And on the other hand, there's orange.

More advice from Emily Post

A SUGGESTION TO THOSE WHO MIND SUNBURN
No advice is intended for those who have a skin that either does not burn at all, or turns a beautiful smooth Hawaiian brown; but a woman whose creamy complexion bursts into freckles, as violent as they are hideous, at the first touch of the sun need no longer stay perpetually indoors in daytime, or venture out only when swathed like a Turk, if she knows the virtue in orange as a color that defies the sun’s rays. A thin veil of red-orange is more effective than a thick one of blue or black.

Orange shirt-waists do not sound very conservative, but they are mercifully conserving to arms sensitive to sunburn. Young Mrs. Gilding, whose skin is as perishable as it is lovely, always wears orange on the golf course. A skirt of burnt-orange serge of homespun or linen, and shirtwaists of orange linen or crepe de chine. A hat with a brim and a harem-veil (pinned across her nose under her eyes) of orange marquisette,—which is easier to breathe through than chiffon—allows her to play golf or tennis or to motor or even go out in a sailboat and keep her skin without a blemish.

Emily Post, 1922

I wouldn't try to substitute orange for several layers of SPF 30 myself, but I do find myself oddly attracted to orange garments lately. I say oddly because it's always been my feeling that pasty-faced white chicks like myself should avoid orange for fear of looking jaundiced. But as with poison green, I'm orange fabric is calling me -- and even worse, orange brocade fabric is calling me, because it's briiiiiiiight and shiiiiiiiiny. Thus, if I succumb to my current obsession I not only risk looking like an overstuffed and jaundiced walking piece of fruit, but an overstuffed and jaundiced walking couch.

Of course, not all brocade dresses are couch-like. Consider this beauty from woodlandfarmsantiques.com. I think the orange brocade fabric at left (from Thai Silks) would look gorgeous made into a mod shift like this one. But I guess the $64,000 question is -- would it look gorgeous on me? *lesigh*

Ed. -- and speaking of bright and shiny, the ruffled dress is being offered at Black Light Vintage Clothing. No one's going to get lost in a crowd wearing that! (and yes, I, I, I . . . kinda like it).