What’s Your Nude?

by: Isa Sesay  

photo: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

So you walk into your local department store looking to buy some flesh tone stockings for your interview tomorrow. You see a clerk and say “Hi I’m looking for some flesh-tone stockings to wear.” She then says, “What color were you looking for?” and then the trouble begins.

Now, depending on your skin tone an array of answers may be of choice. If you are of a lighter pigmentation you may say fair, pale, or sun kissed. If you are a darker complexion you might say brown, toffee, or something that looks like me. And for those that lie somewhere in the middle you probably ask for nude, only to receive a pair of stockings that don’t seem to look anything like the nude you were hoping for – yours!

Nude, what does that mean anyways? I always thought nude was what you saw in the mirror as soon as you hopped out the shower; you know your birthday suit. So, whatever color you happen to be looking at should be considered nude right? After all, it is your skin. Unfortunately, the world of fashion hasn’t caught on to that quite yet, or maybe they are so fashion forward there is a new word for the rest of the 80% of the population (just guessing here) that doesn’t seem to match that color. Personally, I’ve owned three pairs of shoes, two bars, and one disgusting pair of granny panties.  All these items were different shades of nude yet not one even came close to matching my skin color. So now what is a girl to do? Well to answer that question plainly – suffer! We suffer, we cry, we complain, we search like crazy on the web for alternatives. If we’re lucky, we get refereed to Nude Barre (sixteen shades of nude undergarments) by a friend who has been delivered from a discolored personal hell. Seriously though for some this nude color complex is an ongoing issue, but luckily, it seems as if brands and designers have heard our distant cries and been bit by the ‘Nude Barre bug’ so to speak.

Last year, the beacon of the designer red bottom sole, Christian Louboutin released 5 Shades of Nude pumps for all shades as well the Louboutin Shades  app to choose your nude – now that’s what I call an upgrade. Christian Louboutin decided to step out and fill the void felt by so many of their customers possibly looking for a nude shoe they never knew existed. And if it’s good enough for Louboutin, it’s good enough for me. I believe it’s time we live in an equal opportunity world of nude in shoes, clothes, and most importantly undergarments.

So I guess the real question is what’s your nude?