5 Ways to keep your winter wardrobe bright

Winter always brings out the subdued colours and trends in fashion

. Dark shades and neutral tones always feature heavily in winter collections. While this might be great for staples, sometimes we need a little cheering up when the weather gets gloomy.

1) Accent Pieces

Accent pieces are an item of clothing that stands out from the rest of the outfit. Whether it's a bright pair of coloured heels with your black dress or a red scarf with your understated work outfit, an accent piece will bring an outfit to life. The piece doesn't always have to be a stand out colour, it could be a texture, style or print that works in contrast to the rest of your clothes, such as chunky boots with a pretty, floral Ladakh skirt or an electric blue Cooper St dress worn with black tights and a black jacket. In fact, if you do make the accent item about colour, then be careful not to repeat that colour again in the same outfit. The point is to make the colour, the texture or the style stand out.

2) Careful Colour

While it seems like a great idea to brighten up your dark winter wardrobe with some great colourful pieces, you must be selective in the colours you choose. You can choose from pretty much any colour in the spectrum but it's the shade that counts. Don't couple your dark grey, knit skirt with a luminous aqua that would be more at home beside the pool. Rather, why don't you try a more subdued tone like electric blue, or a warm cornflower blue that suits the colour and fabric of your outfit. If you want a red scarf or accent piece, stick to the reds with blue tones, rather than a yellow based, tomato red. Brightening things up with colour is a great idea and if you choose carefully you can achieve a stylish accent as opposed to a garish faux pa.

3) Statement Jacket

What better way to brighten up your winter jeans or leggings than with a jacket that really makes a statement. You could make that statement about colour or you could make it about style. You could go for a specific look like the military look that everyone is loving at the moment, or you could go tough and get a biker style jacket. If you want to go with something other than black to make your statement you could get all nautical and stripy and pick up a cute navy and white crop jacket or embrace the lady in you and go for the rose patterned tea jacket. Ladakh, Shilla and Living Doll are doing some great statement jackets this season in classic colours and fabrics and also in some daring hues and stylised cuts.

4) Accessories

Accessories can mean jewellery or actual items of clothing such as scarves, hats and belts. How ever you want to define it, accessorising can seriously save any winter outfit from becoming dull and dark. Scarves come in a ridiculous array of colours and textures these days and you pick one up for as cheap as you want. Cute knitted berets and slouch beanies can add a touch of colour on the coldest of days or even as a fashion statement.

Jewellery can add a more subtle touch of colour to a dark outfit if you don't want to shout your colours out too loud. A chunky floral ring in a dashing red or baby pink might be the thing you need to pull together a conservative skirt or pants coupled with a cute cardigan. If you are trying for something a little more bohemian and thrown together, then a beaded or leather charm bracelet can set off a matching pair of coloured earrings or detailed belt. Play up the colour as you feel comfortable and you will never go wrong.

5) Tights

If you don't want to be so bold as to wear yellow tights with your little black dress or shirts, then why not try a more subdued colour such as grey or purple? Brightening up a wardrobe doesn't always have to be about primary colours. Sometimes the more subtle approach can have just as powerful effect on brightening up the black and greys that we love in winter. Ladakh, Living Doll and Anise have a very funky range of tights and leggings this season with details like studding and peepholes to give your outfit that little extra flair.

5 Ways to keep your winter wardrobe bright

By: Karinne Laagland

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