Don't be fooled: this season, the new black is . . . once again, black. Nothing can replace fashion's favourite colour, but that need not mean your wardrobe should be devoid of all other tones. While black still occupies the number one slot, alternatives ought to be given some consideration.
Each year, at least one additional shade is proposed by fashion designers and writers, meeting with varying degree of approval from the consumer. Two years ago, the selected shade was brown; not, as everyone soon discovered, a terribly popular choice. Last winter, grey became the new brown which had been the new black. That generally met with favour, certainly enough to ensure grey is still plentiful for this autumn/winter.
However, there are other choices too such as pale blue and lilac - both of them something of a hangover from summer, when they were joined by pink - but above all red. This is not subtle, discreet, deepest berry-shaded red. No, it is shrill, unmissable, halt-the-traffic fire-engine red which is being proposed; a colour demanding to be noticed and, accordingly, not so much for shrinking violets as attention grabbing poppies. Turning up throughout the international collections last March, red was a clarion call away from dark muted tones towards something more joyous. However, for women who feel unable to wear the red badge of courage alone, it does have the merit of mixing wonderfully with more traditional autumn/winter shades. Both black and grey team comfortably with red, as do navy and brown. And - unlike blue - red and green, beg to be seen together. They also make flying the red flag much easier than might otherwise be the case. Red seen in combination with a different shade also provides the solution to another challenge for the season ahead: what to wear instead of the suit which now tends to look commonplace and dated. Suits have become something of a cliche in the past few years, the obvious choice for all professional women and therefore acquiring the characteristics of a standardised uniform.
While obviously practical, the suit is hardly imaginative. A more refreshing choice, as much for work as anywhere else, is the shift dress teamed with either jacket or cardigan. Here is a look which was enormously successful over the summer months simply updated for colder weather. Instead of a light slip dress, something just as easy but slightly more substantial - the shift - is substituted. The cardigan remains perfectly fine as an alternative to the jacket, especially since the former often now has the latter's long, lean form. Just as elegant but much more novel than the suit, this is the smart woman's option for autumn/winter.
