A little over 300 years ago, Joseph Addison wrote, “Colours speak all languages, but words are understood only by such a people or nation.” He was writing about the pleasures of the imagination and arguing that the written word incites the imagination more than imagery. He also suggested that how enthusiastically people respond to the written word is influenced by their capacity for engaging their imagination while reading. I like the idea that color speaks all languages, but it is hooey.

First of all, even within people speaking the same language, men and women see color differently. Women see more shades of color than men and describe the colors differently. Beyond that, colors have cultural values that vary from place to place. There is a very cool interactive chart here. White is the color of mourning in East and of bridal innocence in the West. Red is lucky in China and dangerous in Europe and North America.

However, no matter what the cultural subtext color choices may bring, no one can deny that this gorgeous Ethnic Jacket from Purple Moon will being an entire conversation to your closet.
I paired it with this gorgeous pencil skirt from Maitreya. The skirt details including the black back and the leather detailing make it seem to have been made for this jacket.
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