The Colour Purple

6 Winter Ways to Wear Purple - Colour of the Year 2018

Long-associated with royalty, prestige, creativity and counter-culture, purple is a polarising colour for the genders*. But love it or loathe it, with the announcement that Ultra Violet is the Pantone Colour Institute's Colour of the Year 2018, fashion is set to fall in love with purple. Given my lifelong passion for the pigment, I have acquired more than my fair share of purple pieces, so I want to show you my favourite ways to style this sensational colour.

1. Mix With 50 Shades of Grey

Colour is incredibly subjective, and often seen differently by different people, but for me, the blue-based, violet end of the purple spectrum, the part in which Prince resided so creatively, has always appealed!

Given that these are shades and essentially pretty dark (shades contain a lot of black) I find pairing violets with more black tends to deaden them, while choosing a softer tint of grey - anywhere from charcoal to dove - allows the purple to zing!

2. Sample With a little Vanilla Ice-Cream!

So having just said that I like dark shades of purple, I'm also very partial to lilac and lavender tones! When wearing lilacs, try to mix them with whites and stone greys. Because lilac is a tint of purple (ie a colour that contains a lot of white) it works well with other white-rich colours.

3. Pair Purple with Leopard Print

Often leopard is matched with red - which is beautiful - but I love the unexpectedness of pairing it with purple. After experimenting for this blog post, I was delighted to see that it works for both dark shades and pastel tones.

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Leopard prints with a lot of yellow in them work better contrasted with their complementary violets, while softer tints work with paler beige-based leopards (see above).

4. Tie it to a Tertiary Bright

If you're looking to get noticed, and indeed, remembered, try styling purple with a contrasting colour like yellow, orange or green. Think of the brights as accent colours in your accessories, or go all out and colour block at will, as below! [For more ways to be unforgettable, don't miss Forget Me Not!]

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5. Try a Purple Print

An easy way to introduce a new colour to your wardrobe, especially if you're not confident colour-matching, is to do it with a print. Often the fabric will be doing all the hard work of colour co-ordination for you - as these dresses show. If you're styling a print yourself, and purple is the colour you want to emphasise, just add purple accessories, or base notes - as I've done by adding a purple shirt, coat and tights to my McQ floral dress below.

6. Marry with Muted Neutrals

Adding a little accent colour to an overall neutral palette is an easy, safe and fun way to style any new colour. And, for the faint-hearted out there, adding a tiny pop of purple or lilac in the form of an accessory or two can be a nice way to try out the trend without breaking the bank!

A final word...

If you're still unsure of how to wear this sophisticated, spiritual yet extravagant, colour, leave me a comment below and I'll happily respond to each and every one of you!

Nx 💜