INBETWEEN

My mother always told me that 'blue and green should never be seen without a colour in between'. This mantra has followed me throughout my entire childhood and well into adult life. What bothered me wasn't that blue and green weren't acceptable ensemble allies. No, what has baffled me since the age of being able to understand this supposed 'rule to live by' was: 'what the heck colour could sit flatteringly between blue and green'?!

I thought about adding a primary colour in there, but then that would dramatically increase the chances of being mistaken for a children's TV presenter or a packet of skittles… 

I feel like white is too stark, plus the resemblance to a stripe of toothpaste is just too obvious to ignore. Black is quite an edgy addition but a little safe maybe. After years of consideration I've concluded that pink is the accompaniment, and therefore answer, to this conundrum. A soft pink I feel would be a welcomed interlude to these 'apparently' warring colours. I'd like to add that the hours I've spent pondering over this have come to no fruition and that this outfit has not (and probably will not) see the light of day. Silly isn't it? But I just cannot bring myself to commit to this supposed sin against style. Plus sod's law would have it that on the day I do air my 'daring' outfit, I'd probably bump into my mum or burst into flames…

But all of this got me to thinking, with the exception of blue and green, there's no other colour combination(s) I won't, or haven't tried.

I once read that pink and red were 'finally' an acceptable pairing. Not that this had anything to do with the impending doomsday, sorry, I mean Valentine's Day. Personally I see V Day as the only day not to wear pink and red. I prefer black. I find that it compliments the lovely shade of green that my skin turns when that many balloon/heart holding bears descend upon the high street/world. (I'd like to clarify that this is not a green of jealousy but a colouring of utter sickness.) 

Also Dorothy from 'Rich Kids Of Beverly Hills' - and no I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm an avid watcher - listed wearing pink and red, along with wearing socks and sandals and blonde hair with black eyebrows, as the cardinal sins of today's youth and their inability to "be held accountable for their actions". The "scary place" that Dorothy thinks this leads to, is called 'the real world' where unfortunately she doesn't reside but her quips sure do make me lol. To get back on point here though, pink and red compliment one another (pink is only a lighter shade of red after all.) I also love turquoise and red; a colour combo I wore to my prom - on reflection this is the only statement I'll be re-living from that day, the rest will remain a distant, chiffon memory - at least I stayed away from satin. 

The more I think about it the more I come to realise that it all comes down to taste. Not good taste or bad taste but personal taste. Black and yellow will never bee (lol) okay in my mind but Jeremy Scott obviously doesn't share the same opinion after sending doppelganger Sponge Bob's down the runway. 

Clashing is a trend in itself. Some people go to the trouble of dying their hair to look like living rainbows. On the flip side others live a completely monochromatic life. Neither one is more right than the other. Whilst I find it hard to shake off my mother's warning, (mostly because the damn rhyme is stuck in my head) I do thrive off the days when I catch a glimpse of myself in a window looking like a paint box. When I was travelling it was a case of 'all on or freeze', which all too often left me looking like a crazy art teacher. Other times I'm likened to a ninja, kicking ass and looking chic all in one blacked out outfit - it might just be me that refers to me as a ninja though… 

Fashion is all about rules; black and brown together are a sin, vertical stripes are a girl's worst nightmare, cowboy boots worn in a non-ironic way will lead to mass shunning etc, etc… but really the only rules that should matter are the ones you make up yourself. After all you don't have to listen to my mother! 

(Photos: amlul, ManRepeller, WGSN)