Pastels Rule

Rachel Zoe; Source

BCBG Max Azria; Source

Spring has sprung which means you can get your favorite pastel pieces that were hidden away all winter. If you are like me, however, you incorporated pastels into your outfits throughout the cold weather months. The old societal rule about excluding pastels from fall and winter wear can be thrown away. I threw them away awhile ago, in fact. I won’t restrict the colors I wear during cold weather months due to some ancient fashion rules. Isn’t that what layers are for? I proudly let my pastel tops peak out from underneath sweaters and blazers. That’s right my pastel pieces and my winter separates are besties.

Pastels are on many spring fashion trend lists but I don’t understand the point in listing pastels as a spring fashion trend. I think it is universally understood that when spring arrives pastel clothing and accessories will once again come out of hibernation. So why are they on so many spring trends’ list around this time of year? I think it is almost a way of being reassured that it is now fashionably acceptable to start wearing pastels again. Designers offered up a plethora of spring looks on the runway to inspire us. Note: The looks below are from Prabal Gurung's S/S14 collection. The photos are courtesy of Fashion Bomb Daily.

 

I don’t know what this says about those of us whom wear clothing in shades like baby blue or mint green year round. Are we rebellious? I am sure some of us are; however, my primary reason for continuing to wear garments in shades like pale pink during cold weather season is to always carry a little bit of spring with me. It’s the kind of pick-me-up that serves me well during winter. I am so gratified that there are many more like me including fashion designers who believe pastels can be proudly worn throughout the year. Did you see any of the A/W14 runway shows? Some designers apparently don’t put pastel shades in the out of sight out of mind category when creating fall and winter clothing. Many ready to wear collections contained pastel clothing and accessories.

  

As I reminisce about this past fall and winter, I remember the prominence of pastel pink coats. Many people were thinking pink in spite of the blistering cold of this past fall and winter. I was cheering the wearers of these coats on as they proudly wore their pastel pink, or as many of us call it princess pink, coats. I wanted to join them but I don’t do well with pastel coats. It’s a long story. I will just state that I still have a lot of the tomboy in me. This is also the reason I don’t own any white coats but I digress.

The plethora of garments in pastels are perfect for spring so why not find the palette that speaks to you and revel in pastels annual return to the limelight? You can also follow the color-matching tips below when styling an outfit containing pastels or beat to your own drum if you are more adventurous when it comes to style:

• Mint green pairs well with pink, light yellow, blue, brown and purple hues.

•  Baby blue pairs well with green, pastel yellow, purple shades, red, brown and other shades in the blue family.

•  Pastel pink matches well with other pastels such as peach, lavender and mint green; however, it also looks superb with shades such as grey, black and red.

•  Radiant orchid, the color of the year, pairs well with shades of pink, pale green, pastel yellow, grey, brown and colors in the purple family.

•  Peach combines well with orange, apricot, pale or deep blue shades, mint green and brown.

Take a page or two from Lupita Nyongo and Naomi Watts lookbooks and get out and about in pastels. It's  time.

What do you think of pastel colors? Are you crazy for them or do you live without them?

Thanks so much for reading my blog.