Establishing a general colour palette for blondes is a little trickier than the no-brainer reality that brunettes look great in blue. There are several variables that factor into the equation. The first one to consider: what kind of blonde are you? Tow-head, ash blonde, dark blonde or strawberry blonde? Complexion and eye colour are next.

Over the years, I’ve drawn the following conclusions:

• Strawberry blondes and tow-heads wear muted brights, ice-cream tones and dirty colours better than ash blondes
• Olive skinned dark blondes get way with wearing pastels and look particularly good in white and brights
• Ash blondes wear clean, cold and warm colours equally well, but tend to get washed out by insipid shades
• Most blondes look good in black, but occasionally dark slate grey or ink blue is a softer and more flattering choice
• Pale skinned blondes can look super in white if it’s appropriately contrasted with a strong colour like black or a bright
• Cream is a good choice for blondes that have cream strands running through their hair
• Blondes with blue eyes wear blue well and blondes with green eyes wear green well

I’m a rosy cheeked, short-haired ash blonde with creamy complexion and green eyes. I partially highlight my hair with ultra-blonde streaks, which is why I wear cream well. I look best in strong, sour bright colours like fiery red, canary yellow, citron, lime green, emerald green, fuchsia, cobalt blue, and bright turquoise. I look equally good in black and white combinations, ink blue and a dark olive green. I look a little blah in brown, but it comes alive when I add red, yellow, cream, white or black into the mix. I look dreadful in pastels, beige, light grey, muted brights and antique colours and avoid them like the plague. What type of blonde are you and which colours do you wear best?

As an ash blonde, these are some of the colours that work well on me.

It’s become increasingly clear that brown haired girls with blue, brown or green eyes look stunning in the right shade of blue. It’s possibly one of their best colours. I’m talking light blue, cobalt blue, French blue, ink blue, dusty blue, sea blue, teal blue, royal blue and turquoise. Any one or all of the above, so take your pick.

Are you a brunette and do you wear blue? If so, what shade of blue do you wear and how do you mix it up with other colours?

Brunettes in beautiful blues.

We’ve been saturated with colourful footwear choices this season and it’s a breath of fresh air. Pink, blue, green, yellow, red, purple, orange, turquoise and lime. Name the colour and you’ll find the shoe. So how do you integrate bright shoes into an ensemble?

• Pick up a colour in a top with your shoes. This is the obvious way of wearing bright shoes and my least favourite because it’s predictable. I personally prefer to mix it up. But matching in this way continues to make a stylish statement, so don’t feel obliged to mis-match if it’s not your style.
• Match bright shoes with the same colour handbag. This rule is flop proof because a matched shoe and handbag pulls an outfit together. Some stylists feel that this type of matching is passé but I believe it works, as long as you don’t try to match anything else of the same colour in the outfit. “Matchy-matchy” ensembles are not stylish.
• Wear bright shoes with a neutral ensemble. You don’t need to match shoes with your handbag or pick up another colour in your ensemble. Bright shoes make a statement on their own. They pack extra punch if you’re wearing neutrals like black, brown, white, cream, grey, tan or navy.
• Wear several brights of the same intensity. I’d limit an outfit to 3 brights at a time. A pair of jeans worn with an emerald tunic and cobalt blue handbag works with a pair of yellow shoes, if the brights are of the same intensity. Throw in a pair of baby pink shoes and you’ve lost the harmony.

Multi-coloured bright shoes complicate matters so stick to a single toned bright shoe. Red shoes are a particularly good choice because they’re bright, but operate like a neutral. And I’m beginning to have the same opinion about yellow.

The first example is matching the shoes with the bag, which pulls together an outfit with multiple brights. The other examples show a purposeful mismatch, where the brights make a statement of their own. This topic originated as a question on the forum. Go there for more discussion on integrating brights.

I frequently refer to these light neutrals. Several people have requested an explanation of the differences between them, particularly between cream and beige. I’m happy to oblige.

• White: Optical white is a blindingly bright white. A pair of white jeans is usually optical white.
• Off-white: This is a dirty white like the colour of bone. It’s as if optical white was mixed with a spot of grey. It’s a cold colour and tends to look good on people who can wear light grey close to the face.
• Cream: The colour of pearls, ivory and liquid whipping cream. This tone is warmer and richer than white and off-white. It contains a hint of yellow and looks good on people who wear warm colours well.
• Beige: Tan, khaki, taupe, nude and stone are all versions of beige. They are not cream or off-white. They are light browns. You’ll find chinos in this colour. Deepening a shade of beige results in camel and caramel coloured hues which are richer and generally more flattering.

Beige is hard to wear close to the face unless you’re dark-skinned and even then it’s best when matched with a contrasting colour (like black or a bright). Beige comes to life when the fabric is iridescent or mixed with metallic lurex thread. This gives the colour depth and interest and that’s often the best solution to wearing beige close to the face. As a bottom, beige is boring. It can look conservative and I do not often encourage this look unless it is required.

The “whites” (white, off-white and cream) are better choices for tops and bottoms. They offer both a modern classic and contemporary edge that’s forever fresh and versatile. These shades pop whereas beige does not. It’s a question of choosing “your white”. Some people look better in cream, while others look better in bone or white. Experiment and try a form of white instead of beige. You’ll be surprised.

