2012's Hottest Color Is ...

Orange is bold and upbeat—but may not last

Orange is making a comeback in everything from dishware to dresses to eyeliner in 2012, the Wall Street Journal reports. Don't quite believe it? Well, Sephora is designing orange eyelashes from feathers, and Pantone is calling "tangerine tango" the color of the year.

It apparently boosts sales, too: "If you've got a bunch of products on a shelf, it can't hurt to have an orange one," says a color expert who advises retailers on how to make products stand out.

So why orange? A paint manufacturer says it's a "powerful mood modifier, reflecting passion, power, and festivity"—in other words, an antidote to the recession.

But orange was hot in the 1920s, '60s, and '80s, all economically heady times. Perhaps it's part of a renaissance of Asian colors, says one analyst.

Either way, buyer beware: It may be too loud to last. "Our thing is to provide quality fashions that will last a long time," says one California boutique owner. "Orange might not be around" for long.