Black, grey, anthracite--the cold colors--came in with Ronald Reagan, not
that there's any connection between conservative politics and a depressing
national palette, of course; they displaced the earthy tones (Vanagon brown;
harvest gold refrigerators; avocado sinks) that had been the hallmark of the
'70s, a decage when we were focussing on the earth and ecology and not the
almighty buck. Brown Vanagons do blend with the earth and were intended to.

There's nothing quite so disenchanting as pulling up at a campground in the
desert and finding a parking lot full of mammoth white RV's, generators
cycling and TVs blaring in the kitchens. They make you feel puny and absurd
in your brown hippy bus. Maybe it's intentional, who knows. The worst
offenders are those rental RV's with the huge orange and turquoise ad
banners on the sides. This is camping?

Will brown make a comeback?