My February Wednesday Wardrobing Series is focused on the latest style trends for the upcoming Spring/Summer 20245 season. Last week, I covered the key color trends, and this week I am focusing on the most important style and fabric trends.
Mini Skirts: Skirts are getting shorter this year with the mini skirt trend. Whether you are dressing up with leather or sequins or keeping it casual with denim, make sure for professional settings that your skirt length is below your finger tips when your arms are hanging down.
Floral Prints: 3-D flowers, especially rosettes rocked the runways for this season but so did floral prints in everything from tops and dresses to pants and skirts.
Classic Button Up: Blouse lovers celebrate – blouses are still SO in! For summer, look for classic white, menswear blue, and linen and cotton styles.
Bows and Ribbons: Get feminine with bow details this season! You’ll find bows on blouses, accessories, waists and more. You’ll also see ribbons being used as embellishments.
Bermuda: Long shorts are back! Wear them paired with a suit jacket for a summer suit look and dress them up with heels and a blouse. Wear them casual for running around too!
Luxury jumpsuits: Monochromatic jump suits or tops and bottoms paired together as a set are trendy this season. This look is expensive and minimalistic. Expect full pants and long sleeves.
90″s Inspired: From baggy mom jeans cinched with belts and paired with ribbed tops to short and long overalls, the 90’s grunge vibe is back.
Modern Femininity: In addition to bows and ribbons, look for eyelet, lace, silks, and semi sheer fabrics.
In addition to these themes, you will also see short shorts, more low rises waists, and capris length pants.
If you’d like to see examples of these trends, tune into my live video tonight at 6 p.m. MST. You can watch on either on Facebook or Instagram. You can also catch last week’s video on YouTube.
Oh the colors of spring….I can hardly wait! How about you?
The new spring arrivals are coming every day here at the store, and unpacking them makes me long for spring even more! Soooo, I couldn’t wait to start my February Wednesday Wardrobing Series that focuses on the most important Spring trends:
One of the things I love that happens each year at this time is the color transformation from the dark colors of winter to the bright and cheerful colors of spring. It is so refreshing!!
Here are the key color trends for this coming Spring and Summer and what I am seeing coming through my back door right now!
First of all, we need to go over the Pantone Color Of The Year: Peach Fuzz
This is a fresh approach to femininity that is soft, subtle and tender, all at the same time.
The key pops of color to up your style this season: From left to right, top to bottom on the picture at the top of the page
Horizon Blue: This is a light blue hue that is airy but with enough pigment to still pack a punch of color.
Strong Blue: Imagine the deep sea, and you will have captured this versatile and elegant color.
Bistro Green: This rich and earthy forest green is a comforting color and often used in awnings at your favorite coffee bistros.
Spicy Mustard: This is your pop of warm yellow for the season. Imagine a gourmet mustard display and you will have captured the richness of this color.
Chutney: Warm and deep, this brown isn’t as dark as coffee, but has a rusty elegance.
Sun Orange: This color reminds me of apricots or tangerines. It is zesty, citrussy, and adds an amazing pop of color to your outfit.
Fiesta: Think party in Mexico with rich, red accents, and you will know the bright and brilliant red that is this color.
Charlock: This cool and sunny yellow is a classic spring color and a breath of fresh air that is light and airy.
Burnished Lilac: This version of lavender is combined with grey to make it light and the ultimate pastel pop of color this season
Taragon: An earthy and herbacious green, this color pops your look like the color lime but without the harshness.
The key classic colors to look for this season are:
Brilliant White – a bright, crisp white
Boulevard – a deep asphalt grey
Moth – a light tan
Deep Well – a black, black
Blue Fox – a medium grey, similar to rain filled clouds
If you missed last night’s video, you can still catch it on my YouTube channel in the Spring 2024 Clothing Trends playlist. Don’t miss next week’s video about the key style trends for the season on Wednesday at 6 p.m. MST on Facebook! You can grab more info about this series here.
I always find it fascinating how the color palate for the season is a reflection of what is happening around us and how we are feeling about it emotionally. Keep in mind, that these spring colors were chosen by designers over a year ago when fabric teams and design teams began to imagine this season’s colors and styles.
Join me for a minute and think back to January of 2021. Do you remember what you were feeling? We had just finished 2020, and I remember hoping we were leaving Covid behind us, having just come out of a very difficult fall and winter with Covid infections and deaths. I felt shell shocked and yet hopeful, the way you leave a bad year behind and look forward to better times as the new year comes.
