The Art of Monochrome

I have a long list of favourite colours. The colours themselves don’t change, but sometimes the order does. For many years red came first. Now it is turquoise.

There are also colours that I particularly like in combination: black and white, red and white, and also dark green and white. (For some reason the last particularly makes me think of summer.)

I generally don’t like to wear black with colours; it reminds me too much of the brash Eighties. I do like it however, worn with grey, and with white.

Black and white is obviously a classic pairing. It is such a striking combination of opposites, but you do want to get the balance right. Once, when I was a teenager, I wore a black top with a white skirt with black stockings with white shoes. That was an error. And I realised (to my mortification) while I was actually still out wearing it. I never did that again.

Shape and proportion are important: I love the drama of this white coat-dress. The mandarin collar and peaked shoulders are gorgeous, and the multitude of buttons infuriating. My little collection of black and white accessories is as punctuation to an eloquent line of prose.

The bag, entirely woven from black and white plastic beads, is the exclamation mark.