Icy vs. Pastel

icy or pastel?

A client asked me if I could elaborate on the subject icy colours. Because, as she said, knowing that there is a difference is one thing, knowing how to differenciate the two in real life is quite another matter. How do we determine if a colour is icy or pastel? The easy answer, of course, is that there is grey in the pastel. But how do we SEE the grey? One of the more difficult calls, in my view. Partly because I find they are almost all pastels. It is hard to find examples of icy colours to compare with. And as always, it is only by comparing that we can discern colours.

I set out to create a catalogue (linked to further down) where I would collect examples of icy and pastel colours. And I agree, it is not simple. You stumble upon an image of a top in a delicate, light colour. But is it icy? Does it have the slightest hint of grey in there? Then it is not icy. My conclusion after hunting high and low for tops in icy colours, is that they are few and far between. Le sigh… the summers and springs hae a much easier task picking their lighter colours. The default seems to be pastels, and then we hit upon an icy gem once in, say, one out of ten. If even that much. Have a look at the catalogue, see what you think.

You may agree or disagree on the calls I made, but this is how I saw them today. Ask me tomorrow, I may say something different.

Here is a link to the catalogue: ICY VS: PASTEL