Do you think that the trend for ombre is on its way out? That’s how it seems to me ~ no longer is my Pinterest feed filled with toned tights and layered cakes like it used to be.

 

5 plates - designlump.etsy.com

{designlump – 5 plates}

 

sef - sine wave

{sef – sine wave}

 

But I must confess that even though I’m not one for dip-dyed hair or cardigans, I still have a secret hankering for all things gradated. From when I was small and I first discovered drawing, I loved seeing how I could change the pressure on my pencil and make light gradually become dark. I loved arranging my big collection of coloured pencils into rainbows, and sorting my dolls by size. I loved being visually sucked down the train lines to where the tracks converge; looking from the horizon to the sky and seeing the soft shift in tone and the halo surrounding the sun.

It was what I found so seductive about the desert. Those sand dunes? Smooth.

 

nel linsen - necklace

{nel linsen – paper necklace}

 

 

hiroshi sugimoto - seascape at cape breton

{hiroshi sugimoto – seascape at cape breton}

 

 

Rosa Frei - Sahara desert of Morocco

{Rosa Frei – Sahara desert of Morocco}

 

Like all design elements, I think gradation will never go out of fashion. It just has to be used well.

So what do you think? Do you have some embarrassing ombre in your wardrobe or home? Think carefully about why you no longer like it – perhaps it’s not the effect itself, maybe it just wasn’t used well in the first place.