The Upsetting Reason Kim Kardashian Dyed Her Dress With Tea Bags

Need further evidence that there defiinitely aren't enough interpretations of "nude" available on shelves today? Leave it to Kim Kardashian and a quick pre-red carpet dress tweak to underscore how narrowly skin tones are defined. Last week, Kardashian showed up for de Grisogono's Cannes party donning a Lan Yu Couture gown. The shimmery dress was actually a two-piece: There was the metallic, open-sided layer that went on top, and a nude slip worn underneath, according to People. However, as we all know, there's no universal shade of "nude." Instead of risking a wardrobe malfunction, the reality star got resourceful (with a little help from her team, obviously) and staged some DIY action in her hotel suite, as Mic pointed out. "We had to try to darken the nude mesh dress under the silver layer, because it was too light to match my skin tone," Kardashian recalled on her website. "We had just two hours before we left for Cannes, so we put Earl Grey tea bags in a sink and put the dress in for about 30 minutes to dye it." She's not bluffing: There's video evidence of the slip being tossed around in the Earl Grey-tinted waters of a hotel bathroom, for all you skeptics. (You'll have to get beyond the paywall of her app, of course, but Kim posted a snippet for curious minds on Twitter.) The saga didn't end there. Apparently, the slip was still a little damp by the time she had to head out the door, and didn't totally dry until the very last second, when she had to step on the red carpet, according to People.

The fashion industry — and lingerie in particular — has been very slow to diversify its definition of nude, despite the clear demand. When U.K.-based brand Nubian Skin launched in 2014, it was one of the first inclusive lingerie companies on the market. The issue has been addressed by at least one luxury label, too: Christian Louboutin broadened its classic "nude" shoe range in 2015. Just yesterday, the Gina Rodriguez-backed Naja introduced its Nude For All collection — bras and underwear in a range of seven different flesh-colored hues — with a bold series of ads to dress up New York subway stations. While Kardashian took the awkward situation in stride (and certainly made it work), the whole ordeal proves that, despite a bit of progress, we need more shades of nude on the market.