Summer fashion embraces shades of nude
Diane von Furstenberg's draped jersey dress, $465, at select Bloomingdale's and bloomingdales.com. Credit: Handout
Going nude to that big weekend party?
Don't panic. We're talking color choice, not lifestyle. This spring, fashion is all over nude, also known as flesh, Champagne, sand or blush. Don't even dare say beige.
Designers come up with all kinds of descriptive names for the shade. A beautiful beaded asymmetric Max Azria gown at Bloomingdale's is called Glow. A Michael Kors sheath at Saks is called Bare. Armani has a linen dress at Nordstrom described as Flax. You get the picture.
Evening wear designer Pamella Roland treats nude as a broad color category. "Nudes are a group of elegant shades," she says.
A sparkly neutral number is a bestseller for designer Whitney Port, who says she was finding herself so drawn to "flesh tones" when shopping for herself that she made them a big part of her Whitney Eve clothing line. "There's really an array of shades that covers - it could be mustardy, cream or blush," she says. "They're colors that look great on any color skin; it's a group of universally pleasing colors."
Likewise, Roland says she considers nude a range of shades and loves working with the palette. "Colors are loud. Nudes are a soft whisper - a sexy and elegant whisper. Nude allows a woman to wear her dress instead of the dress wearing her. It's very elegant."
