Fox In Flats, a fabulous fashion blogger that you really should read, because she makes it all about the mummies, has been running a few dares of late. I have watched with envy as the gorgeous Fiona from Mummy Daze looked seriously hot in the red lipstick dare and the divine Gemma from My Big Nutshell rocked a full week of head gear, this week I decided I wanted in. The dare was perfect for me too – it was a colour dare, specifically to banish the black and grey and beige from your wardrobe for a week and wear at least 2 colours. I am known to live in head to toe black with the odd pop of grey so I was determined to break out of my bleak uniform and breathe a little brightness into my day.
I am not sure when I slipped into such a limited colour range but it doesn’t help that my skin is fair with pink undertones which means that a LOT of colours make me look sick, most of the time it is just easier to wear black. The thing is that I don’t see myself as a black or grey person, I like to think that I am generally bright and cheerful but my clothing had stopped being a reflection of my personality. I knew it was time to lighten up and bit and this gave the perfect opportunity.
The first day I started off slowly with my new green leather thongs. I usually wear either red or coral nail polish on my toes so I got off easy with this one. The next day I had to dig into the back of the wardrobe and I uncovered a red top that I hadn’t worn in at least 18 months, pairing it with a green necklace made me feel like I had made an effort to put an outfit together and I was looking for an excuse to get out of the house so that someone might actually see it!
By the third day I was heading to the gym so I grabbed an orange singlet I usually glace at then leave in the drawer in favour of something more subtle but I threw it on and I felt somehow more energised for the entire day, I was starting to really love having some colour around me.
The fourth day I was running out of clothing options but still had some accessories to work with which was when the red handbag came in handy. The top I wore with it looks black and white in the pic but I assure you it was navy, and I was wearing it with green shorts just to be sure.
By the fifth day I was down to earrings, but I had forgotten how much I loved wearing these turquoise ones, and they seem to go with just about everything, in fact I have hardly taken them out since last week!
The sixth day (Saturday) was easy since I had an Girls Night In party to attend and we are requested to wear pink. I felt so pretty wearing the pink, purple and white maxi dress that I usually reserve for Christmas parties. I had also forgotten just how easy it is to get ready when you only have one piece of clothing to deal with. I NEED some more dresses!
On the seventh day I had all but run out of options and I was a little too hung-over to give it too much thought, but I still had my orange nail polish to perk me up. No, it wasn’t 2 colours, but we’re not in high school and there won’t be an certificate of attendance so lets not get fussy. Ahem, defensive much?
There were a couple of stages where I got a bit carried away, most notably with some rather unflattering fluoro yellow nail polish…
So what did I gain from taking up the dare? I learned to stop being so cautious about wearing a few colours, I learned that there are actually a number of colours that work with my skin tone and I felt brighter for having the extra colour in my day. Coming into summer and there being a few colours in this seasons offering that actually appeal I can smell a shopping trip coming up and I have already told myself that black and grey are off the wish list!
