WearsMyMoney

Colour. It’s a tricky one. We all love to wear black, it’s pretty much universally flattering and it reminds us of our ‘Suburban Goth’ youth, those happy days when we got drunk on pints of  ‘Snakebite and Black’ at the local Friday Rock club (Cider, Beer and Ribena for the uninitiated amongst you), back when Robert Smith was our idol, back when we crimped our terrible dyed black hair and Kensington Market was our ultimate shopping mecca…I still love to dress in all black everything on a regular basis, but there’s also nothing like a pop of colour to perk you up a bit. I tend to go a bit brighter once the weather warms up a bit, and now that we are nearly 2 weeks deep into ‘Spring’, a little bit of warmth has surely got to be round the corner…

We should approach colour with a bit of caution though. You are only one primary colour away from looking like Mr Tumble and no-one on earth wants that. He probably doesn’t even want it, but I’m sure he’s raking it in, so can deal with it. I think maybe the answer is to stick to a maximum of 2 bright colours at a time in your ensemble, any more than that and you are in danger of being mistaken for an extra from Rainbow (The old TV show, not the late 70’s rockers). Colour was all over the street during London Fashion Week, it’s something we do well in this country. We don’t really do ‘chic’ so well as Paris or Milan, but we can brazenly breeze about in brights like no-one else.

It seems yellow and red are big this season. I find yellow a bit tricky with my pasty face, but I am willing to give it go. Red I am totally on board with. I have just bought some Red ‘Mensy’ trousers from Topshop, yes another pair. I am a little obsessed with that baggy, pleated, slightly too short style. It helps to show off a jazzy sock or a nicely (fake) tanned ankle. Green is also good, I have a bright bright green top that I wore a lot last year, green goes very well with Denim I think. I’ve done pink a lot recently, so let’s stick with the primary colours for today and go with blue as our final colour.

YELLOW

If, like me, you find yellow a bit tricky, then just use it for accessories. A fairly regular outfit is brightened up no end with yellow shoes and bag…

1. Norma Kamali Stripe Dress
2. Mango Denim Jacket
3. AB10 Yellow Leather Bag
4. Top Shop Leather Shoes
5. Mango Watermelon Coin Purse

Let’s not forget these trainers I bought last weekend when on a shopping trip with the pre-teen that involved only going to skate type shops. I’d like to say he made me buy them, but that would be a lie…

RED

I’m a big fan of red. Red and navy blue or black works a treat. I have these trousers (they come up a bit small though, so go a size up if you’re thinking of trying them) In fact I have almost this entire outfit. Might try it out this week. The shoes are from a small company called Seven Boot Lane and are made from the softest leather ever.

1. JCrew Regent Blazer
2. & Other Stories Stripe Top
3. Top Shop Mensy Trousers
4. Gucci Disco Bag
5. Seven Boot Lane Black Leather Brogues

GREEN

Bright green can be a bit overpowering, so maybe just go with one piece at a time. When I was a 90’s raver (post late 80’s goth period) I had a pair of green dungarees that I wore with mauve Kickers, a tie-dye T‑shirt and patchwork cap. Once again I thank Christ the internet wasn’t invented back then…

1. & Other Stories Cotton Blouse
2. Top Shop Green Ruffle Skirt
3. Astley Clarke Diamond Stud Earrings
4. See By Chloe Suede Bag
5. Stan Smith Bold Trainers

BLUE

All blue is a standard of mine, mixing up the colour tones helps to keep it a bit more interesting. (I’d probably wear a sock with those sandals too)

1. Top Shop Neon Blue Coat
2. & Other Stories Cotton Shirt
3. Stella McCartney Lip Phone Case
4. Issy Miyake Blue Tote Bag
5. Top Shop Hayden Jeans
6. See by Chloe Platform Sandals

Back when I was coming out the other side of being a part-time Goth, just before I started being a Raver, I got really in to a band called Living Colour. I remember going to see them at the Astoria when I was about 16, got drunk, met some boys, missed the last train home and had to sleep on a bench at Waterloo station until the first train back to the suburbs. We did a lot of sleeping on benches at Waterloo when I was a teenager. I don’t miss that, but I do miss The Astoria. I had some of the best nights of my life in that place. It was my all-time favourite venue in London and nothing could beat a good after-show in the Keith Moon bar, decorated with its indecipherable ‘portraits’ of famous rock stars. Happy days!

K x