The New Hue for 2010

Pantone have named Turquoise as their Colour of the Year for 2010 (moving on from Mimosa yellow from 2009), a colour which “transports us to an exciting, tropical paradise while offering a sense of protection and healing in troubled times”. A panel of industry experts were involved in the forecasting, including Marie Claire Fashion Editor, Nina Garcia, and India Hicks who you may know from TV show Top Design. According to Pantone, Turquoise is a colour of deep compassion and healing, which evokes caribbean waters and clear skies. Turquoise is a colour that most people respond to positively, which holds appeal for both men and women, and has both warm and cool undertones. Pairing Turquoise with neutrals and browns adds excitement to them; worn with white and black it gives a super-summery look (especially when paired with a tan) while putting turquoise and pink together makes it tropical – think Miami Beach or Hawaii.

My absolute favourite colour combination for Turquoise though is to put it with gold, or to put together with a beachy outfit with turquoise-stone jewelry. You can pick up reasonably priced turquoise necklaces and bracelets at the Jade Market in Kowloon! I love the straw Stetson trimmed with turquoise stones by Melissa Odabash below – this would be the perfect summer hat to match with a floaty kaftan for a day by the pool… 

Turquoise is also great for using in the home, either as an accent colour like the pouffe in the left side image below, or as a whole room colour. Putting deep turquoise with moody blues and purples gives a bedroom a rich and relaxing feel. The fun shot of hot pink in the flowers on the stack of books stops the look from becoming too heavy. Other secondary colours that Pantone is tipping to be big for 2010 include Tomato Puree, Amparo Blue, Fusion Coral and Violet. You can check out the Pantone Fashion Colour Report in full here.

Turquoise & Gold (Clockwise from top left): Milly Paisley-embroidered silk blouse from Net-a-Porter;  Marc by Marc Jacobs Bag Totally Turnlock Natasha in Spinach from Zappos; Temperley London Mini Agnelli studded dress from Net-a-Porter; Ben-Amun Multi Stones Drop Turquoise Earrings from Max and Chloe.

Beachy Turqoise (Clockwise from top left): Matthew Williamson Swarovski detail silk kaftan from Net-a-Porter ; Elise’s Chunky Turquoise Bead Bracelet; Juicy Couture Silk paisley-print dress; Melissa Odabash Stetson straw cowboy hat.