We will be back in September after the big Trade Fairs to report on all things stylish..

Navy is one of those colours, its classic, cool, calm and makes anything look expensive, particularly french navy. As we see the nautical theme take over in 2010 one will pull out those classic suits, stunning vintage shoes and wonder why they were tucked away for so long.

I suspect the boat neck stripped tops and loafers will also appear some time soon …… ♥

One thing I know first hand is that emerald gem stones have great meaning. As a child I remember seeing the most beautiful emerald ring on my grandmothers left hand ring finger. As she used to cut up my food I was always mesmerized by it. ♥

She still wears it today on occasion and I always smile and remember those days. I always thought the ring had special powers.

The emerald is the sacred stone of the goddess Venus. It was thought to preserve love. The emerald has long been the symbol of hope. It is considered by many to be the stone of prophecy. For some the emerald acts as a tranquilizer for a troubled mind. The emerald is said to bring the wearer reason and wisdom. The strongest time for the powers of the emerald is said to be spring.

Every wardrobe will usually hold at least one amazing emerald garment, as the colour tends to remain timeless and as a fashion piece always manages to stay in touch with current trends.

Somehow after all those traumatic orange experiences, I find the colour refreshing and happy, strong yet fruity and most of all it grows on you. ♥

The Style Tree’s ♥ colour of the week this week is orange ♥. Yet another colour that took years to grow on me. As a designer one finds its limiting using orange and truthfully one can overdo the colour. My most recent research for the colour orange renewed my fascination with the colour and proved to me its versatile nature and range of many shades.

One thing that springs to mind with the colour orange ♥ is the idea of a bowl of fruit. My kitchen recently had a mini makeover and I now have a huge shallow dish in a cornflower blue colour showcasing the most delicious and luscious looking mango’s, apricots, white nectarines and lemons. Each morning I walk past this bowl and it refreshes me looking at the plump mangos and delicious apricots. I usually grab one or two pieces and have them as a snack.

One of the key tones of orange I keep seeing is that of a rusty orange. The colour is currently showing up on runways in Europe and the US. The naturally occurring in nature colour almost always reflects Autumn/Fall in fashion and in nature. Worn with chocolate and black it can lift an outfit without making it pop too much and tends too look extraordinary when worn by someone sporting an auburn or ginger coloured hair do and a dash of heavy eye makeup involving a deep green and grey..

Look out for orange as it looks to be making a comeback in fashion toward the colder months in Australia and has been seen in homewares forecasts for the later part of 2010. ♥

Well today I found out that Pantone has voted Turquoise colour of the year for 2010 and for pretty much the same reasons I chose it as The Style Tree’s ♥ Colour of the week. My love affair with turquoise started with a plush vintage chase-lounge bench stool that I have had swaning around my living room for the last 4 years. While I at first didn’t really know what to do with this piece over time I grew to become obsessed with its colour and hue. Three weeks ago I found four mint condition vintage circa 1962 Parker dining chairs with the exact same turquoise hue covering and now alas my living room is complete, not only complete but a vision as turquoises is named colour of the year.

What makes turquoise so attractive? for one thing it is bright without being insipid, deep with out being dark and teams up beautifully with most colours as long as there is a little contrast. It works well as a masculine colour in moderation and feminine in mass and a splash works well for kids. It seems to please almost everyone as its in the blue family but swings to the green spectrum making it easy to wear against most skin tones.

For decor turquoise works best as an accent colour and statement pieces such as glass vases, statement furniture and soft furnishings really bring a room to life without over powering the mood and features in the room.

Turquoise is often a colour used in bathrooms for tiles and accessories as it has that crystal clear clean aura and reminds most of the irresistible waters of the Greek isles. Who can resist that?

As we know turquoise jewelry at one point in time was reserved for the hippie who lived next door – you know the one who wore everything at once, well not anymore. One piece of stunning turquoise jewelry on its own or teamed up with gold or silver or wood and coloured beads can work and in 2010 its all about lots of accessories so got nuts. ♥

Real Living Magazine March 2009 issue

Feature – my apartment (Dani Rosen) as you can see

I ♥ TURQUOISE in moderation

♣ please note Australian readers we have used US spelling for this article