Printed pencil skirt, £20 Very.co.uk
You’re most likely to hear this rule from your granny – but doesn’t she know it’s going against nature? Lauren Bravo explains why blue and green should definitely be seen
So obviously false is this little platitude that we really shouldn’t have to waste screen inches debunking it – but just in case there are still people out there secretly putting on a turquoise frock with an emerald jacket and dancing round their room with the curtains drawn lest the vicar should see, let’s do this.
Firstly, whoever first coined this rule is going against NATURE. It’s the anti-Wordsworth of outfit assembly. Have they never stood in a meadow and looked up at the sky? Have they never been to the seaside, is that it? So they decided to punish the rest of us? Blue and green is one of the oldest fashion choices there is, along with ‘brown and brown’ and ‘lava-red with dinosaur khaki’.
Secondly, speaking of poetry, I strongly suspect that this might be one of those rules that arose purely because it rhymed – just like “tequila before wine makes you feel fine,” or “never trust a dog who looks like a log”. Which is all well and good, but do we want to be filling our children’s heads with these nonsensical limitations when everyone knows that the poshest poetry doesn’t rhyme anyway? We shouldn’t be denying ourselves potentially great outfits just because someone wanted a level 7 in their English SATs paper.
Thirdly, just as with all fashion myths, this one was clearly instated because somebody did it badly once. My guess is it was somebody’s auntie Marge at a wedding, who piled on so much grass-green eyeshadow with her cornflower crimpelene that she looked like the lady in that Vladimir Tretchikoff painting. This will not be you, don’t worry.
Think joyful splashes of complementary jewel colours rather than matchy-matchy blocks and you’ll be fine. It’s Mary Katrantzou, not the Virgin Mary standing in a field. Or an Asda uniform. This gloriously clashy Love Label pencil skirt from Very.co.uk, for example, does all the courageous work for you – like a kindly baroque leopard who’s wandered into a rave. All it needs is a t-shirt and you’re done.
Now go forth, dressed like the sea and sky, and be seen! Be seen by all! Unless you’re doing green tights, in which case we should probably talk.
Got a fashion myth you’d like busted? Comment below or tweet us @ShinyStyle
