Pastels, Graphic Black & White, and Tangerine– Oh My!

Can it really be Friday already?! It’s hard to believe that it’s time to wrap-up my 2012 Color Trend Week. Here’s what I’ve been up to since I last posted.

Wednesday: Pastels

I have to admit this was harder than I thought it was going to be! Even though I was born to wear pastel with my blonde hair and pale skin, it’s a little more difficult to pull it off when it’s 25 degrees outside. I’m not 100% satisfied with what I came up with, so I may try to work this in again in the future. The lesson here, just because you look good in a certain color or color palette doesn’t mean it’s a no-brainer. As Michael Kors and Nina Garcia constantly remind us on Project Runway– it really is all about the styling!

PastelsJanuary 11: Mint V-Neck Sweater (J. Crew), Pink Slub 3/4 Sleeve Tee (J. Crew), Straight Leg Jeans (Joe's Jeans)

January 11: Pink 3/4 Sleeve Tee (J. Crew), Mint Green V-Neck Sweater (J. Crew), Light Wash Denim Jeans (Joe's Jeans)

Thursday: Graphic Black and White

I actually surprised myself on this one and pulled out something different from what I had originally planned to wear. The take-away: if it feels right, just go with it! Who cares if you had something planned? Sometimes your best ideas are when you’re free styling… just ask Jay Z!

Graphic Black and White January 12: Black and White Print Wrap Dress (Target), Royal Blue Cami (NY & Co.), and Royal Blue Cardigan (NY & Co.)

January 12: Black and White Print Wrap Dress (Merona, Target), Royal Blue Camisole (NY & Co.), and Royal Blue Cardigan (NY& Co.)

Friday: Tangerine Tango

We wrap the week up with the Pantone Color of the Year. Behold: Tangerine! Of course the day that I’m slated to wear the spring-iest of all of the color trends happens to be on the snowiest and coldest day of the year so far, but I have to admit that it brightened up this otherwise dull and dreary day. The moral of this Tangerine Tale? Just because it’s gloomy outside, doesn’t mean your outfit has to be! Punch-up the color and improve your outfit and your outlook.

Pantone's Color of 2012: TangerineJanuary 13: Cashmere Turtleneck Sweater (Charter Club, Macy's), Dark Denim Jeans (Joe's Jeans), Statement Necklace (Forever 21)

January 13: Cashmere Turtleneck Sweater (J. Crew), Dark Wash Jeans (Joe's Jeans), Statement Necklace (Forever 21)

Sneak Peek for Next Week: Summer in Winter– I promise, you really can wear it all!

Layered Neutrals

It’s Day #2 of Refinery29 2012 Color Trend Week here on the Wear Everything Project and today is all about Layered Neutrals. You’re probably asking yourself right now, “Aren’t layered neutrals just as boring as a single neutral?” And part of you is right– but as Refinery29 notes in their slideshow, by layering pieces, you start to get a multi-dimensional effect that is pretty cool! In fact, I think I dig it over the black, on black, on gray that I’ve been rocking lately.

For today’s outfit, I started with a sweater shell that wasn’t going to see the light of day unless I wore the one skirt that I had specifically bought it to go with. You know how it goes: you find the perfect combo of items and suddenly the two pieces are married– there’s no chance you’d want one to cheat on the other with another item in your closet. Yet, as one of the “oatmeal” items that I own, I figured that I would start with that as my base and try to think outside the box by building around it. After studying the pictures from Refinery29, I added in some gray jeans and a gray and beige flecked sweater that I think pulls it all together. Ta Da! Layered Neutrals– just don’t tell the skirt!

Today’s Lesson: Just because you have a piece of clothing that you bought to go specifically with another item in your closet doesn’t mean you have to only wear them together! Get creative and start thinking of other ways to incorporate that item into your outfit repertoire.

Refinery29: Layered Neutrals

January 10: Oatmeal Merino Sweater Shell (Ann Taylor), Gray Wash Trouser Jeans (The Limited), Shawl Neck Duster Cardigan (New York & Co.)

70’s Appliances

Are you ready?! We’re kicking off my week of  Refinery29’s 2012 Color Trends with 70’s Appliances.

I’ll be honest, I was a little bit nervous about this one. Just the thought of “Harvest Gold and Almond to Avocado Green” made me a bit weary, but once I realized that I actually own these colors, it was game on. It’s also a great excuse to bust out a few items that I may have had to force myself to wear otherwise to get through this challenge and see them in a new light.

The lesson: trying new color combos can be surprisingly fun! Don’t sell yourself short either– just because you think you can’t pull off something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least try.

So how did I do?

January 9: Silk Gold Halter (Express), Tan Boyfriend Cardigan (The Limited), and Brown Corduroys (Old Navy)

70's Appliances- Color Trend #1 of 2012

In need of some color!

If you’ve clicked through any of my the pictures I’ve taken for my blog, you’ve probably noticed that I stick to a lot of black, navy, and gray.  Plain old black (not counting anything with stripes or dots) accounts for 53 items in my closet! Add in pinstripes or checks and we’re up to 72 (that’s 25 percent of my closet!). I also own 29 gray pieces of clothing and 27 navy items, for a grand total of 128 clothing items– 44 percent of my closet– that are considered to be dull, drab, or just plain boring.

With that in mind, I decided that I should pay close attention when Refinery29 put out their article “2012 Color Trends- Five you need to know now.”  Here’s the rundown:

1) 70’s Appliances (think harvest gold and avocado green): Um, yeah… I don’t think I really own any of these colors. There’s a reason none of the models in this picture have blonde hair. That being said, I think I can pull this off…

2) Layered Neutrals (think soft oatmeals, browns, tans, and grays): As noted above, I’ve got this one down. For the record, I own three items already that I categorized as “oatmeal.”

3) Pastels (think mint green, blush, and robin’s egg blue): Finally, we’re getting somewhere! Note to self: wear more “blush.” And yes, ironically, I also have a skirt and a shirt that I put into my inventory as “mint green.” This should be fun!

4) Graphic Black and White (does this really need an explanation?): Again, this shouldn’t be problem. I will take extra care to add a “splash of color,” such as an “inky blue” for what is sure to be an “audacious effect”! On trend here we come…

5) Tangerine Tango (Pantone’s color of 2012– yes, this is real): So I have a few items that fall into this category, proving that if you’ve been shopping the right way for the past 27 years, something in your closet is bound to fall into the “color of the year” category.

So now that we’ve all been educated about the 2012 Color Trends, it’s time to take action! Since next week is the first full work week of 2012, I’ll be using each of the five days to show off my take of the new color trends. Nothing says Monday like 70’s appliances, folks!

Until then, here’s another drab gray outfit to check off of my list!

January 6: Gray Sweater Dress (Gap)