Studying Jennifer Lopez's street style is a lesson in color coordination for the one percent. Whether Lopez wants to stack four shades of blueberry hues or mix up her outfit formula with springy greens, the singer almost always commits to a palette with pieces in similar shades and an extremely expensive designer bag to match. Lopez has lately been in the mood for only white and cream outfits, but she took the long Memorial Day weekend to play with color theory in a brighter-than-usual outfit.
On Monday, May 27, Lopez visited a friend in Beverly Hills in a vibrant update to her rehearsal uniform. A pink, yellow, and white tie-dye crop top with a red Gucci illustration replaced her neutral hoodies, while a green and tan Louis Vuitton bag stepped in for her Hermès Birkin. Only her casual white parachute pants were consistent with recent outfits.
While Lopez made sure to coordinate her outfit with a rare designer bag—in this case, a limited-edition version of Louis Vuitton's Alma top-handle purse—she otherwise broke with the style patterns established on her recent outings. Between rehearsals for the This Is Me...Now tour, traveling to promote her sci-fi epic Atlas, and deflecting speculation about her marriage with Ben Affleck, Lopez has largely stuck to a palette almost entirely devoid of color.
Stopping by her Los Angeles dance studio, she's worn neutral sweats and coordinating sneakers by Joah Brown, Free People Movement, Alo Yoga, and Allbirds. Jetting between Atlas promotional events in the U.S. and Mexico, she's traveled in comfortable Alaïa skirt sets before changing into glittering jumpsuits and ruffled sheer Chloé gowns—all in a stark, black-and-white color scheme. Some, but not all, of those outings came with a matching Birkin bag in a creamy colorway (and a resale value in the tens of thousands).
Lopez's springy sweatpants might have been fashion psychology at work. In some academic circles, deliberately choosing bright shades is a form of color theory known as "dopamine dressing." The thinking goes that if you wear cheerful, upbeat colors, your mood will rise to meet the outfit occasion.
Only Lopez and her styling team (lately, the duo Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn) can say whether or not the singer is breaking out of her monochromatic mold for good—or whether there's any special meaning behind the wardrobe choice. At the very least, her cheerful tie-dye top is incentive to give the look another try as spring turns into summer.
