Pick a color. Any color.

Pink. Blue. Yellow. Orange. Lavender. Maroon. Magenta. Pomegranate.

What do all these colors have in common? They are colors that rarely make an appearance in our closet.

If it's a sweater, we chose black. If it's a dress, we choose black. Heck, even if it's underwear, we choose black.

But why? Why is it that adding a little variety to our closet is something we are just not comfortable with? And I guarantee even when we opt to shop outside the shades and pick a pink cardigan or yellow skirt, they are only shoved to the back of our closet and now labeled as that dreaded "impulse buy."

At first I blamed it on our country's ever growing waist line. It's a commonly known fact that black makes us all look slimmer. And when we are working almost 60 hours a week, keeping up with friends or tending to a house and family, the last chore on the list (and commonly skipped) is getting our workout in. So instead, we wear black.

But wearing all black? Everyday? From head to toe? Really? It's seems rather morbid. And sad. So I had another thought...

The Recession.

There's no doubt we are in one. Our nightly news reports, monthly investment statements and watercooler talk with fellow employees confirms that times are tough — no matter who you are. And since times are tough and moral is down, our closets represents our mood. Black.

That's my take on it. Or at least it's the one with the most promise. Because then it means this excessive amount of black in our closet will pass once the recession does.

However, I am posing a challenge to shoppers everywhere starting today. BUY COLOR.

Because one way to kick this recession in the butt is to not let it affect you emotionally.

Instead acknowledge it's here. Acknowledge that a lot of people you know are out of work. And acknowledge that you can't really afford to do the things you have done before and that makes you sad. But you won't let on that it bothers you that much by the way you dress.

So buy that pink sweater. Or red cardigan. Or periwinkle blue blouse. In fact, buy one for yourself AND someone else! Spread the love. Spread the color. Spread your mood.