Colour Yourself Happy

Hi Everyone,

In a year where Summer seems to be having a tough time showing its face, like this year, colour is certainly a great remedy.

Colour psychology is something we’re all subjected very early in life. Starting with pre-school  when we learn the basics such as yellow and blue making green, or yellow and red making orange. As much as this fascinated me at the time it wasn’t until later in life that I began to realise just how much wearing pretty colours can impact your life.

If you have been reading FunkyForty for a while you probably already know this story, but it was a try “aha” moment for me:

Before FunkyForty I worked in Finance for almost 3 decades. Despite the usual accepted attire of the time being a simple dark suit, I always liked to pep up my outfits in some way. A favourite was to wear a super bright pink and orange striped cardigan under my dark suit. I once moved departments within the same company  to another location about 30 minutes away. The one day to my surprise my old boss travelled the whole 30 minutes to visit me in the hope I was wearing my cardigan as this always cheered him up.

May this encourage you too – that no matter what your daily environment looks like have the courage to wear your favourite colours. Colour yourself happy with the knowledge that chances are very high that you are colouring someone else happy at the same time!

Keep reading for more about “Colour Yourself Happy”.

Colour Yourself Happy

One of my inspirations for today’s article was also a dear friend of mine Gabrielle who has set up a very special business “Colourful Things”. I find it ever so interesting that even though her business is still in its early stages it has already collected the ongoing attention of many of my Instagram followers. However to be honest it should not really surprise. The reason it catches peoples eye is because of the pretty colours of her pieces. For example the blouse and headband in the picture above are both from “Colourful Things”.

Blouse – available here

Headband – available here

I love the story behind colourfulthings.ch. All pieces are items which Gabrielle – the founder, has carefully picked and they all have a beautiful story behind them. The blouse for example is from a Swiss brand Voyage Fashion which lays great value on sustainable production. The blouses are made in India and Voyage Fashion personally visit the factory where they are made to ensure quality and fair working standards are met.

Blouse – available here

The bag is my absolute favourite travelling shopper and is from another circular design Swiss brand Natural Nuance. They also have super pretty red bags.  I am currently  thinking of getting one myself to make my more neutral toned outfits pop.

You’ll be surprised how much difference a little thing such as a colourful headband can make.

There is a whole selection of colourful headbands available online here.

Colourful shoes are another way to bring a little happiness into your outfit.

These espadrilles also have a lovely story behind them – they are Casa de Vera espadrilles. Casa de Vera was started by a Mother/Daughter team in Venezuela. They have since moved to Spain. However women in Venezuela still help make the pretty coloured pompoms on the espadrilles today. At least 50% of each shoe is made out of recycled cotton. A percentage of the sales goes towards other special social projects.

Check out the current selection of Casa de Vera espadrilles available online here.

Wishing you all lots of fun colouring yourself happy!

Favourite Bags: Natural Nuance bags are crafted to the highest standards using consciously sourced materials. Circular design principles are applied to ensure longevity and re-use.

Find out more here.

FunkyForty

Hi! I’m Yvonne, a 40 something (wink) Kiwi, living in Zurich. I love fashion, travel, shopping and food – believing chocolate will cure almost anything!