Colours seep into every nook and cranny of our being.

They are the signs of our identity and emotions. We hope our hearts are in gold although sometimes they are jaded and rusty.

Our eyes, lined black, are sometimes shiny, other times puffy and tear-stained.

Since we are constantly coloured by what we are and how we behave, shades are needed to lift our feelings. The new year brings with it perfect colours to make it better.

Pastel power

This year, we can bask in sweet, dreamy pastels. Although soft and swishy, they are confidently vibrant - they exude happiness and fun, and boost confidence.

This is the perfect tool to push ourselves into a positive mode and help us achieve things we may have feared to try.

The key shade of the moment is Tangerine Tango. Bright and cheerful, with its varied tones of buttery yellow, iced lemon, cool magnolia and creamy gold, we cannot help but be happy wearing them.

These colours are provocative, vivacious, appealing and provide refreshing jolts of energy, warmth and cheer. So put on your favourite clothes in these shades and watch them lift your mood.

Down to earth

These hazy sunshiny shades are accompanied with hues of earthy browns, tints of charcoals, moss greens, golf field greens, faded olive greens, and cockatoo and tactile blues.

You may already have garments in these shades - from lingerie to dresses and kebaya - of days not too long ago.

If they still fit and the cut is still trendy, they are wearable today. You need not only have the latest fashion. Any stylish woman worth her salt knows the value of vintage garments.

Block the shades

This year's colours are best worn in colour blocks.

The bursts of orangy yellow go with smokey grey or silvery shades, the leafy green with icy and oceanic blue while the earthy nudes or driftwood (blends of beige-grey) go with cabaret rosy-red.

The present colour collections are also known as "bittersweets" - sweet, demure pastels combined with the bitter colours of browns, dazzling blues, deep reds and cloudy-rain greys.

The combination is perfect to show that life is bittersweet.

I am all for colour blocking. I wear it daily and it's what I design. It's a reflection of different moods.

Fabric fun

Fabrics are all floral prints this year. Marc For Marc Jacobs, for example, is also about abstract prints on some garments.

This is the year to splash on colours. Be brave, mix and match and make today brighter than yesterday.

The richness of colours is limitless. According to Pantone Inc., the global authority on colour and provider of professional colour standards for fashion and design industries, there are over 3,000 shades and hues to swoon over.

With such diverse selection, why live life in black and white?