Colour of the Year 2017 and My Trends

Every year Pantone release their colour of the year. Harlequin promptly messages the Whatsapp group for us sisters and my sister-in-law to tell us and we all pass verdict:

“Hmm…not sure”

“Oooh I used to have a top that colour”

“Love the colour, but wouldn’t wear it”

”I was thinking of buying something in that colour”

This year the colour was:

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I love green, it has been my favourite colour since childhood: olive green, emerald, chartreuse, jade, fern and sea green. But this particularly shade called “greenery”, or “pea green” as I would describe it, might be a bit loud for me.  I did in the past have an abaya pretty much exactly this colour which I happily wore, but my taste seems to have become a bit more sedate over the years and I doubt I would want to wear it now.

Instead, I think I’ll pick my own colours and textures for the year.  These are the colours, textures and materials that have been catching my heart and making me say "ooohh".  I find them inspiring and seeing them brings me pleasure, they are my little pleasures of the moment.

After years of loving blues and greens and winter berry colours like burgundy and aubergine, I am moving back to dark colours and most of my wardrobe has turned to black.  Partly because it is so chic and something about it feels sophisticated to me - the elegance of a black abaya or the chic of a pair of good black trousers.  Partly because everything goes with everything else, you can't see the marks left by sticky little hands as much and you can't see wet patches when you make wudhu at work.

Despite this, and my ongoing look out for the perfect black abaya, there are some colours which really appeal to me right now, foremost are sea green, tiffany blue and olive green:

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In the past I would have avoided the lighter colours for fear they make me look dark, but over the years I have come to embrace my colouring and enjoy wearing lighter colours, especially as I am a role model for my daughters.  I have an abayah which is the loveliest colour and these olive Manolo Blahnik shoes would be a perfect match, except I would last five minutes in such high heels. 

I have always liked emerald cut stones, so the abundance of stones with elongated cuts at the moment, really appeals:

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The stone that appeals to me at the moment is opal with its fiery flash of colour.  I'll be more than happy if I end up with a nice opal or something with an opal-effect finish:

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We recently refurbished our bathroom and the marble tiles we saw in the shops were really so beautiful, they were out of our budget by a long way so we had to do with marble print ceramic tiles.  I am seeing marble print in phone cases and stationary and bags at the moment, so might make do with the print in something small, rather than the real thing.

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I've noticed in recent years that trends that appear in crafts such as card making, paper crafts, scrapbooking and sewing will appear a season or year later in the shops in mainstream products.  Examples I can think of are foxes, owls and bicycles one year, houses, cameras, mineral stones and chevrons another.  All were all over clothing, stationary and homeware a year or two later.

This year the crafts themes that seem to be coming through are mechanical, tribal, feathers, hot air balloons, cactus plants, flamingoes, fairground and lots of retro and vintage.  It seems a bit of a mish mash at the moment, but feathers and hot air balloons certainly appeal.

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I am not a fan of following fashion for  anumber of reasons.  Partly because most new fashions and trends don't apply to me: too expensive, not modest, not halal, not practical.  Partly because I know very mcuh what I like and what appeals to me, so passing trends don't really attract me.  I think it's fun to see the patterns and trends in colours, materials, crafts, jewellery and design.  But for me it's more fun to keep an open mind and take pleasure in what comes along and captures your attention.