What Colour to Wear On Your Wedding Day "Colour Intelligence"

He’s proposed, the families are wedding shopping, the catering is booked, the polythene gift wrapping has begun, the cards are in the post, the honeymoon booked and even the daaamn dholi menu is confirmed, but... the brides wedding dress? Nooope!

Sistaaas, the broken record question... “what colour to wear?”. Magenta, baby pink, no!, regal bride so maybe antique gold! or may be just red or maroon, or green, yellow, orange, white, what the heck maybe even all of them?! WOAH! the latter, not for real!

Ok, so it’s the one day in your life to live the dream you visioned from a little girl. And yes this is the biggest and most important task of them all sweet jalebis. Ok, ok, you may be sitting there holding the screen right up to the eyeballs, hoping for a sista to throw a formula at cha. Is there a formula? You bet there is!

Okay, so grab a cuppa chai and settle down, take the screen back a little too gurl, I can see them pores! (Benefit pore-fessional face primer... magic in a bottle!) So here’s the fashion jargon to help finalise that decision.

Red, yep red, were you expecting a new creation of colour in the rainbow of colours we’re already overwhelmed with? Eh, really you were!?

Red has exploded as an essential colour for 2017 / 2018 but this traditional colours growth has been building for several seasons. Over the years we have experimented with a ray of hues from pinks, yellow, green and even taken new direction with bridal prints but red has been on the horizon and has made a come back, big time!

Stylists, editors and brands have adopted red as the colour of the moment. It's appeared on Vogue India, the “red” carpet (excuse the pun) also both a cover and editorial feature within Marie Claire, and Elle. So if you haven't guessed it already,red is the colour!

In a way, its appeal comes as no surprise – apparently it’s the most documented hue in colour psychology. Err really you say? How do we even know this? We did the research, uh huh; thank us later.

Red is traditionally associated with nobility, and is the most popular colour used for flags. It also connects with political revolution (Communism), brand success (Coca-Cola) and most importantly; feminism (red lipstick! - sorted!) Red has a strong impact on how we feel – for example, sports teams that wear red are more likely to win ( think about winning those wedding games wearing the star colour of the season season!) than teams or auntys that wear blue.

Psychologists have long been fascinated by red's influence on the human psyche. “It can make us feel empowered and passionate, Red is versatile, vital and universal. ” As Christian Dior said, red is “a very energetic and beneficial colour. It is the colour of life.” And us, we agree! We LOVE red. The colour has adorned global royals from maharajas to imperial China. In Indian context, red is also connected to the rising sun. Besides, according to astrology, the planet in charge of marriages, Mars, is red in colour. Therefore, Hindu brides are asked to wear red during the wedding proceedings since it stands for prosperity and fertility. According to the Hindu astrology, applying sindoor in the hair partition is considered to be auspicious as it brings good fortune. Besides this, it is believed that putting the red vermilion powder also activates the chakras in the forehead and on the crown. Married or not, we all need to activate the chakras, (another product to bag!) And the red chura (Indian wedding bangles) also holds cultural significance for Indian brides. So, if by now the trending colour isn’t enough reason to be in red, let the colour psyche be!

And for the none brides... rather than being used in a classic way, we started to see an increased usage of red for a fresh youthful function. We saw these patterns throughout global street style, and started to see influential brands, social influencers use bold red in a cooler, non-classical way. You can see a movement towards the use of this strong colour not only being worn in a monotone way but also appearing in combination with unusual clashing colours. It’s not just one type of red that's now seen but rather tonal variations, from tomato to maroon, which are layered and imbued with texture to create a new bold statement.

This sat alongside the art world's collaboration and merging with the fashion world, with bright colours including red seen at all the international art fairs. It’s began to feel modern and fresh. This colour was later magnified by Sabyasachi, hail to mastry of visionary, and our western influences Gucci.

There is no one formula in finding the right colour but as a society we are influenced unconsciously through global subliminal messages which influence our actions. So take a break from the fashion magazines and boutiques and instead go hit a gallery, visit new restaurants, watch a live band and let the surroundings inspire you. Before you know it, you’ll be going with your own vibe because the hard work has been done for you!

So relax gurl, sit back and let it just come to you, you’ll know its the one, like you knew he was. Do I hear a great sigh of relief? Good!