Say yes to yellow: it’s nothing to be afraid of
ThEy’rE calling it the La La Land effect, but I think fashion’s current obsession with that trickiest of colours, yellow, goes back further, thanks to a rather unlikely style icon.
I will never forget seeing The Queen at Kate and William’s 2011 royal wedding, bedecked in canary yellow. She made my heart sing.
her frock coat was even finished off with beads sewn around her neck so as to mimic rays of sunshine.
While the world’s eyes were fixed on Kate’s beautiful veil or Pippa’s pert behind, I only had eyes for Elizabeth.
For once, it seems fashion designers, those people normally more fond of swathing everyone in funereal black and a scowl, are with me. Everyone from Victoria Beckham to Pucci, and Chloe to Dior, sent shamelessly loud head-to-toe yellow looks down their spring/summer runway.
Who knows why yellow has caught the zeitgeist right now. It might be some sort of attempt at mass cheer therapy in these turbulent times. Or that designers realise summer is just too short and sweet to spend the whole time in boring old black and navy.
But so many of us are downright terrified of wearing it.
While I’m now a convert, for years I was convinced my Celtic complexion made it off-limits. But then I saw a picture of actress Michelle Williams, whose skin is even ghostlier than mine, wearing a bold Vera Wang dress to the Oscars. If she can wear yellow, we all can. SO
MuCh yellow is crammed into the high Street at the moment that it’s almost impossible to avoid. On the flipside, that means there’s a shade and a style out there for everyone.
So how can you do it without looking like the back end of a DhL van? I’m going to ease you in slowly here.
First thought: Try an accessory. Come on, what’s the worst that can happen?
Try the loafers, £36, from Next ( next.co.uk), the Signet bag, £128, from J Crew ( jcrew.
com) or Kate Spade’s yolk yellow tassel earrings (£76.61, stylebop.com). If you’re not reaching for the smelling salts, let’s talk separates. I can tell you from experience that when you wear yellow trousers, people smile and give you compliments wherever you go. I promise.
Take the flowy palazzo trousers, £29.99, Mango ( mango.
com). They will cheer you up and everyone around you. Same goes for its ruffled skirt, £35.99. Comfortable, chic and they’ll both work with more colours than you think.
Personally, I think yellow’s best friend is blue — anything from pale to cornflower to deep, dark navy. But black, white and shades of grey also look great with it.
So how do you pull off a head- to- toe look? Shop around to find your perfect shade. For instance, my pale skin works with the powdery hues. But if you have the sort of J-Lo skin tone I’d kill for, experiment with sunflower.
Or cut your yellow through with some print.
The floral ruffled dress, £99.99, from Mango is a more subtle nod to the trend for anyone terrified of looking like a life-size M&M.
Because when you’re wearing yellow, you will be hard to miss. Which to me is all the more reason to give this pretty and powerful hue a whirl.