FEMAIL picks out a selection of block colour essentials

February 8, 2023

What to wear this weekend: FEMAIL picks out a selection of block colour essentials

Dinah Van Tulleken explains why in 2023 she is looking for colourful clothes
UK-based fashion expert looks for inspiration all over including the catwalks
READ MORE: The Princess of Wales recycles striking £75 earrings from CHALK as she attends the launch event for her ‘Shaping Us’ campaign at BAFTA

GO BIG ON COLOUR

My everyday wardrobe is easily summarised: boring items in black, white, navy. Oh, and there’s a relatively new addition of a few pieces in brown.

But if I’m going to get through 2023, things need to change. My catwalk references, my favourite shops, the well-dressed individuals I most admire, they’re all embracing colour — and taking it to a new and insanely elegant level.

RAINBOW CATWALKS

There are turquoise dresses (with those fabulous exaggerated bustles) at Loewe, fiery red on evening wear at Schiaparelli. Beetroot purple was big news at Chloe, orange at Bottega, yellow at Erdem, green at Etro — you get the idea…

Dinah Van Tulleken (pictured) explains why in 2023 she is looking for colourful clothes. Blazer, £220, jigsaw.com; cashmere knit, £79, marksandspencer. com; orange trousers, £180, Day Birger at fenwick. com; shoes, £39.99, zara.com

And it’s not just the catwalks — whether the Princess of Wales opts for bright red or eye-popping purple in her favourite Alexander McQueen suit, the fashion world stands to attention.

A LITTLE LIFT…

I’ve spent years dressed in grey jumpers, poo-pooing the theory that dressing in colours boosts your mood, but now some emerging science suggests there is truth in it. ‘Happy clothes’ are real and — less scientifically — these orange jersey trousers from Day Birger at Fenwick certainly made me feel good.

…IN CLASSIC SHAPES

The trick to making this work, for me anyway, is to change only the colour, not the style. Stick to what works for you — for me, it’s wideleg trousers, knitwear and blazers — but opt for these items in opulent orange, Valentino pink (it’s fair to say that’s a thing now), and brilliant blue. You can also pull existing colours from your wardrobe and wear them together.

Above all, have fun…

NOW SHOP THE TREND…