Pastels have been trending for a couple of years and the trend seems to be gathering steam. I expect pastel tones to be stronger than ever this year, across ALL seasons, and totally mainstream. Lilac, blush, and baby blue are top of the list, with peach, lemon and mint right behind them.
Pastels are the light, unsaturated versions of a colour. So think of any colour, add lots of white to it, and there’s the pastel. They are lighter than their corresponding mid-tone, bright, jewel tone or earth tone.
My clients and friends run the gamut when it comes to wearing pastels. Some wear them frequently, especially in Spring and Summer. Some will wear a particular pastel shade in small doses. Others are warming up to the idea, dipping their toes into stronger pastels like baby blue and lilac. Others like the idea of wearing pastels, but feel that insipid shades wash them out and are therefore unflattering. And some won’t wear pastels on principle because they’re too “childish”, “sweet”, “precious”, “prissy”, “weak”, “pretty”, “Easter-egg” and “feminine”. It’s the connotations of pastels that bug them as much as the soft intensity of the colour.
We probably all wore our share of pastels when we were infants. But what about after that? The next time I remember wearing pastels was in the late ‘80s when I wore a lot of peach and some baby pink with faded denim. I had a thing for pastel lime green in the early ‘90s, and loved light blue in the late ‘90s. Some time after that, my relationship with pastels came to a grinding halt for more than a decade.
A few years ago I rekindled my affection for light blue and also introduced some blush pink into my wardrobe. These pastels are actually a lot more versatile than I thought they were, and I love that they add a soft, pretty and gentle integrity to my style. I enjoy pastels worn with white, some brights, and black. So I want to continue adding light blue and blush to my wardrobe along with my usual sour brights, black, ink blue and shades of white. I am still toying with the idea of peach.
Over to you. Is there a place for pastels in your style? If so, which are your favourites?
