Say so long to Pantone’s 2012 ‘Tangerine Tango’… there’s a new color in town and she’s balefully blue.

Pantone’s 2013 Top Colors for Spring are finally here!  And the number 1 hue is: Monaco Blue — a navy-meets-cobalt blue that some are describing as “dull” in the best sense of the word — and considering the vibrant appeal of last year’s Pantone Color of the Year “Tangerine Tango,” it’s easy to see why.

Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institutes’s executive director recently explained to fashion tome WWD that the shade “speaks to the practicality that we are seeing in society. You have to realize there is still concern out there for the economy.”

And while we’re pretty sure practicality was in the cards last year too, we’ll assume they gave way to a more optimistic outlook for 2012 than they’re not seeing today — especially noting that the other Top Color’s for Spring that comprise the new list, like the runner up, another soft-lit blue called Dusk Blue.

Third and fourth position on Pantone’s list goes to the greens, Emerald in third and Grayed Jade in fourth.  And if all those ‘saddest shade’ crayon’s have you feeling bluer than is actually fashionable, take heed — the rest of the list includes a clean neutral called Linen, a bright Poppy Red, a bordering-on-lavender African Violet, something called Tender Shoots, a happy Lemon Zest and a shade akin to last years fruit-inspired COTY called Nectarine.

So welcome to your new 2013 spring color palette — you’ll have plenty of time to prep the wardrobe as we head off into the rest of 2012.