Colour can be your friend or your foe. Many people underestimate the benefits which can be obtained by choosing which colours we wear.

Take red, for example. Red is the colour of passion, love and warmth; but it is also the colour of danger. It can mean ‘STOP!’ If a woman wakes up feeling grizzly, that red outfit is not the one to wear.  Far better would be to swop the red for pale blue, a gentle colour of healing, or pale green, which induces calm, unless she is setting off to a battle, for red is also the colour of energy.  Wrapping something red and warm around a sore throat seems to work better than any other colour too.

Another great anti-grizzle colour is pastel pink. This colour will engender feelings of warm, self affection and gentleness, making one seem far more approachable and forgiving. Men who wear pink clothing are usually displaying their softer side, although there are other men who believe male pink is the equivalent of wearing a frilly bonnet, a pair of dangly earrings and wobbly stilettos two sizes too small  – they would rather eat their own muddy boots than be seen in what they perceive is a girlie colour. I was married to such an anti-pink gentleman and, as friendly as we were when we parted, the only thing in my new home which did not turn pink was me.

Orange will bring energy and, to some, represents spirituality; others think yellow, the colour of the sun, offers greater spiritual connection, though, sadly, only a few can carry off this colour in clothing with aplomb, unless darker skinned. It can make some people resemble a giant banana.

Metallic colours of gold and silver, used as small highlights to an outfit, can engender luxury and richness; but too much may take the wearer straight into Tartland, however undeserved.  The human eye cannot take big swathes of glitter without wincing and thinking of Christmas trees, fallen pop idols and tin foil, none of which could be construed as fashionable.

Brown, the colour of soil, is probably just as exciting; but if richly chocolate coloured, can be attractive and grounding.  Like Nature, it needs frissons of natural colour to liven it up and complement its earthy values.

White invokes purity; this is the victory colour. It has an element of superiority for it is at the top of the spectrum of meaning and is everything and yet nothing. It is a blank canvas, a spark of light, truth and understanding. It will not judge, nor cast aspersions. White is the colour of goody two shoeness, the polar opposite of mysterious black.

However, black can be sophisticated and also authoritative. It can say “don’t mess with me”. It is not a colour which induces warmth and friendliness. It’s a Greta Garbo colour and says “I vant to be lefft alone”. However, for ladies with overly upholstered, body form, slimming black can turn a lounge sofa of a rear end into a neat park bench; for that reason, a little black dress is well worth the space in any girl’s wardrobe. It is back up insurance for the days when no other colours are friendly.