The colours we wear....

Have you noticed that in my part of England (South East) that people under the age of 30 all wear black clothes in the Summer in 30 degrees of heat? 

Black absorbs heat - white reflects it. Doesn't anyone have any sense any more?

Look abroad, colours, red, white, blue, turquoise orange, floral on white backgrounds, floaty, bright, reflecting Summer and the sun it brings.

Look at UK, black makes you look thinner, colour makes you stand out. You mustn't stand out.

I remember my mother's clothes from my childhood, blues, greens, white, cream, salmon pink, checks, florals, white skirts and ski pants. Chunky cardies for the evening.

I spent my working life in art. Television graphics then camera work. I wore bowling shirts green patterned with two red macaws on the front was my favourite. Plain white, green, blue, acid pink - ok that was a bit of a mistake with my red hair. But colour was big in my life.

I worked with one artist who only wore black every day. When I asked him why, he said it was easy to wash together and it didn't lose it's colour.

Black is not a colour to me, it's the absence of colour.

My clothes now are tailored to what I do. I dress like an actor playing a part. 
I was body shamed by a skeletal woman in black super tight jeans with sunken in cheeks who looked like she'd just been dug up.  Laughing at me in my white cut off trousers and blue and white striped tee shirt.

All women at a certain age get into nautical wear my son told me, ok for most people but I did look like a pirate!

I was laughed at for my red hair in the Doctor's the other day while I was picking up my perscription. I was wearing my white sun hat, ray bans and a turquoise summer dress.
I noticed two elderly women wearing black trousers and dull grey tops were staring at me.
"Not another bloody red head, there's too many in this village." One said and the other agreed. I gave them my Paddington hard stare forgetting I had my Raybans on.
Well that worked - not - they laughed at me.

I will not dress to "fit in" I am an individual and as such I will wear what the hell I like.
I will not be body shamed by someone a breath away from death.
I will wear my red hair with pride. Part of my Irish ancestry. 
I am annoyed that purple - one of my favourite colours - 
is now a transgender colour. WTF??
I have rainbow shoes but I'm not gay. 

Colour belongs to everyone. I remember years ago in the BBC I was working with a Canadian girl whose family had just moved to the UK.  People in Canada told her, you will see a lot of coloured people over there.

She told me she was really disappointed - where were all the coloured people?
"What were you expecting?" I asked her.
"Blue, green, red, orange - you know... colours."
On that note I will leave you with a lavender field and a poppy. Enjoy the colours.