There is a great stereotype that girls like pink and boys go for blue, one that is often debated heatedly; is it the result of nature or nurture?
While there are some who believe women prefer the red end of the spectrum as some sort of evolutionary hangover from a time when the females would gather berries and other fruit while the men went out hunting, others think these colour preferences are just cultural assumptions.
However, while these debates are sure to run and run, there is something else to consider this spring - the fact that blue really is a great seasonal colour and blue dresses for girls will be a very timely acquisition for this time of year.
While the season does begin with a riot of yellow as the daffodils dominate March, the fact is that these are on the wane by April. Fluffy yellow chicks may be associated with Easter, but so too are far-from-yellow lambs and Easter bunnies.
Blue, however, is very much in evidence. With the days getting lighter and longer and (hopefully) a bit of sunshine emerging after the winter gloom, there will be more blue sky to enjoy. But just as delightful is the array of blue flowers that emerge in the spring.
Even if we get pedantic and suggest that bluebells are actually borderline purple, there are many others around, such as hyacinths, irises and perhaps the pretties of all, forget-me-nots.
Moreover, as spring morphs into summer there will be plenty more great blue plants - such as agapanthus and delphiniums - that should bring much delight, under particularly blue summer skies.
A great fact about blue plants is they actually produce their colour by using real pigments, which are normally red or yellow but can be altered by different levels of acidity.
This is in contrast with the sky and almost all blue animals. The dust in the atmosphere scatters all visible light waves in the spectrum except blue, which is why the sky is that colour.
Animals achieve this same effect with complex structures, so when you see a bird with blue feathers like a kingfisher, or a butterfly with blue wings, it’s not really blue at all, apart from the Olivewing butterfly, which is unique in using blue pigment in its wing markings.
All this makes blue a fascinating colour, whether you want to delve into the amazing science behind butterfly wings or simply admire the colour of the sky on a clear day and the flowers bursting forth in spring.
Indeed, a YouGov survey in 2015 found that, across the world, blue is the most popular colour. The survey of ten countries found it was the most popular in every one of them, even China where colours like red, yellow and green are considered lucky. Britain came out top as the country with the greatest liking for blue.
Most importantly for anyone thinking a blue dress might not be the right thing for a girl, the survey also found that while more males than females listed blue as their favourite colour, it was still the most popular with women.
All of which goes to prove that you just can’t go wrong with blue.