So it is out of this diverse state of needing comfort, familiarity and stability while at the same time needing to find hope and joy again that this season’s color palate and styles were born. This is how Leatrice Eisemen, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, defines the season, “Colors for Spring 2022 bring together our competing desires for comforting familiarity and joyful adventure through a range of soothing and timeless colors, along with joyous hues that celebrate playfulness. As we enter this new landscape, one where fashion rules no longer apply, hues for Spring 2022 allow us to mix and marry as we please, encouraging the exploration of new chromatic realities, opening the door for personalized style and spontaneous color statements.” (https://www.pantone.com/articles/fashion-color-trend-report/new-york-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022)
Spring/Summer 2022 Color Palate, Pantone
As you look at this palate of colors, what feels familiar? Are there colors that you have seen before in previous seasons? What feels comforting or reminds you of a peaceful place? What feels playful? What brings you joy?
We all might answer these questions differently, but as for me, I’ve seen soft blues like Spun Sugar and pinks like Gossamer Pink for several seasons now, even in winter. Bright sunshine yellows life Daffodill as well as deeper mustards have also been consistent over the past several seasons. Denim blue is always foundational, so the Skydiver color feels familiar to me and grounding. Harbor Blue and Glacier Lake remind me of the ocean and a summer sky, so they make me feel comforted. Coca Mocha reminds me of my favorite latte and brings up images of holding a steaming cup of goodness. Dahlia, Innuendo and Poinciana are bright and playful colors, suggesting adventure and joy.
My pairing suggestions are to keep the softer, more pastel colors together as well as the bright colors together. The navy blue is your neutral, and every color in the palate besides the Cocoa Mocha will match well with it. Pair Cocoa Mocha with Gossamer Pink.
Spring/Summer Core Classic Colors for 2022, Pantone
This next grouping of colors are what we consider neutrals and foundational colors for the season. You can see that they are all easy to wear shades in soft flesh tones and greys. And then there is Basil. Does it seem out of place to you? Consider what green connotes – Pantone mentiones health and wellness, but green also symbolizes growth, newness, life, vitality, and change. Is it any wonder, coming out of 2020, that this color was included as a core color for the season? Pair Basil with any of these other neutrals for a delightful pop of color. The Poppy Seed will be a great grounding color for the brighter colors in the previous palate and the Northern Droplet will look beautiful for the softer, more pastel colors.
As you begin to shop for new items to add to your spring and summer wardrobe, you will likely be seeing these colors and versions of these colors in your favorite clothing lines. Pay attention to the emotional feeling they evoke for you. As a repesentation of our greatest hopes and desires, they are also a means to find healing. Look for colors that bring you comfort as well as those that inspire you to seek new adventure and find joy.
Watch my live video teaching series called Wednesday Wardrobing each Wednesday at 6 p.m. MST. I will be beginning my Seasonal Trends series tomorrow night and showing you examples of these colors and also how to pair them. Find out more about this series here and join to get messaged reminders of the videos. These classes are only broadcast in our VIP Facebook Group. You can join and watch live here: Fashion Crossroads Fashionistas.
That Pantone chose Ultimate Gray (or Pandemic Gray) and Illuminating Yellow as the 2021 colors of the year says so much about the psyche of our nation and world as we still face an alarming death toll from the Covid19 Pandemic while cautiously and anxiously hoping for brighter days. It has always been interesting to me how colors in both fashion and design often mimic the political and social climate from which they come. This spring’s color palate is both earthy and exuberant, indicating a need to feel both grounded and hopeful.
Perhaps it is because I am a Wyoming girl with strong roots in this state (my dad’s family homesteaded here) or because I am a mountain girl dreaming of backpacking next summer that this season’s key colors remind me of a field of lovely spring wild flowers. I’ve seen open fields in late June adorned with flowers in these same bright pinks, oranges, yellows, blues and purples. And yet, there is also the toasted coral and rust as well as the warm tan and olive that remind me of the forest floor layered with pine needles and organic matter that cushions my feet as I walk across it. For me, there is no place more serene than the mountains, and after 2020, I am looking for serene wherever I can find it. I am excited about both extremes in the color palate for spring 2021, as I too am finding myself seeking both grounding and hope.
