There was a time when I walked through life in muted tones, like a black-and-white photograph—familiar, digestible…easy. I write like that time was years ago, a distant memory, but it hasn’t completely left me.
I used to be a colorful person. I know, if you’re a close friend reading this, you wouldn’t be able to tell if you came to my house or, even more, took a step inside my closet.
Bear with me.
Here’s where that began. After Fashion School, fashioning myself started to feel like a task. Ironically, between the everyday demands of college and personal trials/trauma, which I will gradually share through this newsletter series, my personal vibrancy started to fade.
Then, when I moved to New York—the concrete jungle— my muted color palette felt appropriate, almost necessary to keep up, keep it simple, and keep in budget.
My hues of grays and blacks blended seamlessly with the rhythm of the city, and I allowed myself to dissolve into the background.
It has been nearly six years since I began to lose saturation—six years since I subconsciously decided that standing out felt too loud, too bold. So, I shrank into muted tones, not just in how I dressed but in how I showed up in life.
But here’s the truth I’ve come to understand: living in muted tones might feel safe, and easy but it’s not fulfilling. It’s a compromise.
Here’s where you might resonate, somewhere along the line, I let the world convince me that boldness—my audacity—was something to be tamed.
One day I clearly understood that the world won’t beg or give you permission to increase your saturation — we have to do that for ourselves.
It’s time to turn the saturation back up. It’s time to live in color again.
This may come as a surprise to some who know me. I’ve never been completely dull—I’ve fought hard to maintain some semblance of vibrancy, ensuring that my occasional lack thereof wouldn’t raise questions or become a cause for concern.
Recently, though, I asked myself, what would it feel like to turn up the saturation? To live a life that loudly embraces every aspect of my current self. A life where I dared to show up wrapped in fuchsias, cobalt blues, canary yellows, and golds - unapologetic, like the vibrant people on my vision boards.
We are nearing the close of 2024, and while on a sunlit street in Oaxaca, Mexico, I realized that my saturation had increased.
I found this beautiful golden wall, the perfect backdrop for my boyfriend to capture a photo of me to freeze the moment in time.
I felt like I was back at home.
My outer color was finally becoming a reflection of my inner color.
Every color on my Kai Collective shirt told a story: the pinks spoke of joy, the yellows hummed with hope, and the purples communicated the bold promise I was making to myself.
I know, I’m known to be dramatic (it’s one of my favorite personality traits, lol), but seriously, y’all, this shirt wasn’t just part of my fit—it was a reflection of the life I was relearning to live.
Dressing in color isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a declaration. It’s saying, I am here, I belong, and I’m not afraid to take up space.
Art imitates life, and vice versa. So, If the world is a gallery, then we owe it to ourselves to be masterpieces in the MoMa—not just sketches or drafts hidden in our notebooks.
Dressing in color, living in color, thinking in color—it’s all connected. The more vibrant we allow ourselves to be in one area, the more it seeps into the others.
This journey to keeping my increased saturation will start with small things. My bright purple coat on a gloomy day. A little extra blush when my outfit feels bland. A seasonal plush pillow on my grey couch. And slowly, bled into every part of my life.
You and I both know the truth: We weren’t meant to live a life in black & white. We were meant to live a life in color.
So here’s my invitation: Don’t be shy. Increase the saturation in your life. Start with something simple like your clothing, and before you know it, you’ll find your whole life painted as vibrantly as the masterpiece you’ve always envisioned.
Tyshaia
loved every bit of this
Yes, We’re made to live life in colour. My partner and I have been discussing how our closets have become almost entirely black and neutral over the past few years. We attributed it to wanting to build a functional wardrobe that ‘just works’. But we’re noticing how this choice correlates with the lack of creative expression, playfulness, levity, and inner quiet joy that comes with the feeling of wearing a colour that makes you feel good. And colour looks so damn good on Black women, of course it would make us feel good! 🥰