marielsacco
- Dec 5, 2018
- 2 min read

Winter lights

For as long as I can remember, I seem to have been fed the idea that the colours one wears should somehow reflect the seasons or be guided by them to some extent. Dark colours were relegated to the winter months whereas the lighter and brighter the better for summer; Christmas time calls for reds while spring is for florals ("groundbreaking").

I suppose this has something to do with my Mediterranean heritage - after all, just standing still in the Maltese summer sun can also lead to breaking a sweat so imagine being dressed in head-to-toe black?! Not that I've never done it, mind you! I love 'all black everything' outfits and I'm not one to be ruled by the seasons or the geographical location I would be at. I am known to have worn full black outfits - possibly even with closed shoes - in the peak of the August Maltese sun ... there's probably photographic evidence somewhere too ...

Contrastingly, I am also terribly fond of 'all white everything' or at least 'all neutral everything' outfits ... and Belgium seems to bring this preference out more prominently.

There is something very continental - at least to my mind - in wearing different shades of neutrals all at once. I suppose it also comes from seeing all those elegant ladies of a certain age, al dressed in shades of beige and ecru to match their greying hair - I fondly refer to them as 'Beige Ladies' - going about their daily errands or sipping tea at some café. I guess the look falls under the camaïeu category which, as Aloïs Guinut explains in her Dress like a Parisian is "French for 'different shades of a colour' ... a very stylish and subtle play on monochrome. The variation from one shade to another could be caused by a difference in hue or difference in intensity." I'm gonna allow myself to think I've achieved this, and keep enjoying my shades of neutrals in the cold winter days ahead ... and hope to reach 'Beige Lady' status in the years to come.