Celebrating Spring with Style

I usually dress in black with flashes of vibrant colour but recently have been gravitating to wearing lighter and brighter colours. I know it’s a natural instinct as the days become longer and warmer but I think that the extended Pandemic has played a part in this for me.

I’ve noticed other people in London embracing colour in a celebratory way. On April 12, 2021 non-essential shops were allowed to open and I went into Carnaby Street and Soho. There was definitely a feeling that the public after months of lockdown were ditching their pjs and craving glamour. It was great to see some spring style and panache. The next two photos feature drag queen Rizzy on the right and friend. They even had a bottle of Prosecco with them. I stopped and asked if I could take their photo and we had a little chat:

I’m interested in how people signify the change of seasons in their personal style and have been struck by the creativity of a few simple touches to indicate the arrival of spring in a celebratory way. My first encounter was at the end of March in Swains Lane in Parliament Hill. I spotted Johnny, who I’ve previously photographed on Hampstead Heath because of his dapper appearance. He had customised his straw hat with bright yellow spring flowers:

A few days ago in Kentish Town Underground, another sighting of yellow flower decorations — this time worn as ornamental hair accessories:

The weather has still been extremely cold on some days, but Londoners have still been able to signify little homages to spring, such as this woman’s yellow ankle socks, though admittedly it was her cross-body cat bag that first caught my attention!

From yellow to pink, where the subjects in the next photographs have either consciously or inadvertently matched shades of cherry blossoms and deeper magenta shades. Firstly a visitor to Kew Gardens at the end of March — I am assuming her outfit was deliberately chosen to coordinate with the blossom:

Last week I walked through London’s Gordon Square in the heart of Bloomsbury and close to the University of London. Many students were quietly reading books and working on their laptops. I saw a young woman sitting under a tree — the deep magenta of her dyed hair echoing the overhanging blossom. I imagine this is a random coincidence:

And at Regent’s Park on a sunny Sunday in April, I was struck not only by the woman’s elegant long, lavender pink dress, but particularly by her child’s pink pram which had a matching luxurious fur trim and floral bow on it’s hood:

Finally in Highgate Woods today, this is Marika in shades of pink of red. The flower in her hair and the furry mules particularly caught my attention. I like the fact her sun-basking partner is also sporting a pink cap:

Originally published at Mish Aminoff.