As you plan your spring wardrobe, I hope you will add colors from both categories this year. All of the top colors in the picture above can be used for tops or as accents. “Raspberry Sorbet,” “Illuminating Yellow,” “Green Ash,” “Mint,” “Cerulean,” “French Blue,” and “Amethyst” will all pair beautifully with “Ultimate Gray” or “Inkwell.” For a warmer palate, choose “Burnt Coral” and “Rust” and also “Marigold,” and pair them with the lovely “Desert Mist” tan or even the warm olive “Willow.” The easy to wear “Buttercream” also makes a lovely choice as a neutral bottom and would be especially pretty with “Burnt Coral” and “Desert Mist.”
To see examples of these colors, watch my live Wednesday Wardrobing video tonight at 6 p.m. MST. To watch, join our VIP Facebook Group called Fashion Crossroads Fashionistas.
It’s nearing the end of January, and I spent yesterday skiing with my family. It was really a beautiful day with a warm winter sun.
Despite my fun in the snow, however, February is an absolutely rotten, no-good, horrible month in Wyoming. There is nothing redeeming about February: it’s cold, grey, snowy and, usually, windy. Which is why I relish the new spring arrivals at this time of year because they are a reminder to stay strong…spring is on the way.
Take a closer look at the Pantone color palate at the top of this blog post so you can see just all you have to look forward to this spring. It includes Meadowlark yellow (which I love because that is our state bird), Cherry Tomato, Little Boy Blue, Chili Oil, Pink Lavender, Blooming Dahlia, Acadia, and Ultra Violet. From earthy and warm to soft and cool, spring’s palate is sure to have you clamoring over at least one color.
My color crush for the season is Blooming Dahlia. We just received our new Tribal Sportswear, and within our January collection are several pieces in Blooming Dahlia. It is such a wonderful, peachy pink. It pairs beautifully with soft olive and navy blue, as you can see in the pictures. Of course, it is always great with white too. Best yet, it is a decidedly feminine color that just makes a girl feel pretty.
I would love to hear about your color crush for the season in the comments to this blog post, and in the mean time….stay strong. Spring is coming!
Working in the back room the other day, I startled when the buzzer rang. Opening the door, I welcomed our UPS driver in as he began to pile box upon box of varying shapes and sizes. I quickly signed for the delivery, and opened the box to reveal springtime! The yellows, oranges and blues were a welcome sight. While everyone else is just fully embracing winter, we in the clothing industry are embracing spring.
Pantone.com is my favorite website for finding out what the trendiest colors for the season will be. According to Leatrice Eisman, the Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, “this season, consumers are looking for a state of thoughtful, emotional and artistic equilibrium.” What a beautiful thought. Equilibrium means being in a state of rest and balance. It occurs when two opposing forces cancel each other out resulting in stability. The key colors this season are a blending and balancing of both soft and vivid. Thus, two opposing forces, or in this case, colors, work together to bring stability.
The key tranquil colors are Placid Blue (sky blue), Violet Tulip (lavender), Hemlock Green (similar to spruce green) Paloma (dark grey) and Sand. I love the Big Horn Mountains, so when I think of these colors, I imagine a hike through a field blooming with flowers and towering mountains in the background. Picture it -a soft blue sky contrasted by the dark grey cliffs in the distance and the grey-green of a spruce tree just in front of you, all accented with wild lavender hyacinths. Just imagining it brings a sense of rest to my soul.
But to have equilibrium, you also need a contrasting force of equal power. So, now add into the mix Freesia (vibrant yellow), Cayenne red (just like the spice), Celosia Orange (like a really ripe orange), Radiant Orchid (the purple of an orchid) and Dazzling Blue (the color of the deep ocean). Freesia, Cayenne Red and Celosia Orange make me think of India and the mustard and red colors of curries. But to get a sense of these colors, you could also imagine the progress of a sunset and how the sun turns a deep yellow and the sky transforms from orange to red to violet and then deep blue.
Before you chuff and say this is too much ado about nothing, be reminded that color affects your mood. Red is the color of passion, blue promotes a sense of calm, green makes you feel refreshed, yellow lifts your mood and makes you feel happy, and orange can bring out your creativity. For more on this topic, check out “How Color Affects Our Mood” in the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/27/how-color-affects-our-moo_n_1114790.html. Indeed, research shows the first aspect of a product a consumer responds to is color. I’m sure you’ve had the experience of walking into a store and having an article of clothing jump off the rack. You might have even heard yourself utter, “I love this.” More than likely, you were responding to the color. So I encourage you this season to think about the colors in this new palate that bring about that response in you. Take a copy of this color palate with you as you shop and choose clothing that brings you equilibrium.
It’s nearing the end of January, and I spent yesterday skiing with my family. It was really a beautiful day with a warm winter sun.
