Boden Sienna Coat & My Love of Teal

I’ve always been a thoroughly pink and purple girl since I was old enough to colour coordinate. Look through pictures of me when I was wee like the one in this retro-inspired post and you’ll find me in every shade of pink, purple or red. As a teen I went through a short-lived anti-pink phase, but soon got over it! My latest outfit post, starring my recently thrifted pink ’60s swing coat, is surely testament to my enduring love of the hue.

More recently though, I’ve found myself branching out into greens and blues – colours I would usually have shied away from. Perhaps it’s because I’m pale and tend to suit shades of cerise, burgundy and aubergine, but I’ve always tended towards a warmer colour palette. In the oft-grey Scottish gloom, cool colours can look even colder. Choosing the right shades on the other half of the colour wheel can work when chosen correctly, even if you’re peely-wally like me – you just need to go with the right kind of hue.

Enter my new obsession with teal: the dark, greenish-blue is somehow universally flattering as a more interesting neutral. It’s such a deep jewel hue that it seems almost warm because of its richness. It makes me think of the muted Art Nouveau colour palette, with shades of olive green and violet punctuated with peacock blue and mustard. When the style was first showcased in Paris at the beginning of the twentieth century, people loved or loathed its arts and crafts influences, curved lines and stylised flowers that were later given a psychedelic makeover in the 1960s. I fall firmly into the love camp.

It was the colour of this teal coat that immediately caught my eye when Boden’s new season offerings first appeared online (there’s 20% off today too!). The colour is punchy enough to brighten up grey days, but it’s also classic enough that it won’t date. The relaxed, collarless cocoon shape and textured cotton nods to the ’60s too – an era that’s one of my all-time fashion favourites. I decided to continue the mid-Century feel with a matching roll neck jumper and co-ordinating vintage tweed pleated skirt. There’s something that feels so effortlessly stylish about dressing in shades of the same colour; this green-themed ensemble, topped off with vintage frame bag, Clubmaster sunglasses and navy ankle boots made me feel like a ‘sixties movie starlet on a cold, Edinburgh day.

What are your thoughts on teal? What are you wearing at the moment?

Coat, jumper and boots c/o Boden, vintage skirt and vintage accessories.