Lavender Love- get pretty in parma violet shades of lilac, lavender and palest dusky mauve

Anyone who has even the mildest interest in fashion is probably well aware by now of the fact that pastel colours and pale, ice cream hues are just about THE biggest trend for SS12. As you cannot have failed to notice, glacial shades of spearmint green, palest pink and powder blue were all over the catwalks from Meadham Kirchhoff's living raggedy-ann dolls with their towering pastel-tinted beehives and frou-frou skirts, to Louis Vuitton's frothy fashion fairy tale show complete with fair ground carousel, dolly mixture mules and La Moss in a twinkling tiara. Therefore, at the risk of regurgitating the words of every fashion magazine I've read in the last two months and indulging in all things saccharine and sweetie-inspired (as much as I would love to- I'm all about the candy colours) I have decided not to bore you with repetition (no matter how pretty it sounds!) and instead focus on the one pastel shade that is tempting my sartorial sweet tooth right now more than all its pretty competitors.

The shade I'm talking about, is in fact, lavender. It is a colour and fragrance that I once associated with 'old lady-ness' (if I can coin such a term) due to it's old English associations and the fact that a gift set of lavender-scented soap was just about the only Christmas/birthday present that my granny couldn't seem to find one million and one objections to. As a child, I thought of lavender (the colour and fragrance) as the sort of thing one might find in Marks and Spencer's giftware department, or adorning the bathroom of a fussy, elderly lady with a weakness for lace and frills. However, what with the recent explosion of all things pale, pretty and pastel hued, I am feeling a real lavender love that reveals just how much I've been seduced by the lovely lilacy shade and its connotations of delicacy, softness and old-school femininity. What with my love of vintage, I find that in recent years I've developed a new appreciation for lavender's traditional English connotations, and that the pale, pretty colour is surprisingly and quite stunningly flattering when teamed with the dream combination of pale skin and red hair.

In fact, just about any faded pastel hue looks perfectly pretty against pale skin, but I'm loving the off-beat quirkiness of lilac, being a colour that you would have thought would clash terribly with red. Well, okay, it does clash, but that's what I think makes red hair and lilac apparel such a unique, surprising and therefore flattering dream team. Back in the summer, you might recall a post I wrote all about my rediscovery of the colour purple, and how I was loving its magical, mystical, sultry-night-sky-in-the-summer vibes. Well, this season, it's all about faded, powdery shades that evoke hazy summer memories and strolls in the park under the shade of a pretty parasol, so I'm ditching deep purple for a paler shade of plum. Think parma violtets and the lilac-coloured iced gems when it comes to this look, opting for cool shades of palest purple and duskiest mauve. Here are some images to get you inspired, and which capture the romantic mood of my current lavender love..

Pastels, pastels everywhere...

The SS12 catwalks were a beautiful watercolour wash of palest lemon, glacial blue, spearmint green and dusky rose.

Parma violet pin-up: The stunning Dita Von Teese whips up a sartorial sweet treat with her sugared-violet dress, pretty vanilla skin and cherry-red nails and lips.

Deborah Ann Woll (who plays Jessica Hamby in True Blood) once again proves that scarlett locks, snow white skin and lilac are a match made in fashion heaven.

Christina Hendricks is yet another porcelain-skinned redhead working the lavender look

Me, modeling a floral lilac vintage dress for Bohemian Rose Vintage last Spring

I adore this delicate lilac slip dress from Topshop.com. Team it with cream or nude heels for a summery tea party and you'll look as sweet as a (Louis Vuitton) sundae.

Louis Vuitton's SS12 ad campaign featuring aforementioned sundaes. Yum ;-)

Have a Louis Vuitton-style fashion fantasy and fly away on a fairground horse with this designer-esque collar from Rokit Vintage. The pretty lavender ribbon gives the prim cream lace a touch of parma violet sweetness.   
Lots of love,

The Porcelain Princess

xxx