Let me be the first to note that Orange has reached its cultural perhelion. Don’t get me wrong: orange is my favorite color. In many ways, I _am_ orange. And I own both an orange Vespa and an orange KTM.

But as with other cultural ephemera — from leg warmers to trucker hats and from Vuarnets to Seven jeans — colors have an arc that must begin and end. I remember returning from Amsterdam in 1999, having noted how much orange I saw over there. While the fact that orange is the national color of the Netherlands accounts for some of that, this was on the street - jackets and such. Orange has since became more and more popular, culminating in this year’s last huge gasp in Central Park. My friend Vasco says it looked like Home Depot had taken over, what with the cheap-looking PVC and orange industrial netting — a perfectly mass-market American take on the Tibetan prayer flag motif.

Personally, I remain committed, but from here on out I see orange in decline. Fair enough, I think it’s time for a new color. Unfortunately, the design gods seem to have decided that purple and green — *together* — are what we need. I find myself wearing a lot of grey - even more versatile than black! But that will get old soon.

What’s your call on which color is next to hit big?