Top: Off-white pea-coat, a cream blouse and dress.
Bottom: White jeans, beige and taupe pants.
My whites are white and cream on top and at the bottom (but not together). I look dreadful in off-white and beige and steer clear of them close to the face. Beige pants are not my style so I don’t wear those either.

Yellow started coming through last Spring and has made an even stronger impact this season. You’ll find energizing shades of yellow clothing, footwear and accessories ranging from the palest lemon to the brightest gold and electric citron in stores right now.

You won’t be disappointed if you incorporate yellow into your wardrobe. If you can’t wear the colour close to your face, sport it through a camisole, shoes, handbag, pendant, necklace, belt or patterned item that incorporates yellow. And don’t rule out wearing the right shade of yellow close to your face either. Yellow seems to soften once it’s surrounded by other colours. Surprisingly, yellow has worked beautifully each time I have incorporated it into someone’s wardrobe. It’s especially striking in shoes against dark denim and brings dull neutrals to life.

I grew up in a Dutch household where orange, yellow and red were regarded as perfectly basic colours for men and women. You’ll find Dutch men sporting these hot shades as if they were blue. So I guess I’m used to yellow and took to the cheerful shade as soon as it surfaced as a fashion colour. Nothing says Spring quite as appropriately as daffodil yellow, so don’t be scared to try it if it’s new for you. I’m willing to bet that you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

There is a sea of yellow in my wardrobe at the moment. Something very merry about the colour makes me smile.

Not quite yellow and not quite lime, but somewhere in-between, it’s what J Crew calls “citron” (which also happens to be French for “lemon”). I like the colour best when it’s worn with ink blue, white or a rich tomato red. It is also lovely when matched with emerald green, light turquoise, cobalt blue and animal prints. Adding a neutral shade to your outfit (ink blue, slate grey, white, cream or blue denim) is the key to keeping this colour crisp and wearable.

I adore this mouth watering new neon and over the last week have added it to my wardrobe in the form of a camisole, a piece of knitwear, a pendant and a fine knit scarf. The sun is out in Seattle and the sour hue has lifted my Wintery ensembles to a cheerful Spring high.

If you feel that it’s too bright for clothing, add citron to your look through footwear or an accessory.

I got very excited about this colour last year when it wasn’t quite as mainstream as it is today. It’s darker than navy but not quite black. It’s what I call ink blue and it’s a refreshing “new” neutral that works with just about anything. I like ink blue best with citrusy limes and yellows, cream and cobalt. It’s obviously fabulous with emerald and Kelly green, white and any shade of red, but pairing it with a sour hue packs a crisp modern punch.

Darker than traditional navy blue, ink blue is warmer than black, less blah than brown, newer than grey and definitely my favourite neutral at the moment. It’s richness makes it universally wearable and chic.

Combining ink blue with citrus green, white and cobalt is becoming a favourite colour combination.

The Today Show’s Natalie Morales took a look at fashion trends and styles for the New Year. Buzzwords like “pattern”, “colour”, “multicultural” and “fluidity” describe what lies ahead. I had a hunch that the voluminous trend would stick around and I’m happy to see that this is the case. A bit of volume in the right place makes for an interesting outfit. Bright hues and ethnic patterns will be a refreshing contrast to the sea of black and white retail collections we saw for Spring 2007, but it’s going to be a tricky season for those who prefer neutrals and plain items.

Brights are back and I’m thrilled.

If you’re a redhead and you’ve never tried wearing purple, you are missing out. It might be the best colour for your skin and hair combination. “Red” hair is normally more a shade of orange, and nothing brings out the colour orange more than the right shade of purple. Orange/yellow shades and purple/blue shades oppose each other on the colour wheel, which means that they are “complementary”. So this wild colour combination also makes sense from a scientific point of view.

Remember that purples fall into either blue tones or pink tones and it’s a question of finding which purple is best for your particular shade of hair. I’ve found that a muted pinky-purple is an all-round fab colour for red heads. But various shades of purple from eggplant to raspberry to magenta to mauve to lilac will work too. Stunning Julianne Moore wore a muted purple dress to her movie premiere a few months ago… I rest my case.

Red made a huge comeback last season but red coats were few and far between. Despite the fact that jewel tones are all the rage right now, gorgeous red coats started gushing into stores a few weeks ago. And it’s about time. I haven’t been enthused by colourful coats all season. A superb coat is always a statement, and a perfect red one even more so.

Not all red coats are created equally. The wrong red coat can look cheap (just like bad patent). Apart from watching cut and fit, you’ll need to be extra discerning about fabrication, button choice and the actual shade of red. Red coats tend to look best in rich luxurious shades and better-end wools. I personally prefer the look of contrasting buttons on red coats, but buttons that are dyed to match will also work.

I am constantly surprised at how many people actually love the colour red (I’m one of them). And you have to love red if you’re going to commit to an entire coat in the colour. Remember that although red is bright, it is a basic colour and will therefore date less than many fashion colours. Red coats are classy when mixed with items in the conventional black, grey and winter white palette. But I’m liking my red coat best mixed with warm winter yellow, ink blue and cobalt this season. The combinations are fresh, new and exciting.

If it fits your shopping plan and budget, now is a good time to add a red coat to your wardrobe. There’s nothing like a bright coat to brighten up a cold Winters day.

A few red coat favourites in stores at the moment (Guess and Mango). There are also some fab styles at Banana Republic, Tulle, Benetton and J Crew.