Think pink is just for the girly girls? Think again. Stylist Shan Williams looks at the rise of the colour as the hue of choice for women in the public eye

It used to be seen as the favourite for good girls and a pretty feminine colour, but not any more. Pink is rapidly becoming the signature colour of high-achieving women in the worlds of politics, broadcasting and show business.

Take Nicola Sturgeon in the recent election campaign how many times did she appear in fuscia or coral pink? Now there’s a lady who has had the help of a personal stylist. If you have seen any photographs of her in the past – they just shouted – give me a make-over. And make-over she has had. Not that she isn’t an impressive person in her own right, but this time around her clothes did a lot of the talking too. So what did she want people to think by wearing pink? She was saying, approach me, I am a woman but I know what I am talking about. Proving that the stronger pinks are a show of confidence, it’s coming towards the red, which is of course a colour of energy and power, so it makes people who wear it confident.

Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru, also wore pink on at least three occasions and compared to their male opponents in their blue and grey suits, didn’t they shine?

Christine Lagarde, the first female chief executive of the International Monetary Fund, has won plaudits for her style, which often incorporates pink scarves with more sober suits, and a pink Chanel jacket. She is achieving a chic but feminine balance.

Among TV presenters, Sophie Raworth, of BBC News, Holly Willoughby and Christine Bleakley have all shown a fondness for pink.

As always the High Street is responding to the demand for pink. So choose from head to toe pink in a trouser suit, preppy pink in a pale pink shirt with tailored trousers, patterned pink in a feminine skirt with leather jacket or the hardest pink to wear of all, candy floss pink – think sugar and spice and all things nice – the sweetest shade can work for you.