Every year it’s fun to find out what the “Pantone Color of the Year” is. This is not because I am on the cutting edge of fashion or interested in what people in New York City think.  I like to do it just to make fun of the descriptions they use for colors.

For instance, in 2000 they decided that the color of that year was “Cerulean”. For the rest of us this is blue.  More specifically, it’s the blue of blue jeans after they’ve been washed enough to be really comfortable. Cerulean was “the color of the millennium, a color of inner peace and fulfillment in the midst of uncertainty.” Ha ha ha ha ha. Who knew that inner peace and fulfillment were blue? But wait, maybe they’re not crazy…inner peace and fulfillment are exactly what you feel when your jeans are really comfortable.

In 2018 the color of the year was Ultraviolet (purple) because Ultraviolet is mysterious, dramatic and imaginative. This must be why kings in ancient times wore purple. They wanted everyone to know they were mysterious, dramatic and imaginative. Right up until they cut off someone’s head. That kind of ruined the image. Nowadays, many older ladies like to wear purple. It makes them look just as mysterious, dramatic and imaginative as the ancient kings…until they put on a red hat.

The color of the year for 2021 was gray. Nothing fancy here, just plain ol’ gray. Supposedly it’s because gray is “rock solid and practical”. But most likely, between the pandemic and all the craziness in the world, most people were turning gray. 

In 2017 the color was “Greenery”. Now we all know that there are lots of different shades of green. This color is kind of a cross between John Deere green and Steiger green, or corn when it’s just 4” tall. It’s a nice color. No wonder we have lots of it around here. 

So, by now you are no doubt sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what the color of the year is this year. The color of the year for 2022 is “Very Peri”. 

For the rest of us, this is blue. Supposedly, “Very Peri” (short for periwinkle blue) is a color that “displays a spritely, joyous attitude and a dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expressions”. Yep, they really said that. About a color. Ha ha ha ha ha. Very Peri isn’t even blue-jean blue. It’s kind of purpley blue, the kind that you see on the Mohawk of the kid that is sacking your groceries. I guess that’s what they mean by courageous creativity. 

The thing about color is that everybody likes different ones. That’s why cars don’t come in just black anymore. That’s why clothes and tractors and phones don’t either. People like what they like.

And I don’t know why those folks in New York City think that anybody listens to them about what color is best, but I’m sure glad they do it, because every year it gives the rest of us a real good laugh.