This article was challenging to write. I knew what I wanted to say but for a while there I couldn’t find the words. I mean, just look at the very short title I gave this article! I think it’s just that time of year – we’re all a little exhausted and to find a few words let alone organise them into coherent sentences, is maybe asking a little too much. So bear with me, I may take you on a little trip in this piece, but we’ll get there!

It’s that time of year where we often find ourselves looking back on the year that was and a rollercoaster-like reel begins to play out in our mind of all that has transpired. For me, when I look back over moments passed, I often see things in vibrant displays of colour. In what I wore, in where I went and in what I did. And in 2024, there was a lot of yellow.

Now, if you were to ask me what my favourite colour is, I would say without a moment’s hesitation, it’s WHITE. I know, white is not technically a colour, but for me, it colours my entire life. That and pale pink and well, every shade of blue known to mankind. Last year though, my sister gave me a beautiful knit top in the slightest shade of yellow, which she originally bought for herself but then thought would suit me better (sisters really are the best, aren’t they?) And, I have lived in that top this whole year. I wouldn’t have chosen it for myself but as I’ve come to learn, things, people, interactions and experiences that are meant for you, often have a way of finding you.

A milestone year for me and one of the most telling years of my life, this year was full of moments that left me in wonder. I was often amazed at how things came together, fell apart, came full circle and magically worked themselves out. I met some incredible people on the way that I think were placed on my path on purpose, and I crossed paths with others I have known and loved for a long time. Some people taught me something new and others taught me lessons I really needed to learn, but all opened my eyes in so many ways.

Perhaps what I realised most this year more than anything else is that none of these moments were random at all. It’s interesting how many of life’s little miracles we’re so quick to reduce to mere coincidences. I read somewhere that coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous, a saying that is often attributed to Albert Einstein, and I honestly love that. I find it comforting to believe that we’re really not all that in control, after all.

So now, back to yellow. Sorry, I did say I would take you on a bit of a trip in this article!

It wouldn’t be true to say I dislike yellow, but at the same time, I can’t say that I ever really saw it as my colour either. This year though, I found that my pastel yellow linen dress, the knit top I mentioned, and the sweater I have in the softest shade of yellow, have seen me through all seasons and I have absolutely loved wearing those pieces.

And thinking about it now, while I may not call yellow one of my favourite colours, I did in fact wear a long light yellow dress to my 25^th masquerade birthday dinner (which feels like a whole other life now!) and one of my favourite dresses from the movies is that perfect pale yellow backless gown worn by the beautiful Kate Hudson in the film, ‘How to lose a guy in 10 days’. I mean, I could write a whole article on that dress alone. I even recently made a client a gorgeous bright yellow dress and it was stunning, and I’m working on another one as we speak.

And so, this leads me to inevitably find that not only do I like yellow, I always have. After all, yellow is the colour of sunshine and summer and sand, and of all things good for you like bananas and lemons. It’s fairy lights and celebration… and well, champagne too! It’s warmth and joy and positivity. And not only is it everything I like in life, it is honestly everything we need right now.

In a world which I’m struggling to understand, it’s my hope that everything that is figuratively bursting with a golden glow – those specks of joy, those shimmery glimmers and loving acts of kindness – will warm the world bit by bit and make it a place where love and compassion grow so big and bold that they engulf and expel all forms of hate and destruction. That’s the world I know many of us want to see, and the world I want my children to grow up in.

As a colour that is often used to portray light, yellow is pure, unconditional, love. It reminds me to go into every day with a smile, with concern for others, and with the knowing that while I have very little control, I always have the choice to embrace life, to surrender to what is, and to just be. It’s such a liberating and peaceful way to live.

And I’m glad. I’m glad that the appreciation I have for all things that yellow represents has grown as I have grown too. And I hope it’s the same for you. I hope it lights your path and allows you to radiate from within. And I hope that it never dims but instead spreads and sparks the same in others too.

I know for me, Dora 4.0 is a little brighter than my previous versions, and I’m pretty sure my lighter outlook on life (and my lighter hair!) has a lot to do with it.

Merry Christmas and shine bright, always.

Dora xx