An Explosion of Colour - and Link-Up

 

Left: what I wore;  centre - what I nearly wore;  right - what I wished I'd worn 

People strolling in London's Regents Park on Saturday were benmused to see a large group of very colourfully dressed women sitting on picnic blankets near the bandstand.

This was the first gathering in London of some of the members of the Kettlewell Colour Club, a group now numbering around 7,000 globally on Facebook.

I've mentioned the group before in posts here and here. It was set up just before lockdown last year by Kettlewell Colours, a UK based business specialising in providing clothes in seasonal/tonal colours for women who've had colour analysis.

Liddy Pereira organized the meet-up: tall and model slim, she is a superb advert for the range. Around 27 made it altogether, which was amazing given the weather. It had rained solidly for the last 24 hours so the original plan of a picnic on the grass had to be abandoned.

Over Thinking My Outfit

The weather played havoc with my choice of outfit. My starting criteria was: wear quite a lot of Kettlewell, and include an infinity scarf (if you have one)  so that we would recognise each other. 

Add to this the rain, and it became quite challenging.  As a blogger writing about fashion, I always feel under pressure in this sort of situation to have a well styled outfit. I didn't need to be so fretful about it with this gathering because 90% of them don't know I'm a blogger. 

The two outfits I planned featured white and pink cropped trousers, and  needed white trainers. Neither combination seemed suitable for a rainy day. Also, both outfits featured a short Chloe jacket, and I figured I'd be too hot on public transport with a rain jacket over the top. 

The picture at the top shows the outfit I wore, the outfit I very nearly wore, and the way I prefer the outfit styled. With hindsight.

Shades of Green 

It was a bit chilly on the day so I reached for my new Kettlewell Neon Apple ribbed top and teamed it with Mint Velvet khaki pants  (not the most flattering, should have sized down), green snakeskin ankle boots, which are plastic so would be fine in the rain, and an emeald green Kettlewell infinity and green metallic belt.

Then at the last minute, I decided I was being too tone-on-tone, and looked more like a Spring than a Winter. So I substituted the Fuchsia Ice infinity and raspberry leopard belt. The jumper is quite long, down to the hips, and I was afraid I would look too square shaped, so I tucked it in. This made the baggy trousers quite bulky and even more unflattering. 

By now I had to rush to get the train, so no more time for experimenting. That was what I wore, and, reader, I didn't feel right:  I felt like I was trying too hard. Instead, I should have worn the jumper more casually, half tucked, with a necklace instead of the infinity  (not everyone wore a scarf, as it happens), and a cross-the-body green bag. 

Left; what I wore.  Centre:  what I nearly wore.  Right:  what I wish I'd worn 

Below is the group picture I took. The ladies are arranged by season with Winter on the left followed by Summer, Autumn and finally Spring.  It was fun to meet such a vibrant group of like minded women. The sun actually came out for a while. Picnic blankets were unfurled on the path, and it was so.....normal....and nice,  to be sitting chatting without wearing masks or maintaining a distance. 

I'm sure there will be many more meet-ups across the UK and possibly in America and other countries, as they're all present in the FB group.  It was a brilliant marketing move by Melissa and the Kettlewell team to create the Colour Club because we all spend so much more once we've seen each other's outfits and different colour combinations.  

Did I make the right choice or would you have chosen one of the other combinations?

Nothing was gifted for this post. 

Sharing this post with:  Beauty by Miss L, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style, Chic & Stylish at Mummabstylish, #SpreadTheKindness  at Shelbee on the Edge, #AnythingGoes at My Random Musings, Thursday Moda at Elegance and Mommyhood, Turning Heads Tuesday at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish,  Style with a Smile  at Stylesplash, Style Six at Coast to Coast, TFF at Doused in Pink, Lizzie in Lace Confident Twosday at IDoDeclaire, Rena at Fine Whatever, Fabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertoldi, #Neverendingstyle at The Grey Brunette #TheWednesdayLinkUp at Claire Justine, Fancy Friday at Nancy's Fashion Style

Now it's time for #WowOnWednesday, the weekly link-up where readers can find new blogs and bloggers can find new readers.

Last Week's Favourites (Most Clicked)

I was so pleased to see the big response to Veronica's post Baby, You Can Ride My Car from her blog Vronni's Style Meanderings. Veronica writes about her daily activities which include lots of walks (she's a Ranblers' Association walk leader), swimming, gardening, volunteer work - and, last but not least, the most wonderfully put together outfits, all bought from charity shops.  She uses colourful jewellery to pull the looks together. Here's my favourite outfit from the post: 

An unsuccessful shopping trip was the topic of Suzy's post "Kimono with Shorts." Suzy, from The Grey Brunette, had a more successful trip afterwards, you'll be glad to hear.  But she was looking good anyway! 

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