Katie Trotter tells us it's time for bright colours

Black is a safe refuge, but it's time to burst into spring with bright and bold colours.

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Hey you over there! You in the black - yes, you, hiding behind various shades of grey - your time is up. Until a few months ago you were off the hook. Bright colours were brash, naff, a bit obvious - the style equivalent of multiple exclamation marks at the end of a sentence!!!

But now that winter is nothing but a fading memory, it's time to dress for spring and summer, and alas, my dear readers, the future is bright.

To be honest I am more than a little frightened. Some looks were never meant to cross the chasm from the photo shoot to, well, actually having to wear them, and for a lot of us head-to-toe acid brights is one of them.

I admit it, I'm a sissy. I cling to black like a ship's sail clings to the northern wind. Black is my friend - sexy without screaming come-hither, demure, slimming, nearly always appropriate and, well, plain old safe.

Tangerine orange, sunny yellow, hibiscus, scarlet, fuchsia, and snooker-table green... while optimistic and fun, they make me feel like a fruit pastel, a kind of tutti-frutti hallucinogenic pop princess. But as Bob Dylan once reckoned, the times they are a changing.

Clearly, the same thought was running through designers' minds for their Spring/Summer collections: "It's time to be bold," Miuccia Prada mused backstage at her spring show. And bold it was.

Electric-pink stripes, monkey and banana prints in big bold lines, and designers such as Marc Jacobs opted for neon lines. But how do we break free, look eye-popping (in a good way) and make a seismic shift towards making a statement when really we want to scurry away into an abyss of dark hues?

Normally I would begin with baby steps. "Start small," I'd whisper, giving you a gentle little nudge in the right direction. But oh no, not this time. This is not a trend to be done in half measures. Either you let it pass you by completely or you go for it, all guns blazing.

Mix colours that accommodate each other - think of the colour wheel you used at school. Don't be afraid to take a risk with colour blocking. Think bright on brights, print on prints, or solid on solids. Just be sure to keep a clean, prim silhouette as seen at Christopher Kane.

Which is all fine by me. But to paraphrase Amy Winehouse, I'll be going "back to black".

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NAUTICAL STRIPES

Seen on Prada's bags and dresses this season.

BULKINESS

If Blumarine's stiff fabrics make the models look a bit chunky, we don't stand a chance.

RAPHAEL YOUNG

The shoe designer's latest creations (available at Net-A-Porter) have just the right amount of sculpture and height for our liking.

REPETITION

Camel again for autumn? No thanks, Michael Kors.

ALL ABOUT THE DETAILS

Temperley's A/W 2011 collection is calling to us - round collars, little buttons, frills and all.