Red, red, red

Over the past three weeks or so every time I got to my local tube station to catch the train my eyes always fell on the stunning billboard size photograph, across the platform, advertising the exhibition of Valentino's dresses at Somerset House. There he was, the master of couture, surrounded by six beautiful models in rather dramatic poses, all wearing red gowns, in different styles,  all his own creations. That's an exhibition I will not miss, I keep on telling myself, knowing that I have plenty of time to view it, as it ends in March 2013.



But ever since I saw those gowns l have fallen in love with the colour red and have been hunting down red garments. I bought a red beret and a scarf, I also got myself a red tunic. Not quite Valentino, but I can luxuriate in the colour.
It is a Christmassy colour, I know, and thus it is seen around quite a lot at this time of the year.
At the end of November I did a photo shoot for The Guardian, for the Fashion for All Ages feature. Imagine my delight when I was given to  model a RED skirt by Ira von Fürstemberg with a matching red polo neck by Joseph. All that wonderful red filled me with warmth and joy and it made me want to surround myself with even more. Or was I pining for Valentino's gowns and trying to recreate the feel?

Photographer: David Newby for The Guardian Model: Alex B

So what is it with this colour red? I did a little googling and came across colour expert Kate Smith's website. Here she has a fascinating entry about red which I truly recommend. Red, she says, affects us physically, by stimulating us. It is the colour of the root chakra - all of you into yoga will nod in reading this - and thus it grounds us and increases our feeling of trust. Kate goes on to give us the significance of red around the world, with various snippets of trivia, utterly fascinating.  I did not know, among other things, that red was the highest arc of colour in the rainbow!
I love the popular phrases Kate has collected - 'red carpet treatment', 'caught red handed' and many more. Of course red is not always positive, as we all fear ' being in the red', when checking our bank statements  - and there will be quite a few 'red' statements  after the Christmas binge.
What is missing from that long list given by Kate is a statement about  red being a truly elegant colour. I never  realised it until I saw the Valentino's poster. Maybe it's the gowns and I am fixating on  the colour as a substitute. Maybe. The bottom line is that I will be wearing a lot more red in the coming year. And who knows, Father Christmas might decide to bring me a red Valentino gown!