Ad-Vintage: Red or Dead

I had a great night out this weekend with some friends on the waterfront in Bristol. And it was an ideal time to wear my new red dress that was one of my finds from Thursdays charity shop run. Instantly when I saw it, I had Saturday night in mind for its premiere. It's a lovely soft polyester with a gorgeous sheen to it. It just makes me want to sign up to a flamenco class the minute I put it on! And the icing atop the cake? It was brand new still with tags, never worn and in mint condition.

It was £12 from the wonderful St Peters Hospice shop on Gloucester Road, where my friend Nicola (see photos below) works. She is lucky enough to have one of my dream jobs.....Deputy Manager in a charity shop. I would love that job and would happily take a pay cut if the opportunity ever arose. John on the other hand, would not be so elated. I don't really need any excuses to grow my wardrobe.

I am always amazed at how different I feel when I wear red. More confident, happier (if that's possible), a little bit more risqué....

Different colours can dramatically change our moods, behaviour and feelings. Fear, peace, aggression, tranquility. It's a very powerful tool, one that marketing people are all too aware of. There is a whole science behind visual merchandising in shops for example, which colours to use and where. They can make the difference between an inviting store and one that you would happily bypass (Hollister, yes that was aimed at you).

I also find it interesting how we interpret colours differently across borders and cultures. White for example is seen for many people as a sign of peace, innocence and purity whereas it is actually a colour that represents mourning (as opposed to black) in many eastern countries.

There is also the study of chromotherapy, once used in Ancient China, which was the use of colours as healing treatments. This is still practiced today as an alternative or holistic option and some examples are listed below.

Red was used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.

Yellow was thought to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.

Orange was used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.

Blue was believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain.

Indigo shades were thought to alleviate skin problems.

(You can find more information on the web, these snippets of knowledge came courtesy of About.com)

I am not sure if I can say that my new red dress stimulated my mind and body (although my friends may say otherwise, they had to put up with that body jumping around on the dance floor all night), but it helped to make a great night, even better. For me at least.

A little black dress just doesn't cut the mustard.