Blues don't have to be moody. It's the colour that suits everyone

The one colour that suits all women and men is blue – blue jeans are a universal uniform and a blue denim jacket one of the useful and transitional pieces in a wardrobe of any age or gender. It’s just as effective with everything from trousers and shorts to skirts and floor-length dresses, evident from everyday street style in any world city.

It’s said to be the favourite colour of Americans and Europeans, durable and stable, and historically the colour of workwear, the “bleu de travail” as the French call it, popular everywhere from building sites to boardrooms and nocturnal urban haunts.

It’s a cool colour in every sense and there are more shades and tones than words to name them. Blue black is the colour of night, pale blue the colour of light. Matching different shades of navy is always a challenging task.

Here, blues and blue blacks married to modern metallics blur the lines between dressed-up glamour and gritty urban cool with star and studded embellishments upping the ante.

London Fashion Week: eight trends you need to know

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Making heads turn: Clare milliner Margaret O’Connor

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The Galway store promoting west of Ireland designers

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Drawn from boutiques and high street, the various looks show how to mix modern with vintage, inexpensive jewellery and judiciously chosen accessories to make a bold statement for both sexes.

Metallic tailoring has become a trend on the catwalks – in Paris, Lemaire’s silvery blue suits and washed-out blue accessories hit the note perfectly – blue and silver look great together and silver shoes or bags can elevate the most mundane ensemble and remain street style favourites winter or summer.

Even swimwear takes on an out-of-the-ordinary look and capes with mismatched blue tones and sunnies could decorate any sci-fi B or Star Wars movie.

Creative director and stylist: Mary Ginnifer assisted by Catherine Ginnifer. Photographer: Diana Lemcio. Make-up artist: Nicole Lynch (with thanks to Jeanette Cronin Make Up Studio, Cork). Hair: Shane Markham of Origin Hair Design, Cork. Models: Lara Quinn of Distinct Model Management, Sian Scott and Ciaran Power (independent models). Location: The Clayton Hotel, Cork and the public boardwalk, Cork Harbour.