Lift your drab days by mixing your monochrome with yellow
The most depressing day of the year is upon us, the weather is unimaginably drab and it’s just sinking in that it’s a whole year until it will be acceptable to sit around in cashmere socks for two weeks straight.
Instead of giving into the January blues and exacerbating your negativity with head-to-toe black, give your wardrobe, and whole life, a Vitamin C injection (where C stands for canary).
You might not be sporting a post-Palm Springs tan - unlike the entirety of your Instagram feed - but unlike the yellow of old, this season is all about wearing it au natural.
Don’t take the SS17 catwalk too literally: it doesn’t have to be worn heel-to-head, as we saw at Max Mara and Emilio de la Morena.
Instead, here’s our guide on how to wear the not-so-simple shade in an everyday sense.
Back To Basics
You’re not going to get any points for originality, but the most-impact-for-least-commitment way to wear yellow is in the form of a coat or jumper. It’s the sartorial sampler. If you can deal with that, you can take it to the next level.
Team Trouser
Whatever the reason for a trend being tricky — whether it’s the shape, print or colour — a trouser is the answer. A yellow trouser can be contrasted with a collared shirt or pared down with a knit. Make like the SS17 fashion crowd and wear with 50s wallpaper blue (or azure for extra zing).
Go For Gold
If you doubt your complexion’s ability to carry off canary, you can tone down the trend with more of a Roksanda-esque burnished bronze tone. To avoid excess bling (yes, there is such a thing), wear with black.
Bring On The Biker
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a leather jacket will dress down even the fanciest of pieces. We’re looking to the Haider Ackermann runway where acid-toned skirts were worn with cropped bikers.
Bag It Up
If you’re not yet ready to break your lifetime ban on yellow next to the face, accessories are the answer. It’s not a cop-out (well, maybe a tiny bit — our friends at 3.1 Phillip Lim will not be impressed) but it’s understandable. The Valentino chain bag [above] is top of our must-buy list.
Vacay Vision
The prospect of being on a beach can sometimes bring on a bit of a wardrobe transplant. For us, that means yellow — a colour we’d approach with caution — becomes acceptable. It figures: sun, tans, pina coladas (at a push) are all so hashtag vacay. We’re basing our summer wardrobe on models at Preen By Thorton Bregazzi who walked in floaty, frilly dresses with big bow sandals and lace socks.
Mellow yellow outerwear is surprisingly versatile, and the good way to jazz up an all-black wardrobe.
Wear with thick black tights and a black or navy midi dress.
A shoulder detail is the easiest way to wear this season's frill trend. Wear with a pointed toe Chelsea boot.
Team these overtly opulent velvet trousers with a silk shirt. Contrast it with a crisp blue shirt.
We'll be easing ourselves into yellow with this bag, a grey sweater and jeans.
Wear with a sassy sandals (maybe from MR By Man Repeller) or pare it down with a leather jacket.
Don't crowd this Gucci shirt — give it space tucked into a block colour skirt.
The perfect slinkyness for layering or tucking into a skirt or swishy trouser.
Make the full midi office-appropriate with a collared shirt. White is verging on too preppy, so go for a pretty pale blue.
Layer with a black rollneck for extra chilly days.
Balance the brightness with a wide leg black trouser and trainers.
Wear tucked into a wide-leg trouser for work, or over a cropped jean at the weekend.
This is a must piece in our spring capsule wardrobe. Wear with navy.