Pink clothes for grown up women

Move over, Barbie – fashion's new obsession with pink is for all of us, says Lauren Laverne. Wear it with red if you dare

Years ago I witnessed a fashion editor losing an argument about whether fuchsia should be reclassified as a "classic colour" (reclassified by whom I have no idea, although I like to imagine that Geoffrey from Rainbow has the final say over such matters, with the assistance of Zippy, Bungle and a huge, multicoloured gavel). At the time, the arguments against – which centred on pink being "too season-specific" – seemed convincing, but now I'm not so sure. Because the intervening years have been a Barbie-flavoured tsunami of "Keep Calm" cupcakes and chicklit… Candy pinks and petal shades predominate this season: the autumn runways were blooming out of time on both sides of the Atlantic. If you want to try the new pink palette, here are a few pointers to bear in mind.