How to Wear Color… Add a pop of bright to your wardrobe without the fright

Fashion Alert: How to wear color.

Update your wardrobe with the right punch of vivid, bright, and bold color!

Dear Sharon: I'm seeing bright colors all over the place”it's not the same shades that I'm used to expect in clothing colors, but rather bold and daring vivid hues.

I like to experiment with fashion but I'm very afraid that if I don't wear this color trend the right way I may just end up looking like one of those wacky ladies with the way overdrawn red lips, purple pantsuit, and a cat on a lavender leash-- you know who I mean!

Help me figure out how to stylishly add color to my wardrobe without looking over the top. -- Hue Do Something to Me (Greensboro-High Point, NC)

Dear Hue Do Something to Me: Oh we don't want to look like the lady with the overdrawn red lips, do we? Bright and bold color, which is very hot right now and going strong into fall 2008, certainly adds drama to any outfit but it also comes with a big ol' warning if you are not the most fashionably adept... use color sparingly and perfectly for the greatest impact!

The fantastic thing about using color as an accent is that you don't have to worry if it's the "right" shade for you when the color is not near your face! Go color crazy to your heart's content and only limit the colors near bare skin. When you wear vivid, full-on high pigment colors, like neons or exotic brights, use their intense visual power as an anchor for muted neutrals and don't bury yourself in a total saturated matchy-matchy look.

Fashion Tip: Wear high impact colors as an accent and not as your
head-to-toe outfit.

Add a pop of color shopping guide: (content continues below products)



It's really not the color you wear as much as it is how you wear the color. Dusty and muted light colors like mushroom, sand, putty, or even paperbag tan all get a tremendous style boost from a single dose of something super vivid, like a neon green handbag or electric blue platform sandals.

Dark otherwise monochromatic looks like head to toe black or navy, suddenly get oomph with a much of shocking pink or violet tights. Add oomph to an to an otherwise monochromatic off-white tank and pants with the fashion accent of a goldenrod yellow handbag. wear to much of the same crazy bright color and you will look like a NYC taxi run amok!

As the weather gets brisker and we head into fall, start layering your darker transitional wardrobe pieces with oversize boyfriend jackets in more royal colors, like ruby, plum, or emerald. Drape a rich and bright oblong wrap,
muffler style, around your neck in a lightweight cotton, linen, silk or cashmere.

Hint: Passé pashmina is right on trend when worn as a neck wrap rather than a shawl.

Color is such an easy investment to update a wardrobe that's its hard to go wrong. However, it is one item that you don't want to scrimp one” nothing looks cheaper than poor quality fabrics in bright colors” they just don't hold the pigment the way they should and look cheesy. But that's not to say that you need to spend a fortune if you want to wear intensive colors-- always wear natural fabrics like cotton, silk, cashmere, or wool that hold the bright and vivid dye as they should for the best look on any budget.

--July 26, 2008