Out walking recently, I came across one of those things I’ve always loved – a large market full of home baked goodies and secondhand and vintage fashion in a pretty, sunny garden. Sadly, I have to say I only found 4-5 things even worth considering. The rest of it was junk. Pure junk. The designs were bad, the fabrics had pilled or faded and the seams looked dodgy. In a word: cheap. Cheap, disposable, fast fashion.

You may have heard that for the first time since Pantone begun releasing their Colour of the Year (in 2000) that they have declared a pairing of two colours to be ‘Colour’ of The Year. And, they’re pastels… Take a look here.

I thoroughly enjoy Iris Apfel’s refusal to fade away, as sadly so many women past a certain age do. Those who read my last blog post: Iris, part 1 will know this. It was reinforced when I recently saw ‘Iris‘ – the documentary by the late Albert Maysles. She succeeds in making a confident and colourful statement because she is not concerned with being ‘pretty’ or obsessed with trying to appear young, which often results in looking sad and dissatisfied with life.

The photo is actually a shot of all the clothes I quickly threw together for a 10-day road trip up the east coast of Australia. Despite having plenty of space in the car for my stuff, I still wanted to ensure every item could be worn together so I didn’t have to think about what became dirty and what was still clean – anything I picked up to wear any day co-ordinated. Find out how to use the colour wheel and other colour facts to help you pack a capsule wardrobe that coordinates.