Various ensembles of pastel. From left: Baby blue v-necked sweater with pastel-pink skirt; blue blouse, pants with blue chintz print and beige overcoat; blue sweater, poker-dot washed denim bottom and pink-beige blazer (via fashionisers.com)
The weather is quickly getting warm; the Lunar New Year holidays are long over.
But if it’s the staple shades of blacks and whites that you’re returning to: Stop. It’s Spring, the start of a year, and we should dress to lift our mood and prospects.
What we’re proposing is PASTEL. Pastel is our new best friend; soft on the eyes, easy going and hits it off with most skin tones. Baby blue, cotton candy pink, pale yellow, nude alike beige, lavender purple.
The list goes on, but here’s our modest proposals to pull off the pastel look without appearing like a macaroon shop window in the morning:
1. Pastel with Pastel Colour
The never-go-wrong combination, because both colours are very subtle, they usually do not look odd together! A fashion editor even once said we are allowed to mix up to 4 pastel colours in one outfit, but let’s be safe, mixing two will seldom go wrong!
2. Pastel with Bold Colour
Is a full pastel outfit too dull for you? Match it with your favourite colour, and make it a bright one. It reduces the femininity look of pastels and takes on a more creative and vibrant look! Not feeling too adventurous? Then go for a monochromatic theme, match cotton candy pink with red, or sky blue with navy.
3. Pastel with Print
Not a fan of block colours or plain outfit? Try this out then. Match a pastel colour with patterned or printed pieces such as dotted, stripes or even geometric.
Caution: Matching it with floral print might make you look more “vintage” than you asked for!
Pink for men. From left: A gunmetal-gray tie and dark neutral suspenders offer contrast against a pink shirt; pink shirt and white trousers with a navy-blue blazer; pink shirt and white trousers again, but with a gray flannel sports jacket (via ties-necktie.com)
4. Pastel with the Staples
Staples refer to the basics, i.e. black, white and denim. Are you wary to venture beyond your usual style? Start easy by matching it with a staple item/colour. Complement pastel with black for a more modern and polished look, while white gives it pleasing summer look. Pastel can’t go wrong with denim too for a chic and casual feel (try pastel jeans!).
