It’s a new year. What colour should I start wearing?
According to professional colour categoriser Pantone, 2026 is the year that we go back to the bleach and embrace white. They call it “Cloud Dancer” because if they simply named it “White”, people might start questioning Pantone’s credentials. While in some cultures, white represents renewal, in others it’s a trap for tomato-sauce stains and can be mistaken for cult cosplay.
There’s no need to attempt a cultural reset by confronting the challenges of white jeans (talking about tomato sauce) or white shirts (keeping the armpits stain-free, for one). And taking on on-trend coral-red, championed by Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy at his debut runway show, is irresponsible if it just makes you look like an overripe tomato (white-jeans alert again). Instead, head confidently into 2026 with all of the fashion experience you’ve accumulated until now. You already know what colours work for you. And if you’re still figuring it out, they’re the ones that make people notice the sparkle in your eye, the heat in your smile and the glow of your skin – long before they recognise the same shade being favoured by Catherine, Princess of Wales.
My colour is blue and, having fought against it for decades, I’ve finally accepted it as my constant clothing companion. I once loathed it for its gendered baggage, persistent ubiquity and predictability. It seemed about as adventurous as butter on toast, milk in coffee or Taylor Swift on the radio.
Rather than accept that when I wore blue, people responded positively and I felt incredibly at ease, I attempted Hazmat-suit orange, hydrangea-purple and yellow in the hope of appearing fashionable. Instead, I went about my days looking, alternately, jaundiced and bruised.
Once you’ve taken a positive spin on the colour wheel, you can add contemporary touches by playing with timely tones. This year, I’ll be parking my powder-blue and baby-blue T-shirts in cedar-scented storage and investing in bolder cerulean and aqua-adjacent shades. Colours in 2026 are more insistent, such as divisive chartreuse, sunflower yellow and those tricky corals. The trick, as always, is to know what suits you and then just wear it with confidence.
To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.
