'wandering in many a coral grove, fair nine! forsaking poetry!'
William Blake
Although you northern hemisphere folks are currently in the throes of summer we here down under are gearing up in preparation for it, and nothing quite rings in summer like bright heat-filled hues like tangerine, lemon yellow, sea green and rich, tangy coral. It's the latter that interests me at the moment, since i've recently been seeing an influx of coral coloured clothes into the chain stores here in sydney, meaning that this colour has well and truly made it. Who knew it would have moved from quiet style-set fixation to fully blown sartorial success? i blame the cobra snake kids.
The thing about coral is that all you really need is a touch. It's a very strong colour, but it works well on almost every skin tone and against almost every hair colour, even, i would venture, against red heads, although they should go for a peachier shade. Happily fate has blessed me with olive skin all year round and rich, thick, chocolate brown hair, pretty much the only two things about myself that i love (thanks, mum) and so coral is pretty much my colour soulmate. It looks great with denim (hence the proliferation of denim in these fabulous future me collages) and with black. It also looks great with white, in that i just came back from the hamptons way. Ah don't listen to me, listen to fabulous future me, she knows a great deal more about these things than i do, that's for sure.
Monday
rutzou coral peasant top, american eagle shorts, yves saint laurent chain necklace, rayban wayfarer sunglasses, chloe paraty bag, sigerson morrison gladiators.
The best thing about vacation is no work. that may sound like a no-brainer, but in reality most of your holidays actually involve work, like that time you went to the shows in paris and milan but spent the whole time in your hotel room filing copy and didn't actually get to go to the sidestreets and eat gelato or smoke gauloises with a cute french boy. But for 3 glorious weeks of summer you get to leave work behind, cast it from your mind (except to remind yourself that you can pay for this stunning villa on the ocean in mykonos because of it), and soak up the summer sun in relative peace. When you packed your suitcase for this holiday you immediately grabbed everything coral-hued and threw it in there, there's something refreshing about that colour, and on a sunny monday with the blistering heat radiating from every cracked tile and every white-washed window you want something cooling. your organic cotton coral peasant top will do the trick, paired with denim cut offs that are so short they should be illegal and a pair of no fuss gladiator sandals you are beach, and heat, ready.
Tuesday
bottega veneta clutch, topshop ring, preen asymmetrical bandage dress, jil sander asymmetrical blazer, nicholas kirkwood heels.
Black Tie? you didn't even knew that existed in the Greek isles, but evidently you were wrong. As you dress for the summer bash that you exuberant and fabulous friend is throwing on her private island tonight (as you do) you feel a little frustrated at your lack of choice. You seemed to only have packed a few evening dresses, and the only acceptable one for black tie is black. It's too hot for black! And it's certainly too hot for bandage... Harumphing like a spoilt 6 year old you pull it on, grumbling you grab a woven box clutch and pull on your nicholas kirkwood heels. With a grimace on your face you reach for your asymmetrical blazer, even though you know it's a fruitless exercise, there's no way you'll be wearing a jacket in this heat. The dark cloud of your mood hands over you as you scour your jewellery bag for something suitable to go with the dress/jacket with their asymmetrical necklines. No necklaces. No bangles unless one on each arm to level it out... No... Hold on a minute. You've just seen a flash of coral nestled in the corner of the bag, you pull it out, triumphant, a gigantic ring, bright and exuberant you found in the sales bin at topshop a couple of weeks ago. And just like that, your mood is lightened. Such is the power of coral.
Wednesday
marchesa dress, cutler and gross sunglasses, amrita singh bangles, dorothy perkins bangles, repetto ballet flats.
you are a diva. A goddess. A vision in white. You have settled into a deck chair, wide skirts of a maxi dress fanning out around you like the foamy crests of waves and with a pile of glossies (why does it take so long for them to get to greece?) you are looking forward to an afternoon of blissful nothingness. Then suddenly, out of the blue, a group of freckled youths start throwing frisbees and all manner of ball-shaped things around in the air in front of you. Of course that's your luck, over a huge stretch of beach, a wide expanse of shimmering sand, the rowdy boys settle in front of you. The silence of the sea is drowned out by yelling, kicking and screaming... Frustrated you push your aviators up on top of your head and hike up the hem of your maxi, crossing your legs to reveal your coral repetto ballet flats. Hello Boys, your wave seems to say.
And silence. Beautiful, beautiful silence.
Thursday
celine clutch, chanel cuff, marchesa dress, american eagle jacket, alexander wang shoes.
Clubbing is always more fun in another country. A whole manner of sins - dirty dancing, cheesy alcopop drinks, 80s over the top eye shadow - is forgiven because you're in another place, another culture, and quite frankly you're never going to see these people again. As you rock up to this particular venue, all bright neon flashing lights and thighs agogo, you feel a little unnatural, maybe you should have worn something tight and short rather than this bejewelled coral shift. But you loved the colour, it seemed to say everything that was wonderful about summer, and holidays, and Greece, and when you see the admiring glances of girls and guys you feel confident in your decision. As you go to the bar you can't help but order a tequila sunrise, the orange juice and grenadine melting in together to form this gorgeous coral colour matching the hue of your dress perfectly. You sip on them all night, and dance like a pro!
Friday
lanvin jacket, yves saint laurent ring, K.Jacques sandals, humanoid tee, vintage chocker necklace acne jeans, chanel bag.
Sitting down for lunch with a long lost friend (you never knew that since going to florence to 'find' herself she ended up in Greece and is now writing a novel, but hey, that's life) you can't help but scrutinize the way she looks. When she left more than a year ago now she was tired and exhausted, completely fed up with city life and the conveyor belt repetitive nature of working life in the corporate rat pack. Now all she does is glow. She radiates this happiness, this complete and utter contentedness that comes partly from a new relationship that is giving her loads of joy but also from having removed herself from poisonous urban life and finally realising her true self. As silly and self-indulgent as that may sound, you have some serious life-envy as you both wolf down the seafood, so fresh it still has some jump to it. You never knew how exhausted you looked back home until you go on holiday and three weeks later take a good hard look in the mirror. And although you love your work (yes, really, you do, hard as it is to believe) you do find it increasingly frustrating as the months roll by. You wish you could be on holiday forever. But, then, as the alert sounds on your iphone and you scramble to read it, that would be tiring after a while too, endless hours of nothing stretching into oblivion is a confronting thought for anyone, even the perennially over-worked. Better to have this blissful three week break and then return to reality, adrenalin fuelled fast-paced reality for the rest of the year, content that soon, very soon, you'll be having coral-filled dreams in some far flung summer land again.
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