“I Find That Colour Boosts My Confidence.”
Updated: Jun. 28, 2022
Nana Yanful, legal director at the Black Legal Action Centre, on the benefits of a bright wardrobe
“Growing up, nobody in my household was shy of colour. My dad had purple suits. We’re Ghanaian: Colour is a huge part of our culture. I just feel like orange, yellow, pink—they all look so good on dark skin. It’s such a beautiful gift. Why waste that?
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As a litigator, there’s this idea that you have to wear a black suit with a white shirt—I’d walk in with a yellow blazer. A senior lawyer, also a woman of colour, told me, ‘You don’t want to be distracting. You want the focus to be on your client’s case.’ I respected her advice, but I didn’t follow it. And I find that colour boosts my confidence.
When the pandemic hit, I definitely shifted to wearing sweatpants on Zoom— but they were still hot-pink sweatpants. Colour just attracts a certain energy. It brings a smile to your face. And it doesn’t necessarily need to be the highlighter end of the spectrum! Any colour makes me happy.
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