Vivid hues, florals and prints brighten up warm-weather fashion

Spring colors are bolder and brighter than ever, as if every fashion designer’s goal is to shock the public into a happy mood and stir up some well-needed energy.

It also appears that those popular jewel-toned fabrics from winter simply exploded into spring, surprising us with fuchsia, orange, turquoise and bright green. Mix in some uplifting tropical hues such as lemon, lime, papaya and mango, and the color palette for spring and summer ’09 is complete.

Yellow, the boldest of them all, is splashed across handbags and dresses in hopes of invoking the warmth of sun, light and joy into the wardrobe.

“Everything is bright, almost neon,” said Mitzy London, owner of Mitzy London’s boutique in south Leawood.

“Color is everywhere and on everything.”

The key, of course, is to use all this color sparingly and subtly in your wardrobe, she said, and the last thing you want is to look like a flower garden or a canary.

Here’s how to tame a bright shade: You just love that soft, ruffled top in hot pink, but think, “What would I wear that with?” Grab it, tone it down with a black cardigan and tights and ballet flats, and you’re ready to hit the streets.


“This year it’s all about taking something that is decidedly feminine and colorful like a blouse and juxtaposing it with a cleaner, more tailored, plain soft skirt,” said Gregg Andrews, a fashion director at Nordstrom.

“In other words, it’s not about looking androgynous and it’s not about looking Little Bo Peep either,” he said. “It’s about mixing those looks together, like a soft dress with a heavier, chunkier shoe. You stop the look from becoming too precious.”

While we’re cozying back up to color, flowers are also in bloom: Find florals on dresses, tops, pants, shorts and jackets. You’ll even see them sprinkled on accessories.

Or perhaps a great print is what you prefer. Laura Haught, owner of Haught Style in Prairie Village, favors an Asian-inspired print with a contemporary butterfly motif. Other popular designs seem globally inspired.

“The prints we’re seeing aren’t really duplications of any one culture but more of an artist’s interpretation of one,” Andrews said.

And though color is key, don’t discount neutrals. Beige is back, and so are cool slate gray and rosy dust hues with subtle undertones that pair perfectly with blue and purple necklaces.

“Soft beiges and grays and colors that actually have a cosmetic tint to them such as blush and nude add a lot of femininity,” Andrews said.

One of the easiest ways to make a neutral statement, he said, is with a classic trench coat, a must-have for spring.