Pantone Autumn/Winter 2025 - London Color Palette: Hot Chocolate, Fig and Cumulous Cloud

These are the last three colors on the London Color Palette for Autumn/Winter 2025. These are not exact matches, but you can see the actual colors in this pin. I would not have thought to pair these three colors together, but these are what was left after using the other colors on the palette. The reality is, you can pair any colors and create a beautiful outfit by focusing on textures and accessories. Let’s look at the details.

This is a very basic, casual look, but we are all at different stages in life and an outfit like this is perfect for a day of running errands and meeting your girlfriends for lunch. It is comfortable, and warm. Today, I am starting something new. For each piece I am wearing I am going to add a Why I Like It sentence or two, to help you understand my Fashion Philosophy a little better.

Let’s start with my Cumulous Cloud, Christopher & Banks vest. This medium gray is not a color I reach for very often, but I do have a few pieces that are similar to this color. I think it can be a great neutral, but the medium to light grays have a tendency to wash me out, but I don’t let that keep me from wearing the color, I just try to find other ways to bring more color to my face, like a scarf, or even my makeup scheme. I didn’t do as well with that for this outfit, but I still like how this look turned out.

Why I Like It: I have always been a vest girl, and while I am not thrilled with the color, I do love the texture on the front of this piece. It is also a perfect neutral to pair with many other pieces and colors.

My Fig button down is a thrifted Van Heusen men’s shirt. I probably could have found a shirt that was closer to the almost reddish purple, but I ran out of steam. Burgundy might be a better choice.

Why I Like It: It’s purple, what other reason do I need? Ha, ha. There is something about the simplicity of a man’s button down. There’s no lace, no texture, just a basic shirt with a nice pattern. Sometimes simple, masculinity is a nice change from feminine frills.

This color was not popular on my affiliate website, so you are on you own for finding dark purple pieces. If you do a Google search there are a things that pop up.

Next up is the color Hot Chocolate. This color was on the New York Palette (you can see that post here), and these thrifted SO jeans are a little light, but again, it is what was closest in my closet.

Why I Like It: I have always liked the casual vibe of a utility pant, coat or vest. The fact that these are also jeans makes it even more fun, plus I was thrilled to find jeans in a different color. Any brown pants I have are dress pants.

I tried this look with several iterations of layered necklaces, but it just wasn’t working. Finally, I started going through my scarves and immediately knew this thrifted piece was the perfect accompaniment.

Why I Like It: I specifically liked it for this outfit due to the inclusion of every color - Cumulous Cloud, Hot Chocolate and Fig. I think it pulls the whole look together. I bought it because it is different. It is not the traditional square or oblong scarf, and it has that beautiful fringe detail.

Finally, I chose my thrifted, suede Keds sneakers, a cute backpack for my bag, and a simple bead necklace that was made years ago by my oldest daughter.

Why I Like It: The sneakers are more like shoes than sneakers due to their being dark brown and made of suede. I know these things aren’t even an issue any more, but back in the day, sneakers were white and typically not suede.

The backpack bag was a purchase made in the last couple of years as a travel item. I think I got it at our local Meijer.

While my daughter originally made this necklace when she was into beading and trying to sell jewelry, I obtained it when she was getting rid of a bunch of stuff. I love the color and the cute little dangly bead.

What do you think of these colors? Would you wear a casual outfit like this? What pieces do you have in your closet in these colors? I love to have your feedback so feel free to leave a comment or two.

I’ve included a few shopping links for you to look over. These are affiliate links. What I have found with these Pantone colors is that they are not always available at the retailers used with the affiliate, so that is why you don’t see links for everything. However, this is for your inspiration and to get you to look at your closet with new eyes.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Pantone Spring/Summer - 2020 - Introduction: The London Palette

Tuesday I finished the New York Palette for the Pantone Spring/Summer 2020 season. I am not sure why they decided to start doing two palettes every season, but several years ago, they began posting both a New York and a London palette. I am sure it has something to do with the Fashion influence in both of these large metropolitan areas. Regardless, I like to make you aware of these color palettes, not to raise your awareness of the Pantone entity, but to show you how wonderful color is and to challenge you to think outside the box when it comes to combining and wearing colors.

