Nine ways to wear the colour of the year — mocha mousse

Looking for ways to wear 2025's hottest colour? Look no further

Thu, 23 Jan, 2025 - 10:19

Annmarie O’Connor

As we resolve to declutter and detox from 2024’s holiday excess, the style cognoscenti has other things in mind—namely, mocha mousse. Richly indulgent and oh-so-comforting, 2025’s Pantone Colour of the Year flies in the face of new year discipline, urging us to treat ourselves.

A hybrid of warm brown coffee and chocolate, the hue captures a collective mood–the need for security and life’s little pleasures amid the destabilising backdrop of modern living.

It can be argued that the feelings associated with colours are merely symbolic. Be that as it may, might they also prove equally efficacious in helping us feel put together, even if things are falling apart?

Research suggests that when our eyes connect with a particular colour, the brain releases a cocktail of feel-good chemicals that have the potential to impact our bodies and minds. Brown, like the earth, is often seen as solid, reliable, safe and secure.

Combine this with the allusion of indulgence, and once low-key basics become serotonin-soaked staples.

For those of us on a no-buy month or year, look to tonally adjacent pieces. Experiment with a look of varying shades for easy elegance or disrupt the palette with a shock of peacock blue or Kelly green, incorporating textures like suede (still going strong) and glossy leather finishes for visual interest.

Once the worst of winter’s head cold subsides, I’ll be dusting off my brown vintage suede jacket from Miss Daisy Blue. After all, a little bit of what you fancy does the soul good.

1. ‘Everly’ wool blend utility elbow patch rib sweater; ‘Hardy’ faux leather midi pencil skirt