thanks in part to some recent exposure to a delectable suite of fire opal and Imperial topaz, I’ve been contemplating rich and flamelike palette that includes Autumn Maple and Tawny Port, with a little Butterum for good measure. I blame my seasonal affinity for foods in those colors. Mmmmm, caramel…

Alas, for me, Grenadine is too garish and Golden Lime too sallow. Blame it on the blonde.

Taken as a whole, the palette seems incoherent and vaguely messy, with little harmony or pleasant relationship between colors. It’s almost as though each swatch was selected by one person as a fall favorite, and the whole lot was jumbled together with no regard for complementary hues. Individually the shades are lovely; collectively they’re a distraction.

Keep your eyes open for more examples of these colors as we head deeper into the season. Right now I think it’s time to bake another apple cake and get those cider & sea salt caramels wrapped up. Beef stew, anyone?

*It’s September folks, and I’ve already gone apple picking. The best season has begun, and I’m not sorry.