In the Navy! Dark Blue pashminas are the new black!

Navy. A word to create a shiver down many-a spine.

To me, Navy was a shade synonymous with A-line knee length skirts... scratchy blazers, hockey on icy Wednesday afternoons in a box pleat back mini (freezing but actually quite flattering!) and summer days spent toiling over endless exams in a baking school hall.  It can take years to recover.

But after a gap of a couple of decades I suddenly find that I've accepted the Facebook friend request and Navy is creeping inexorably back into my life.

 At first it was a simple boat neck dress that was highly respectable office wear - worn occasionally for meetings but not actually loved. Then it was the navy and white Bloch ballet flats that matched that dress, and a matching lightweight shaded pashmina... I am a pashmina addict, after all.

 I was still in denial during a trip to Portobello market when I chose a bird print skater dress in the navy option, despite a choice of three colour ways... Well, it was the cost efficient. I already had the shoes and pashmina! Skinny jeans in the darkest blue followed, vest tops, camisole tops, water fall cardigans, a silk Ted Baker shift, sun glass frames and suddenly a trench coat. And the rest of my wardrobe fitted so well with the new pieces - I was hooked! Navy blue had all but ousted black from my wardrobe!

I now know why Navy has always been a classic, beloved of women who want a neutral dark shade that goes with every colour and has a huge selection within its own colour band. Navy aficionados can pick a navy shade for every season and look fresh and current.

And it seems that fashion is also starting to acknowledge this versatility. Gone are the days when navy could only be teamed with red and white for the nautical look. Now it is brought into our year-round wardrobes as Midnight, French, Dark or a navy in between. It is one of the neutral base colours for both day and evening wear;  a shade sympathetic to mix and match with greys, creams - even blacks -  and a perfect backdrop to pops of summer pastels or stronger autumn colours. We can be classic, contemporary, nautical, flirty, or colour-blocked. Join the Navy!

Top to bottom: Available from Pashminas Direct - Pashmina & Silk Large Shawl with Bugle Bead fringe- Navy,  100% Silk Organza with 100% Pashmina reverse panel 'Elegance'- Midnight Elegance, 100% Silk Chiffon Shawl with Silk border- White/Navy.

Courtesy of Mayfair Valley Pashmina: Summer 14 collection: 100% Silk Chiffon Shaded Large Shawl- Navy to Aqua* , 80% Pashmina & 20% Silk Shaded Lightweight Large Shawl- Midnight to paler*;  AW14/15 collection - Pashmina & Silk Summer Shaded Shawls- Midnight to Peacock, Midnight to Fuchsia**
* Fingers crossed, available soon on Pashminas Direct....
** See above. We hope! Yes, please!