Jewel purpose

FASHION:Jewel colours and metallic hues reflecting the richness of gemstones and previous metals are giving winter fashion a lift, and they're easy to combine, writes DEIRDRE McQUILLAN

WE MAY NOT be able to afford real gold and silver, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts or other precious stones, but this winter we can certainly wear those colours. The jewel shades that saturated the winter collections, such as those of Gucci, Prada and Christian Dior, have literally set the tone of affordable high street alternatives and those from Irish fashion and accessory designers, some of which are shown here.

Gold has infiltrated everything, from party dresses in masses of matte sequins or decorated with gold embroidery, to cardigans flecked with glitter or metallic threads. Purple, that magical blend of crimson and blue, asserts itself as an alternative to black. Once the preserve of royalty, purple defined the taste of the early seventies and is the shade that Prince made his signature, painting his mansion that colour and even writing a song about it called Purple Rain. Every now and then purple (or mauve) has its moment; it was a huge craze in Europe in the mid-19th century, for example. We seem to either love or hate it.

The season’s dark, low tones relate to each other, which makes them easy to combine. Close hues like this have a calming effect, unlike summer’s recent unruly acid brights which deliver more of a rush. It is not hard, for example, to combine dark reds, dark greens and dark navy, particularly in the same fabrics and textures. Rich ruby is a glorious colour to wear on winter nights, if not head-to-toe, at least as an accessory or accent. It combines well with purple. Dark navy velvet is a more flattering alternative to black in the evening light. A stylish actress I know bought a sapphire blue knit scarf from Lainey Keogh and threw it over a black suit, giving it instant winter radiance and panache.