Colour Blocking: Green

Green has got to be my all-time favourite colours.  It compliments my skin and my hair colour, it makes me feel relaxed and gorgeous whenever I wear it.  

Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. 

Green has great healing power. It is the most restful color for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. In heraldry, green indicates growth and hope. 

Green is the color of nature, fertility, life. 
Grass green is the most restful color. Green symbolizes self-respect and well being. Green is the color of balance. It also means learning, growth and harmony. Green is a safe color, if you don't know what color to use anywhere use green.

Green contains the powerful energies of nature, growth, desire to expand or increase. Balance and a sense of order are found in the color green. Change and transformation is necessary for growth, and so this ability to sustain changes is also a part of the energy of green.

Put some green in your life when you want:

• a new state of balance
• feel a need for change or growth
• freedom to pursue new ideas
• protection from fears and anxieties connected with the demands of others

Green gemstones are used to attract money, prosperity and wealth. They are balancing stones that promote growth and fertility. Carry, wear or place green gemstones such as Peridot, Malachite, Jade, or Emerald, around your home or office to promote balance, change and growth.

Wear green when you want to overcome a sense of thwarted ambition. 
Green says growth - balance - harmony. It is a color of healthy relationships.

Green is the color associated with the Heart Chakra. This chakra deals with higher consciousness and love.

Green is not just for St Patricks Day everyone, it's for all day, everyday!

Ciao for now,



Hx




Sources: crystal-cure.com, garancedorè.com, thesartorialist.blogspot.com, style.com, vogue.com, jakandjil.com/blog.com

Colour Blocking: Orange

Orange has always been a favourite colour.  When I was growing up I had a gorgeous pair of orange linen shorts which I wore to death.  It is a colour that reminds me of the hot summer sun, Fanta and Frosty Fruits iceblocks.  It also reminds me of autumn because of the colour of the falling leaves and the shades of the afternoon sky when the sun is setting.

Orange comes in many different shades.  While red is associated with fiery heat, orange is associated with the benign warmth of the sun. Even Vivienne Westwood loves orange as her signature shade hair colour is testament to its versatility, don't you think?

Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.

A dynamic color, orange offers a more thoughtful control than explosive red. Curiosity is a driving characteristic of orange, and with it comes exploration of new things.
Put some orange in your life when you want:

• to spice things up when you feel time is dragging
• to become more involved in something
• to increase creativity
• relief from things becoming too serious

Take a look below at the lovely model on the catwalk here - her hair is such a gorgeous auburn and in no way does it clash with the fiery red of her gown or her red lipstick, which by the way is perfection.

Of course, like any colour, some people simply refuse to indulge or don't have the confidence to wear such a bold colour.  But as I have said before, anyone can wear any colour, it is just a matter of finding the right shade!  

Orange is the signature colour of the house of Hermès of course and if I had the choice, my first Hermès bag would be in burnt orange.

Orange makes a statement at Michael Kors, and when used as a contrasting colour it adds vavoom!  

Mrs Beckham has never been one to shy away from making a statement.  She stands out here among a sea of at this fashion show.

Wearing orange during times of stress, or shock can help to balance your emotions. It can bring about the willingness to embrace new ideas with enjoyment and a sense of exploration and creative play.  Orange is also the color associated with the Sacral Hara Chakra (sexuality and reproduction), so if you need some help in that area, put some orange sheets on your bed or buy some sleepwear in a similar shade.  You never know, it might just work!

As an accessory or a major fashion piece, orange is undoubtedly a bold colour choice, and one which you shouldn't shy away from just because it is so. 

If you have been too serious lately and you need to lighten up and have a good belly laugh - then spread a little orange around your life. Remember this is the colour of the the Buddha Belly. Who can resist smiling back at a laughing or smiling Buddha statue?  As a blend of the raw energy and physicality of red, and the sheer happiness of yellow, ORANGE is truly the colour of joy, interaction, creativity and playfulness.

Hx




Sources: dominomag.com, style.com, garancedorè.com, thesartorialist.blogspot.com, jakandjil.com/blog, crystal-cure.com, paintcafè.com

Colour Blocking: Yellow

Photograph by Garance Dorè.

I see yellow everywhere right now.   I feel like everyone is wearing it and I can no longer deny it's appeal.

Stella McCartney 2010 Spring/Summer.

Yellow is a colour that a lot of people shy away from, but for me, I have always worn it.  I think it started out because when I was a little girl, my dance teacher always had my costumes made in either bright sunny yellow or emerald green.  It used to annoy me that my blonde friends would get to dress in pink and blue and purple.  Back then I would have loved another colour choice.  


But now I don't mind so much.  

Bottega Veneta

Designers Spring/Summer 2010 runways of Milan and Paris featured many yellow hues.   

Dries Van Noten

Did you know that people who are blind to other colours can usually see yellow?  Yellow is full of creative and intellectual energy, it symbolises wisdom and means joy and happiness.  

