Angie – first congratulations on your new blog look! It is FAB!
I noticed black and white in the windows of all the boutiques around town. I was hoping it was an “end of summer” – “not yet fall” choice. Apparently this will continue.

I was disappointed that the promise of color in the spring did not translate to clothes for classics. It was a sea of neutrals. As you say accessories seemed the only way to bring this into my wardrobe.

It’s so funny you should write this today–I’m wearing a black and white ensemble!

B/w is timeless, striking and generally easy to put together…but you are right spicing it up with some color would be a welcome change and a fun challenge.

Funny, here in L.A. I see less b/w & I am not wearing it, either. But we are colorful folks.

The last few times i have been shopping for new clothes/outfits, i have made a conscious effort to avoid buying black. I notcied a huge “dark spot” in my closet at the beginning of spring when i did my “spring cleaning.” I have been trying ta add more color. I do love black and white, but one can only own so much of it.

I agree! I bought a lot of my dresses last fall and as a result, a lot are black and white. I love how I look in black and white, but by spring I was really ready for a change. I was definitely disappointed by what was available, though. Not being someone who looks good in most yellows, I ended up buying some more black and white and a bit of brown.

Things are looking up, though. Last week I went shopping with a friend and made him promise to keep me from buying any neutrals. I ended up with three great dresses. One is a lovely bright green, and the other two are combinations of bright blues and browns. Now, if I could just repeat that shopping trip.

Currently, I’m looking for some nice bright blouses (for those rare times when I don’t want to wear a dress). No luck so far. I keep seeing white, black, and brown. Same with shoes, bottoms, and accessories. I know that neutrals are “safe” colors, and I’ve spent years trying to be safe. Now, though, I keep thinking, “Do I really need another black/brown/white ____ ?”

I actually have been seeing lots more color than usual — the Pucci patterns, Asian-inspired styles have been brought more color into play.

(For what it’s worth, I really preferred the blog centered on the screen)

I have really grown fond of Boden for this reason. This summer I was badly in need of some colorful tops to go with my neutral skirts, and they really delivered some beautiful, vibrant choices. My favorite is a lightweight, china blue v-neck that I can wear over any number of colorful camis.

Their fall collection is more muted, but I think it makes sense for the season. I received their catalog a few weeks ago and I have basically drawn up my entire Christmas list from there.

I have been noticing that there seems to be a lot of Indian-inspired styles out there lately (flat ornamented sandals, tunics over skinny pants/leggings, breezy embroidered tops), but somehow the use of color hasn’t really come through as much. At least there’s no shortage of pattern!

There is absolutely loads of colour expression in eclectic, ethnic and bohemian styling this season – to your point m as you named it ” Pucci and Asian inspired styles”. That’s happening in Europe as well. Unfortunately, clean-cut classic garments have been devoid of colour and this I feel has been a missed opportunity.

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade…take that black and white (since you already own it) and add some turquoise, or red accessories to the ensemble; maybe even a fab headband and work it that way. Or, maybe sport a colorful outercoat over black and white. However, I will admit, I’m a fan of color. In a few of the magazines I often shop from I have been seeing many jewel tones, like amethyst, sapphire blue and emerald green in their fall collections.

I’m finding that I’m gravitating towards browns this Fall…don’t know why…maybe in response to being more black focussed in the past. There does seem to be some browns and wine colored options….are they still fab?

Interesting. Brown and burgundy are absolutely still fab…..pop a bit of the new shade of purple in there and you’ve got yourself a very current colour combination.

Yeah! I found color – and on clearance some how! Today I bought a purse, a headband, some jewelry and a pair of fabulous Italian shoes in a bright turquoise blue (all for under $100 I might add). This weekend I also bought some jewelry and a purse in a medium green, and another purse and some jewelry in pink.

Now, I’m grounding myself and giving the card over to my husband for safe keeping. I know I’m going to regret that as soon as I see something fabulous in my favorite color, purple, but I’ll just have to wait or beg.

That’s wonderful Meg. The weather is hot where you live so you are absolutely shopping correctly for your dominant season.

And purple is on the way…..so you’ll need to top up with your favourite colour as soon as you see what you love. Start begging for that credit card back!

[...] bright colours that we were promised in Spring and Summer seem to have found their way through to Autumn. Albeit a [...]

I was very disappointed with spring and summer. The magazines promised bright colors in the stores and they just weren’t there. I gave up early summer and just got on with what I had. But this past month I have been scouring the web for colorful layering tops, colorful dresses to possibly wear now or later. I ended up buying the hippie stuff either on sale or as it was on its way out (at forever 21) and plan to wear my jumble of stuff with tights, black boots and leather jackets– nothing new but at least I will feel this season was the fun last season was supposed to be and wasn’t.

[...] for an interesting outfit. Bright hues and ethnic patterns will be a refreshing contrast to the sea of black and white retail collections we saw for Spring 2007, but it’s going to be a tricky season for those who [...]