Make time for colour

I have discovered the joy of black, which is a terrible thing. It is the stylist’s equivalent of a tracksuit, when you have a fairly hectic day of path stomping, fittings and meetings, a selection of black will always look good, no matter which way you throw it towards your body.
However, black can become addictive. In your wardrobe, it seems as though all colourful clothes creep behind their duller counterparts, pushing forward the darker shades for your selection. I have to break the cycle, and 2007 is the year to do this.
I’m not one for trends, but if they are decent, then we must succumb, and this one is very much okay.
We will definitely see a return, a burst if you like, of colour on the fashion scene come Spring/Summer, and, although we are a little fearful of the black being peeled form our back, it will be time to accept a little brightness into our lives.
The secret to adding colour is this; easy does it. Don’t go from soft muted shades to dazzling brilliance, if you are a soft muted shades kind of person to begin with, it will feel completely foreign and wrong. Look to New York, where ladies of a certain standing have hectic yet stylistically competitive lives, learn from them, see how they wear lovely basic colours, nudes, tans, creams, browns, greys and blacks, and then add interest with oversized red beads, a turquoise bag, a dinky yellow hat and so on.
This is the secret to not only colour, but dressing.
Invest in beautiful basics, the capsule wardrobe. White shirt, black trousers, tan pencil skirt, cream coat, black coat, little black dress, little tan dress, white vest, tan vest, black vest, beige jumper, plain, simple, classic and effective.
Now the colour, invest in one dazzling coat, a tapestry of colour, and wear it with your black dress and a giant red ring.
Pair your decent black work suit with a green satin shirt, mix a little chunky turquoise with your tans and browns.
You see, you can go a little crazy with colour, but you don’t have to look like a Sony Bravia ad. Restrain yourself, while indulging little, but remember, too much of anything, whether black or colour, is never a good look.