Grey and yellow, 2021 colors of the year

According to color-matching specialists Pantone, yellow and grey make perfect sense when ringing in (the highly anticipated) new year. Technically, the colors chosen are PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating.

But why?

Grey is described as “solid and dependable” while a shade of sunny yellow is “sparkling with vivacity”. "The colours have been partnered to convey a message of strength and hopefulness (and boy do we need it after this year!)," says Pantone's in-house florist Vicky Wilson on their website.

The company has chosen to pair the colors with a floral scheme they are touting for weddings and interior decorating. They tell me, "As we know weddings have been off the cards for many this year, but with those planning for next year, our team provide the best recommendations for a bride or groom wanting to incorporate the Pantone Colours of the Year into their wedding day."

But what flowers lend themselves to the grey and yellow Pantone Colors of 2021? "Lots!" says Day. (Note, writing from the UK, her spellings are British, natch)."Whilst you might immediately think of golden sunflower fields or jugs filled with cheery daffs, there are far more yellow flowers to be found in your local florist. Yellow garden roses, smile-inducing gerbera, sweet-scented mimosa and lilies to name just a few. Then there’s craspedia, the little balls of mustard-yellow blooms on sculptural silvery stems. They were made for this trend."

I can attest that these colors are perfect for the new year because each has made a mark on my heart. As a little girl I was sent to the Wendy Ward Modeling School (not sure if that was its real name) because my family thought I needed to become more graceful. Rebellious and annoyed, even at age 6 or whatever I was, rather than choose a properly cheery floral dress I chose a smart all-grey number for the fashion show.

Further ago than that, I prounced yellow "lellow", which of course everyone thought was adorable, so that became my favorite color. As I got older and my mother would mention it was my favorite, I would agree, even as I silently wondered if teal was stealing a piece of my heart.

I may just have to find some of those grey roses that their florist mentions - though one caveat, having lived in London I can attest that their flower selection is often better than ours. The climate is different and resplendent roses explode from gardens as ubiquitously as squirrels do here. That said, Day says: "There are lots of silvery-grey or grey-blue foliages out there that can be used in bouquets and arrangements. Eucalyptus is one of my favourites to work with (it’s beautifully aromatic too). I also love Stachys, or lamb's ears, with its soft velvety texture and silvery colour and cineraria which adds a lovely texture to a bouquet. Flower wise Earl Grey roses are perfect for this colour trend. Their light grey petals give way to a slightly lavender centre. Gorgeous!"

Color of the Year has been around two decades, but this is only the second time the company has chosen two instead of just one color, like Classic Blue last year. In 2006 the colors were Rose Quartz and Serenity, a shade of pale blue.

Photo: Interflora

Correction: an earlier version of this blog stated that this was the first time Pantone selected two colors.