Brilliant Gown Goldenrod

From the Italian brillante, sparkling — used as a color modifier since the seventeenth century for hues that read as optically active beyond their literal saturation. Brilliant green, brilliant blue: the implication is luminance combined with the slight sparkle of a high-refractive surface. Sits at the bright-bucket center alongside vivid and bright.

Old French goune, long-loose-garment. As a color modifier, gown implies a Tudor-and-Elizabethan-and-formal-evening-gown quality, the visual register of Tudor-and-Elizabethan-and-Worth-couture-gown hand-Tudor-and-Elizabethan-and-formal-evening-gown Tudor-and-Elizabethan-and-Worth-couture-gown-and-Belle-Époque gown-and-Tudor-and-Elizabethan surfaces under Tudor-and-Elizabethan-and-Worth-couture-gown-and-Belle-Époque Hampton-Court-and-Maison-Worth-Paris court-and-couture-light. Sits at the modifier-and-textile end of the grid, parallel to robe and frock in usage.

Solidago, the late-summer wildflower of North American meadows whose tall sprays of small yellow flowers signal the end of the growing season. The color refers to the flower head at full bloom: a warm, slightly muted yellow-orange with the matte finish of small clustered florets. Cooler than mustard, deeper than dandelion. The state flower of Kentucky and Nebraska, a pollinator magnet, and the original native dye for early American homespun.