Buy it now, wear it now: Spring Fashion Trends
Spring - Summer 2006
clothing, pictured above- Y & Kei spring fashion show
See: spring fashion shows

Spring fashion is all about the way clothes drape your body

Dear Sharon: Spring clothes are rolling into stores, but I am far too impetuous to buy something and then have to sit out wearing it until the season finally changes. Can you help me find a few spring fashion trend pieces that I can wear right now? -- Fashion PDQ, Brooklyn, NY


Dear Fashion PDQ: Sweetcakes, there are two types of fashion zealots- Type A fashionistas who pre-order designer clothes as soon as the ink on the look book dries or the designer’s trunk show arrives in town. Their wardrobe is planned and they’ve laid claim to their must-have pieces before anyone else.

Get naked- Instead of thinking about winter’s richer, darker palette, get going with some understated, neutral additions. No, you don’t have to strip down, if you don’t want to. Fashion for spring is all about the new nudes, as in nude colors. It is beige, buff, cocoa, blush, sand, taupe, clove, and a touch of French vanilla for a barely there, soft-focus palette. Spice it up with tints of melon, a strike of indigo, lily green, sky blue, or lilac, but keep the base soft, muted and nude.

Go with the flow- Overall, spring trend styling is less rigid and constructed than in past seasons. There is a gentle flow and fluidity to the line, rather than overt tailoring. It’s an underlying nod to some of the more chic Seventies silhouettes-- dresses that you want to dance in and which move with your every disco step. The freer feel to skirts which twirl around you comes from breezier fabrics like matte jerseys, featherweight silks, and sheer chiffons. If you are young enough to have never worn them, Eighties Molly Ringwald-ish prom dresses are having a fashion relapse.

Stand tall- There’s nothing that adds more oomph to your stride than a fantastic pair of platform wedge sandals. Stand tall, be proud and boogie woogie oggie all night long in a great pair of wedge shoes that will modernize your entire wardrobe in just one step.

The suit off his back- Pantsuits have made a colossal fashion return and, as a group, the style possibilities are endless. They are soft and slightly slouchy with full pants, skinny and very rocker drainpipes, preppy, yet quirky classic straight legs, girly and sweet, matched and unmatched flares, but the new pantsuits are always streamlined. A well-fitting pants suit creates a longer and leaner, more polished proportion than separates and have a certain give that makes them look right for evening or your most casual day. Get one!
fashion shows
Factory Rock Out- The Edy Sedgwick – Andy Warhol Factory influence is so strong, that even Andy would probably say that its 15 minutes of graphic influence are soon to be up. But, that edgy Edy coolness gives way to plenty of Rocker inspired looks. An early Mick Jagger meets Prince glam aesthetic with a hit of biker thrown in is so right that it’s almost a downtown classic. Mix your Edwardian ruffle blouses with drainpipe pants and a large dose of punky skulls and studs, and funny, little flats.

Major Asia- You can’t go wrong with a kimono sleeve jacket or an obi-wrap dress. Clear vivid colors and bold floral prints spice up an all-Asian influence. Soak up the minimalist opulence and go geisha for a moment.

A white blouse- simple, easy, and far from basic, a white top adds a certain freshness to your wardrobe. A little frilly tuxedo shirt, flounced cami, crochet trimmed tank, or cotton voile menswear shirt-- a blouse always looks right when it’s white.

Accentuate with accessories- Oh, those tricked out brooches are beyond passé, but jewelry and accessories are as strong as when those pins were introduced. Keep the fluidity of fashion and opt for hanging pendants and open chains that shift effortlessly with your every move. Bold, large cuffs, and one brazenly large ring on an unexpected finger, like your pinky make a daring statement in a simple way. Wide belts cinch your middle and keep the flow shaped, yet not gripped to your body.

Flushed by an ingenue- Hallelujah to the demise of skin that looks like a scorched turkey in an array of unnatural umbers from the over-fakebaked tans of last summer. In a nod to modernity, prettiness, and common sense, makeup is soft and natural like a child playing outdoors. Toss your heavy-duty bronzers and shimmer sludge and replace it with a clear, softer palette of makeup colors that resemble your natural blush. Get girly with a redder lip or a vibrant eye shadow for fun, but keep the look fresh, rosy, and real.

-February 3, 2006

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