Sonia Rykiel

YSL

Like the energy of a bright sunny day, yellow brings clarity and awareness.


Put some yellow in your life when you want clarity for decision-making, or when you need relief from burn-out, panic, nervousness or exhaustion.  It can help sharpen your memory and concentration skills as well as offer protection from lethargy and depression during dull weather.

Easton Pearson

Bottega Veneta

Some people might not like wearing yellow, but if you find the right shade, it can look amazing.  Think Renee Zellwegger in that gorgeous vintage dress she wore to the Academy Awards and the yellow Nina Ricci gown that Reese Witherspoon wore to the awards (not the same year of course).

And who could forget the stunning Vera Wang mustard yellow gown worn by Michelle Williams to the Oscars.  Such a transformation for her, wasn't it?

And then there's this gorgeous buttercup number on the equally gorgeous Miss Kate Moss. 

The point is that whether you are blonde, brunette, auburn or raven-haired, I promise you can wear yellow.  The trick is to find the shade that is right for you, that's all!  

While I am not really feeling Ms Minogue's high-waisters here, I am loving her peacoat!  

Angelina looks effortlessly chic in this bright and breezy dress paired with black ballet slippers.

I think that yellow is going to continue to be pretty easy to find on the racks of your favourite stores this summer because it has been a popular colour for designers for the past three years.

I just know that there are some of you out there that are reading this, still unconvinced, but I say to you - don't worry if you feel that you just can't bring yourself to wear yellow, because there is always that old standby - accessories!

Gotta love Marc Jacobs, am I right?

Ciao for now,

Hx

P.S. Very soon I am launching my first clothing label!  Hubby and I are hard at work and all will be revealed soon!  



Sources: crystal-cure.com, fashionnation.wordpress.com, people.com, garancedorè.com.

Colour Therapy

Orange says (- it even shouts) bold to me.  Once worn, it is never forgotten and will always be a secret favourite of mine.  Although I try not to play favourites, I am naturally drawn to the colour green.  I cannot deny its appeal.  My daughter Chloè is always asking me, "What's your favourite colour today Mummy?" and my reply is always the same - "Green".

Elizabeth Taylor is stunning in this emerald gown.  It offsets her violet coloured eyes perfectly.

Italian Vogue's Carla Sozzani's green skirt inspired me to buy a green skirt of my own in exactly the same shade.  I wear it to death.

I love Liza's  green nail polish.  I bought some just the other day and painted my toenails with it for a Halloween party.  One week later and my toenails are still painted green and I love it!  The ironic thing is that I had been wearing Revlon's Tropicana - a very orangey-red polish on my toenails.  I guess my passion for orange and green is deeper in my psyche than I thought!

The Blue-footed Booby (I am telling the truth here, that is what they are called!) from Galapagos have the chicest feet in the bird-world I think.  I wonder if there is a green-footed Booby?

Bright azure blue with stripes screams Française to me.

But the truth is that I can be drawn to many colours, orange is one, red, another.  Today I decided to buy a pair of Haviana's - my first actually.  I could not decide which colour to get.  I must have tried on over 10 different pairs.  In the end I narrowed it down to pink or brown and I had my hubby choose for me because I just couldn't decide - a rarity for me.  So I came home with the pink.  I am not a  person that wears pink usually, but they just looked good and there you have it.  

I love the colour in Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette, it is so gorgeous.

Peonies are so pretty, they have so many variations of colour.

Pink is girly, it's frivolity, it's a truly happy colour.  I love this pink Christmas tree, don't you?

Dries Van Noten, the master of colour use in his collections always inspires.  

I have been on the lookout for a yellow clutch every since I saw this one on the Bottega Veneta runway.

The white background in this kitchen is given a vibrant injection of colour the kitchen furnishings and wall hanging.  This is just gorgeous, I can see myself at the kitchen table, blogging away on my laptop!

Little accents of colour. 

A field of mauve,..

Jackie Onassis never shied away from bold colours, they suited her personality well.

Moschino Spring/Summer 2010, lots of summer fruits and berries - delish!

I have been busy working on my fledgling business and so my creative juices and my days have been taken up with working on that, so I am afraid that my blogging has been a tad slack this past week.  I have so many ideas that I don't want to lose, I hope I can get them all down this month!  I have also been busy getting Chloè started at her new school, which aside from the terrible separation anxiety she seems to be suffering, she is however loving it there and runs up the path every morning in excitement and anticipation.  She is making friends and loves her teacher too.  I have a plan for tomorrow morning, I hope it helps her... I've never really had to worry about this sort of thing before with her... I guess you can't blame her with all the moving and changes in her life this year.  She's just being herself.  Wish me luck.

Ciao for now,

Hx

Sources: Style.com, GaranceDorè.com, TheSartorialist.blogspot.com, VanessaJackman.blogspot.com,