Gemma Tries It On: 'When the sun shines, I embrace the brightest colours and prints'

By now, readers of this column will be aware that I prefer the joys of black to any other colour.

But when the sun decides to shine, I have been known to veer away from Gothic tones and embrace the brightest colours and prints. Remember my lollipop-lady luminous sandals? I can't wait to blind some more people with their brilliance again this summer.

I, too, am guilty of buying and wearing things "just for holidays". I'm not sure why we think it is acceptable to wear items abroad that we don't think appropriate for home. I know my printed maxi dress and denim shorts will never see the light of day in Blighty – they just don't go with pasty skin and chilly summer nights. It does seem ridiculous that a whole case of clothes I don't deem suitable for everyday life is left gathering dust under my bed for 50 weeks of the year, but real life gets in the way of good clothes. My floral mini-skirt isn't the right look for escalators on the London Underground.

So when I was sent some violet and purple polka-dot jeans from Henry Holland (left), the first thing I did was hold them up to my work colleagues and ask "Ohhh, do you like these? Do you think they would be good for holidays?". But I've decided these are too nice to simply keep for holidays; I declare that these will be my new summer trousers and as soon as that sun FINALLY decides to appear, I'm going to ditch my Morticia Adams ways and actually wear them. All I need is a pair of sandals and crisp white T-shirt and I'm done, right?

With my new-found optimism for the arrival of summer and all things colourful, the collaboration between Mary Katrantzou and Current/Elliott caught my eye. I am a huge fan of the denim brand: they are by far the comfiest boyfriend jeans I have found. However, as a rule, Katranzou's designs are far too full-on for me; I'm more likely to wear snake or leopard than a weirdly wonderful digital design. But give denim the same treatment and I think I can just about get away with her visions.

Available on fashion shopping site my-wardrobe.com, these range from prints of banknotes to foreign travel stamps, and the collection isn't restricted to trousers – cool looking mini-skirts and bodycon dresses have been given a new lease of life, too. I've got my eye on the zig-zag jeans, which are obviously the tamest of the group with their varying blue tones, but after the purple polka-dot departure, that's enough craziness for one season.

Gemma Hayward is Fashion Editor of 'The Independent'