You Had me at Yellow
If the mere suggestion of yellow strikes fear into your heart, you may want to sit down for this one. Yellow comes in many guises but it is undoubtedly a fair-weather colour, one to approach with caution and preferably a bit of a tan.
It was easy to avoid until La La Land the movie came along; just as a sun-kissed Kate Moss sparked a renewed interest in yellow when she stepped out in 2003 in an ice-creamy coloured vintage dress, Emma Stone then brought it into focus again in 2017 by dancing her way to her first Oscar in it. Money can't buy that kind of PR - yellow hadn't been given that much airtime since Battenberg cake was invented.
Now it's back for summer 2024 and is already making its sunny presence felt on the high street. Should you feel the urge to give this shade a go, here are a few guidelines to avoid looking like a banana:
1.Discover the most flattering shade of yellow for you by having your colours analysed. This will indicate, most importantly, what to steer clear of. A cool-skinned blonde (what we call a ‘summer’, Reece Witherspoon for example) is best in the palest yellow while a warm-skinned ‘autumn’ such as actress Jessica Alba, will be able to pull off a much richer version like a mustard.
2. If you’re considering blond highlights for the summer months then the same rule applies. Choose carefully; if you have a cool skin tone then an ash blonde will work, if you are more bronzed or olive-skinned then you should opt for honey tones which will frame your face beautifully (think Jennifer Aniston).
3. If in doubt, experiment with accessories initially. A bright handbag or colour-popping shoes look fabulous with a more muted outfit, it’s also a more cost-effective way of buying into a trend which may have sunk without trace by next summer - I love bright yellow with navy or grey.
4. Although head-to-toe tonal dressing is having a moment, with yellow it's probably best left to the royal family. Cheese straws are great in the summer but you can too have much of a good thing even with them.
Seriously though, find the perfect sunshine hue for you and you may be converted. I won’t be investing in any of the tangy colours out there currently but I simply don’t have the colouring for it. If you do, that’s excellent news and I'm jealous. It’s a cheerful kind of colour (Mr. Happy is bright yellow after all) and so much more interesting than Breton stripes and beige this season.
