The Enduring Appeal of Navy Blue

I'm a navy girl. Always have been. I think it comes from spending so long in France. They love navy there. Especially in Paris. If pink is the navy blue of India, as Diana Vreeland once famously said, then navy blue is quite possibly the black of Paris.

Navy is sophisticated and elegant. It's classic. Timeless. Tasteful. Even when i's used in a high-glam way, it's still beautiful and understated. Indeed, it couldn't look cheap, even if it tried. (Something that can't be said for black.) If Brynne Edelstein wore navy, she'd look like a Hollywood movie star from the 1940s. Not like... well, the wife of someone with too much money.

Some people dislike navy because it's too safe. It reminds them of school blazers, and police uniforms. I don't have this aversion. My St Margaret's school blazer was yellow. Well, more of a dirty shade of brown-gold, like leftover vindaloo. Perhaps that's why I can't wear brown. I have terrible issues with it. But navy...  Ah,  navy. I could live in that shade.

Which is why I've painted our main bedroom and dressing room (above) in a colour the shade of Chinese porcelain. Our new house is high on a hill and the top floor looks over the lights of Melbourne. This blue seemed to suit the space. It was the exact same colour of the city sky at twilight.

Navy blue. If only I could persuade more people in this beautiful city to convert to it.

PS Thank you for all of your lovely comments re my mother. I was so very touched, and promise to reply tonight, after I collect my nieces and feed them and entertain them, and generally do the dutiful aunt thing!

Too, too lovely: London designer Faye Toogood. {Vogue Living Jan/Feb 2011}

Blue note: Jill Sander dress, top and skirt. {Harpers Bazaar, May 2011}

Dot to dot: Kate Spade 'Lisa' polka dot wedding shoes. {From current collection}

Flights of (feathered) fancy: Kate Spade 'Elliana' evening clutch. {From current collection}

Making a statement: British Elle Decoration, which loves doing its section pages in navy blue.

Tasteful in Tasmania: Leo Schofield's dining room in his historic Georgian house in Tasmania. The walls are painted Bible Black, a dark shade of navy that's the colour of old bibles. {Via Vogue Living, Jan/Feb, 2011}

Blue for two: The work of Akin Creative (Kelvin Ho and Jeremy Hull) in Sydney. Akin has just collaborated with Sibella Court on Justin Hemmes' latest project, Ms Gm in Potts Point. {Via Belle}

Cute kitchenalia: A page from Elle Decoration, which dedicated an entire section to royal and navy blue in its March 2012 issue.