A Season of Colourful Equilibrium

According to Leatrice Eiseman of Pantone, designers are taking a modern twist on the traditional for spring 2014 by pairing soft pastels with vivid brights to create a colourful equilibrium. Inspired by a mixture of blooming flowers, travels abroad, and strong, confident women, designers are using colour to refresh, revive and defy conventional wisdom.

So, whether you make a statement wearing a head-to-toe colour, or bring different shades together, you'll be bang on trend. Having experienced the wettest winter in recent history, I think most people are feeling a bit blue at the moment! While Leatrice states that “This season, consumers are looking for a state of thoughtful, emotional and artistic equilibrium," the UK consumer probably needs a little bit of warming up! Luckily Spring’s palette includes freesia (yellow), celosia orange and cayenne (a soft red) which all work perfectly with blue.

You can choose from Placid Blue, Violet tulip to Dazzling Blue and make this your wardrobe staple. The more vibrant versions, as always, belong best to the Cools, Clears and Deeps but Warms, Softs and Lights will wear their blues in lighter and softer versions, the placid versions.

Add your warm tonalities of Fusion Coral, Azalea Pink, Pink Carnation and Sachet Pink and add a dash of sunny lime for good measure! Azalea pink evokes drama and glamour and is best suited to Cool colourings or Deep or Clear colourings with cool skin tones. Blush pink in a key piece or top-to-toe can be a statement look too. It is a great shade on all colouring (aka a universal colour!). The delicate pastel sachet pinks are made for the Lights but can be mixed with bolder pinks for those that can. A pastel pink in shiny fabric will turn a simple garment into something more special. Warms should go for more corally shades of pink (fusion coral) or head for or celosia orange! Peach Whip and Flamingo are also the delicious names of colours being bandied around... I am thinking of fun and sunshine for a change!

Radiant Orchid has been hailed the colour of the season and this sits somewhere between violet and pink so perfect for most colour types!


Are you ready for some sunshine? Then say hello to Yellow! It's a sunny, feel-good colour but you need to get just the right shade for you and have the confidence to wear it. Choose from the vibrant freesia or head towards precious amber for a richer tone. You can add this to pattern or go quite bold, but remember you will be seen, so choose your most flattering version.

And finally Spring wouldn’t be Spring without those lovely shades of green which remind us of everything fresh and full of life, saying that Hemlock is a fashion shade!

Posted by Clare Greenwood at 16:58 No comments: Links to this post Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Labels: Clare Greenwood, Clare Greenwood Looks Magic, colour me beautiful cornwall, image consultant cornwall, personal shopping Truro, personal stylist Truro, princes house cornwall