Generally, the colour purple or any derivative of it, such as lilac or lavender, instantly makes me think of two things.
- Being at secondary school in South London when, for some inexplicable reason, green/purple was THE colour combination to covet. Pencil cases, book covers, stringy cylinder-shaped Benetton bags. Nothing escaped the discorded combo, unfortunately, and I would love to get my hands on the silly girl who started that trend - my shoulders still bare the dent of my purple Benetton bag drawstring.
- Sweet Valley Twins, specifically The Unicorn Club. Lila Fowler was the cool, beautiful and mean leader of the gang and if my memory serves me correctly, membership / initiation dictated you had to wear top-to-toe purple every day. As a bookish 11-year old and definitely more Elizabeth than Jessica, I found this fascinating but slightly scary, and hoped it would never catch on at my school due to me being translucently pale and mildly ginger.
Yet, I am really pleased to say that purple's back - and is currently being seen on all the cool girls and street stylers, fresh from the catwalks, and championed by designers and the fash pack alike.
Dusty lavender is the shade to be seen in and could well be a match for its sugary counterpart, pink. It is flattering and fresh and a refreshing alternative to monochrome and primary colour
Add florals for an injection of summer dew or my preference is to keep it subtle and simple and add neutrals to key pieces - a bomber, an embellished sweatshirt, a jacket. Shoes. Clean lines and block shades of violet and mauve to make the candied colour really pop.
Start your own Unicorn Club today.
