Adding color to your spring wardrobe

BY SAMANTHA CRITCHELL | The Associated Press
April 28, 2008

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The message from the fashion world for spring and summer isn't just to wear color, it's to wear several colors at once.

The best way to achieve the look? Colorblocking, putting chunks of color all over your outfit in a very mod, Mondrian sort of way.

Sound scary? It doesn't have to be.

"It actually is the art of dressing simply," says dress designer Lisa Perry, who draws inspiration from the geometric, pop-art style of Piet Mondrian. "You have your statement piece and you can move on."

Abstract chunks of color actually is an easy way to incorporate bright color into your wardrobe, according to Nordstrom fashion director Gregg Andrews, because - depending on your color combinations - you can end up with a more understated and sophisticated look than a floral.

"There's a modernity to it that looks really sharp right now," he says.

One swath of bright yellow or cobalt blue against a backdrop of black lets you wear the spring trend without it wearing you, he says.

Perry, however, makes the case that anyone can wear the season's bolder hues. It's just a matter of finding the right ones, she says, acknowledging that it took her dozens of tries to come up with shades of orange, hot pink and turquoise that could be worn together.

OK, that might be too much for you - at first. Perry suggests a mostly turquoise dress, keeping that one color near the face, with bright orange pockets or a hot pink hemline.

Colorblocking is definitely a trend meant to be worn by the masses this spring, not just the designer customer, says Suze Yalof Schwartz, Glamour's fashion editor at large. She notes that DKNY and Vera Wang's more affordable Lavender Label are offering the look along with top-tier designers Marni and Chloe.

She recommends buying a garment that's already colorblocked for you, though, instead of creating your own with a top, belt and skirt - all in different colors. "I love how Jil Sander did it with pieces, but the designer there knows what he's doing," she says.

One insider trick Yalof Schwartz does offer is to wear neutral-colored shoes no matter what hues are part of your colorblocked outfit: "I prefer when you match your shoes to your skin tone. It will make legs look longer," she says.

Perry also likes to wear nude-colored fishnet stockings, even if she's wearing green tights with her green, turquoise and royal blue dress and black patent leather pumps with a flash of royal blue on them.

"Color goes with your personality. You have to feel comfortable being looked at," Perry says. "Even if you look good in hot pink, don't wear it if you don't want to be noticed."

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