Spring blues, mermaid hues 2/1/23
Color to get excited about
Deep into January’s grey days, I’ve been looking back at the Spring 2023 runway collections from September, thinking how crazy it is that the real, tangible appeal of these new clothes is lost on us hot-weather-weary fashion folk then.
In late summer, we suntanned style people recognize next spring’s new warm weather trends, nod in professional appreciation at certain great shows and then get down to our insular business of hungrily scouring for salable/photogenic looks, under-the-radar designers and models, front-row gossip, and just maybe some really good clothes. (Forget that the rest of the nation was focused on Mar-a-Lago and the midterms, we competed with each other to be first declaring micros, maxis, midriffs and monochrome the runway headlines. Silly us.)
But, that’s just what we do--the business of our fashion business, if you will. However, the real impact of a season’s beautiful trends doesn’t really hit even us editors, retailers, writers and other members of the fashion pack—until we wish we could wear them. Like right about now—thank you very much, winter.
And, breathtaking color is certainly what spurs me to get into a new season. Who doesn’t want to wear color that inspires us to think about (and feel) sunnier, airier days in the middle of wintry slate and pewter skies?
So color can be an “a-ha” moment, when we “get” the new season’s raison d’etre.
This year’s magical spring palette was positively Neptunian: sea hues-blues and greens and lilacs, from light to saturated. There was the gradient green-to-purple iridescence of sea creatures, the pale ghost colors of jellyfish, squid and plankton, the silver mercury flash of fish and the deep shades of ocean depths. Mesmerizing, cool, serene, and sensual colors that made me feel a sea breeze and a wave’s caress on my toes in my living room. (I’ve always had a big imagination
And, I reasoned, like the unsatiated fashionista that I am, why wait till spring? I want some of that color, and that feeling, RIGHT NOWI So I searched for my bit of new season magic to behold and covet. Hope you’ll love these pieces as much as I do…
Observation: Full-Throttle Color
My first post just has to be about a bold spring style idea on this AMAZING seventy degree day. Nature is slowly greening, leaving the somber palette of winter behind, but color is definitely not making a soft entrance in the style world. It’s bursting out gloriously, full-blown and almost neon-strong, from designers’ brains onto our backs.
The reason for the full-throttle impact? Monochromatic, head-to-toe color, which popped up in every collection, capturing the spirit of exuberant spring re-emergence. Whether it’s the endorphin-inspiring saturated colors, the nearly-neons, the deeper-hued pastels, or even the starkness of all black or all white, monochromatic looks took over runways (450-plus) in every major fashion city this spring.
From clothing to hats to scarves to sunglasses, to bras, bags, belts and jewelry, and shoes and hosiery-sticking to one color made a pretty fierce statement.
Monochromatic is a style with an exclamation point. It bombards us with a color and says ”look at me”. Importantly, it shows an in-you-face definitiveness, a confidence that says ““I believe in myself”.
How refreshing to see and feel that positivity in this often stressful time With war, covid and climate to worry about, don’t we all need a little more positive?
It seems that you can’t pile enough of one color into an outfit this spring, so just pick your shade and go for it — all in. Boldness can equal greatness.
Just take a look.