Dress for the mood you want: Nurturing pink, sunny yellow or clear-sky blue? Find the colour to soothe your mind
- The colours you are surrounded by have the power to change how you feel
- The principles of ‘colour psychology’ are at work in the world around us
- Luckily, the high street offers a cornucopia of bright and uplifting shades
The other day, staring at my forest-green hallway, I had a childhood flashback. ‘She needs more green,’ my mum was being told by a woman with a soothing voice.
I was 11, and we were in a flat strewn with crystals and wind chimes near the North Circular.
Ahead of her time when it came to her passion for the holistic, my mother had taken me for ‘colour therapy’ prior to some exams.
It turned out my aura was dominated by frenetic red. No wonder I couldn’t knuckle down to do that revision.
Pink, with its nurturing connotations, is said to induce feelings of compassion and calm. Or, if you’re in dire need of some comfort and clarity, try a cobalt blue
I didn’t know what to make of it at the time, but after weeks of enforced contemplation of my wardrobe and walls, I realise the principles of ‘colour psychology’ are at work everywhere.
As I write, I’m wearing a raspberry sweatshirt from sustainable label Ninety Percent.
My outfits are a riot of warm hues: pink, red, yellow and orange. I’m attracted to these colours like a bee to the proverbial nectar. They pep me up — and we all need pepping up right now.
Yet I’ve got a home painted in green and blue. While trying to wrestle a seven-year-old off the bannisters as work deadlines loom, the penny drops: these walls are a cry for calm.
Maybe I took Colour Lady to heart all those years ago and have been amping up my aura ever since.
Ready to dress for the mood you want? Luckily, the high street offers a cornucopia of brights. Sunny yellow and orange is uplifting.
This buttercup Zara trouser suit (below) will look a treat with a white T-shirt, or broken up with blue denim.
Pink, with its nurturing connotations, is said to induce feelings of compassion and calm. Or, if you’re in dire need of some comfort and clarity, try a cobalt blue.
As for me? Well, I did pass those exams with flying colours (sorry).
So perhaps I’ll fight my urge to don this red polka-dot number (very bottom) and top up my green with this Hobbs emerald maxi (third from bottom) instead.
Dress, £201.75
Shirt, £59.25
Belt, £51.75
Heels, £104.25
hobbs.com
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Dress, £215
Bag, £150
Sandals, £270
essentiel-antwerp.com
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Blouse, £82.50
Trousers, £111.75
hobbs.com
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Dress, £90
Heels, £110
boden.co.uk
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Dress, £141.75
Shoes, £139
hobbs.com
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Jacket, £49.99
Trousers, £19.99
Sandals, £59.95
zara.com
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Dress, £250
Belt, £140
Sandals, £270
essentiel-antwerp.com
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