Today I am introducing you to the London Color Palette. Many of the colors, while similar have different names and somewhat different shading. The Classic color palette is similar in that it contains a beige, white, dark navy blue and gray. I was just thinking it would be fun to do a Pantone series where the focus is on the classic colors with the other colors used to accessorize and compliment an outfit. Unfortunately, for this blogger, I don’t have many pieces that are just classic colors. Yes I do have a few things that are tan, white, navy and gray, but probably not enough to create a whole series of outfits, but then, if those proponents of capsule wardrobes could do it, I suppose I could too. I’ll have to think on that over the summer and see what the fall colors looks like.

I will confess, I haven’t even started putting outfits together for this series. Ha, ha. Rather than making that a priority over the last week, I was changing out my seasonal wardrobe and purging some things from my closet. I am trying everything on. With weight gain and post menopausal weight distribution changes I am finding many things I have don’t fit any more. Rather than hanging on to things with the hopes of losing weight and changing how my body looks, I’ve decided it is a good time to pare down and reevaluate what I feel comfortable in and what makes me feel confident. Many tees and tank tops are too tight, not only around the waist, but through the arms. Isn’t it crazy what just a few pounds can do?

Because of my lack of planning I am posting a number of pictures from my photographer’s fine arts gallery to coordinate with the colors from this London Palette. You can visit Rebecca’s Fine Arts page here. Right now, through me, if you find something your want to purchase you get a 15% discount on your order if you use the code STYL2020. If you are looking for a colorful, natural photo to make a wall pop be sure to check out her site.

Classic Blue

Beetroot Purple

Blanc de Blanc

Blossom

Blueberry

Blush Beauty

Bossa Nova

Cuban Sand

Fiery Red

Flame Orange

Heritage Blue

Rose Brown

Storm

Tanager Turquoise

Yellow Iris

I saw an amazing Instagram post from Arnold Schwarzenegger just last week, where he was giving a speech to the graduates of 2020. It was about ten minutes long and I’ve included it with this post. It was so encouraging and up lifting. He said one thing that really stood out to me about having a vision and keeping that vision in our minds as we work, train, learn and grow towards obtaining it. He knowingly shared that there will always be obstacles to overcome, but it is in that overcoming that we grow and finally obtain our dreams or visions.

I really felt encouraged to take that idea to heart. I want to lose weight. The weight I am at right now, is not comfortable for me and I don’t feel happy with it. The excess pounds are hard on my joints and on my heart. I have a vision to be a certain weight and to be healthier, so I am trying to keep that vision in mind as I evaluate what I can do differently in my eating habits, exercise and mind set to achieve that goal. In addition, I want to make a living at writing. In the same way, I am envisioning being an author for pay and trying to develop a plan for how to obtain that dream. Both of these things will take work. I have no doubt that I will fail, repeatedly, but instead of giving up, I want to dust myself off and start over. I don’t want to slide into that mindset of, “I can’t do this, so I might as well not try.”

God’s Word says,

“13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

— Philippians 4:13 (NASB)

I was also reading in My Utmost for His Highest the other day and Oswald Chambers said this:

“It is a continual struggle not to listen to the moods which arise as a result of our physical condition, but we must never submit to them for a second. We have to pick ourselves up by the back of the neck and shake ourselves; then we will find that we can do what we believed we were unable to do. The problem that most of us are cursed with is simply that we won’t. The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh.”

— My Utmost for His Highest - May 20 - Oswald Chambers

Moods are a huge thing for me. When I am up, I feel like I can get tons of things accomplished. When I am feeling down, I feel like am dragging my feet through sticky mud and can’t make progress in any area. Moods affect my productivity and my relationships to people and to myself. I think I need to do a whole blog post on just that idea, so maybe I’ll save that for later.

We don’t have to be failures. Yes we will fail. We will have obstacles thrown into our paths and for many of us that is a pretty regular occurrence, but they do not define who we are or what we can accomplish. Our perception and our belief have more to do with what we ultimately think about ourselves.

If the Pantone Color Institute can go about defining the color industry for thousands of businesses, fashion gurus and retail shoppers like us, than why can’t each of us have a vision for ourselves as to what we want to do and what we want to be? Let’s make it happen.

Graphic and photos by Rebecca Trumbull. Also see Fine Arts Page for purchasable photos for your home or office. Use STYL2020 for 15% off your order.

Check out this graduation speech from Arnold. It is well worth the watch. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend everyone. Stay safe.