Turquoise 15-5519 : Pantone, are you serious?

Pantone's 2010 color of the year

It has been a few weeks since I read that Pantone chose Turquoise 15-5519 as the color of 2010. I quickly took out my Pantone textile fan, saw the color, and thought, “Ugh. What were they thinking?” I don’t dislike the color. I love turquoise and have for as long as I can remember. I have it all over my house. But, it just doesn’t resonate as the right fashion forward choice for 2010 as Mimosa did for 2009. Even at that, I thought the color of Mimosa was a perfect fit and a vibrant color for 2009, given the economic uncertainty of the time. However, the name didn’t match the actual color. My mimosas have always have a redder cast, making it more orange, you know, from the orange juice!?

Turquoise isn’t just one color, it is a range of hues and depths. So, I’m not complaining about the name that is attached to the color. I’m just struggling with the color or range choice. There are all around us lately stunning purples, carnations, jewel tones, robin’s egg blues that are refreshing and welcoming. I am struggling,…..

There are so many beautiful shades of turquoise out here. I expected a cleaner, lighter, less yellow version of turquoise. The one they chose is quite heavy, retro and has been out there for a few years now. As I said, it is all over my house. But, my house is a mid-century modern with a mid-century color palette.

I am appealing to anyone out there who reads this to share his or her opinion of the color choice wth me. Please also share your insight as to why this is the correct color choice for 2010. We know that since they chose it, people will buy it. I am resisting the need to immediately add some pillow fabrics from my line that use this color. Thankfully, some of my pillows already do.