Colors of 2013

 

The Pantone Report on Designers Colors of 2013

The fashion colors  that will be showing up on the racks this spring and described in Pantone’s annual report  are a welcome relief  from the saccharine pastels that populated the stores this last spring.  This year’s colors will be far more muted and easier to wear. As Pantone says in their report they are more balanced and “offer practicality and versatility”.

Last Year’s Colors

Gone are last year’s sherbet colors emphasizing tangerine, bright yellow, and a very red purple. While these made the clothes racks light up like Easter, they were hard colors for most women to wear. Beautiful and invigorating on the runway, when they filled the stores’ racks they seemed very one dimensional. If sherbet wasn’t your style then there wasn’t anything there for you. Many of my clients were coming to me that spring and asking for anything BUT sherbet. They did not feel like they could be taken seriously dressing in the bright colors.

This Year’s Colors

While the color scheme is heavily tilted to the greens this year, there is a wider range of colors as well as a more muted tone. Wearing them, you don’t feel like part of a global Easter Egg hunt.  There are the same number of officially neutral colors (linen in 2013 and driftwood in 2012) but there are several other colors that are muted towards a more neutral state than last year’s. A prime example is this year’s lemon zest replacing last year’s solar power. These are colors that can be taken seriously and can easily go into a professional woman’s business wardrobe.

Don’t Be Ruled By the “Theme of the Year”

All that said about this year’s color and last year’s color, don’t let the designers dictate the colors in your wardrobe. Find the colors that are good for you. Find the intensity of color that is good for you and stick by your choices.  This year’s colors lean heavily to the greens and the media is obsessing about emerald green being the color to wear, but there is a full range of other colors offered in the report.

If you love and are enthused by the bright colors from last year, stay with them. Team that Solar Power yellow blouse with a more muted Tender Shoots green skirt. If green wasn’t your color before then it still isn’t. Leave that emerald dress in the store.

Empowered

Regardless of the colors dictated by this year’s designers, you know what looks best on you. If this year’s colors have left you a little confused, perhaps it is time to have your colors done by an image consultant to see what plays off best against your skin tone and personality. Continue to follow your style and pick through this year’s crop of colors to find the ones that suit you in intensity and color.  Being a true to your unique style rather than a slave to fashion will come through in what you wear and create the high powered image we are all striving for.

The color philosophy here at Istina Design is to let the particular garment design influence and determine the color choice used rather than follow a color scheme. Some garments look best as a bright shot of color. Others beg for the more muted tones. Above all, we try to offer each one in a range of colors so the wearer can decide what looks best on her.

Regardless of the color, if the outfit is pulled together will style and flair you will ooze self-confidence and the look of a person who knows where they are going and who people will want to follow.

 

 

 

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