My heart is with intense sour brights, but I also love a soft blush pink. The quiet pastel is very versatile for my style, awfully pretty and romantic, and I wear it year round. Blush functions a bit like another white in my wardrobe. I remix it with citron, turquoise, red, lime green, white, orange, denim blue, shocking pink, light blue and navy. I find blush footwear and accessories especially handy, and build complements with them.

These are the solid blush items currently in my wardrobe. I’m looking to add a solid blush pullover, pair of dressy pants, and coat at some point too.

Amazon

Frye Women's Billy Inside Zip Bootie Western Boot

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16

Custom Find

by Angie

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Nordstrom

Halogen Diagonal Rib Cashmere Scarf

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16

Nordstrom

SCOTCH & SODA Scotch & Soda Workwear Cotton Jacket | Nordstrom

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15

Nordstrom

SARTO By Franco Sarto 'Jolette' Penny Loafer

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26

Nordstrom

Naturalizer Emiline Flat Loafer

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24

Zappos

Ecco Soft 7 Sneaker

$149.94

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38

Amazon

Furla Alba Ladies Medium Pink Moonstone Leather Satchel 984387

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6

Custom Find

by Angie

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Yoox

Furla Handbag

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20

Custom Find

by Angie

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There are countless ways to wear soft pink. You can choose a cool-toned icy version, or a warmer version that looks peachy. Some versions of blush are much like a shade of tan, so take your pick. Wear a lot of it, or sport it as an accent. Wear it as a solid, or in a pattern. Here are some outfits to inspire you.

1. Berry and Blush

All sorts of rich and dark reds, fuchsias, and purples look wonderful with blush pink. Combine them as tonal solids, or with a patterned item in the same palette. It’s easiest to wear dark berry on the bottom and to combine it with a solid or patterned blush top like they have here. Choose a skirt if that’s more your thing. The tan shoes that finish this look could have been berry or blush instead, with a topper and bag to match. I especially like how the cardigan is buttoned up and worn as a pullover.

2. Casual Neutrals and Blush Outerwear

I highly recommend blush pink outerwear if you like the colour enough to sport it in a larger solid surface area. It works well with shades of white, black, grey, blue, earth tones, and denim blue. Of course, you can wear it with non-neutrals too. Choose a dressier or more casual topper and combine it with a pair of blue jeans and a black top. Add black footwear and a bag to match. Here, the black components do a good job of toughening up the pink. Feel free to sport black boots instead of socks and oxfords. The outfit would work equally well with dressier blue jeans and a wool blush coat. Personally, I’d also sub the black components with white and throw in a blush bag.

3. Ballerina Baseball

This one is for Team Tulle. Combine a blush tulle skirt with a white top and sneakers to create a fun juxtaposition. A shirt, tee, blouse, cropped sweatshirt or pullover will do for the top. Tuck or semi-tuck the top if you need to add a bit of structure to the look. Finish things off with a blush baseball cap, a smile, and you are good to go. Feel free to sub the tulle for another type of blush skirt or pair of pants. And dressier white shoes if sneakers aren’t your thing. Add a denim jacket for warmth.

4. Sporty Luxe

I like the tension between the menswear-inspired components and the pretty pinks, and how the dressy integrity of the items are relaxed with a bit of slouch and sporty footwear. Combine a pair of dressy flared trousers in a shade of dirty pink with a denim shirt. Top things off with a blush blazer in a solid or pattern. Leave the shirt untucked, and add comfy white sneakers. A white layering top in a knit is a good sub for the shirt if that’s more to your taste. Add jewellery, bag, eyewear and watch as desired.

Who else bats for Team Blush?

I’m into wearing dressier trousers on this leg of my style journey, and casual blue jeans are taking a back seat. l do wear my blue jeans, but not as frequently as I used to. I’m loving the change. It’s just how I wanted my style to evolve, especially since I wear fashion sneakers almost exclusively these days. Casual jeans with fashion sneakers just feels a little too casual for my dressy preferences, but dressy trousers with fashion sneakers feels dead right.

This brings me to my search for dressier jeans, which is easy to accomplish when I wear crisp and polished white jeans. But it’s not as easy with blue. I don’t wear solid black anymore, so black jeans are not an option. Dark blue trouser jeans would be a great solution. They were popular about thirteen years ago and several of my clients wore them. They looked dressy and elegant, and the hems had a little swoosh factor too. They were made of regular dark blue denim with a slightly raw denim integrity. The denim was a uniform shade of blue. To keep the vibe dressy, there was no denim topstitching or patch pocketing. The silhouettes were wide legs or bootcuts with side entry pockets. Basically the bottoms were cut like regular trousers but from a rigid piece of dark blue denim, and it’s what I feel like wearing right now. Of course, now that I want to wear them, they don’t exist.

The closest options I can find are the ones in the collection below, but they aren’t quite trouser-y enough. Although super cute, the silhouettes tend to resemble jeans more than trousers. I will probably give them a go, since both manufacturers are sustainable and ethical.

G-Star Raw

Lintell High Dad Jeans

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9

Boden

Patch Pocket Wide Leg Jeans

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13

G-Star Raw

Tedie Ultra High Long Straight Jeans C

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11

Over to you. Did you wear trouser jeans back in the day, and do you feel like wearing them again like I do?

Atlanta-based Monica Awe-Etuk (41) documents her outfits on Instagram, and on her blog Awed by Monica. She’s a trendy dresser with exuberant style who enjoys playing around with all kinds of different vibes. Our blogger often sports interesting footwear and maximal arm candy, and loves neutrals as much as she loves colour.

“As I get older, I do believe my style has evolved a little. I say a little because I have always maintained a core principle when it comes to style and that is ‘classic with a modern twist’. The only thing that has really changed for me is showing a little less skin lol. I love having fun with fashion and will continue to do so.”

This ribbed knit maxi dress looks like a two-piece set made up of a turtleneck sweater and cosy skirt because the self stripe on the top is horizontal and vertical on the bottom. This makes for an interesting design detail and draws the eye up and down. The side splits provide room to move and showcase Monica’s striking snakeskin boots in all their glory. The cool-toned stacked heel boots are undoubtedly the star of the show, and work perfectly with the heather grey of the dress. Bracelets on both arms add a touch of colour and pattern. Our blogger’s braided updo creates texture and works well with the turtleneck. Raspberry lipstick is the colourful finishing touch.

Columned chic in head-to-toe mint. Monica has combined tailored flared trousers with a mock-neck ribbed knit sweater in the same colour. The cropped sweater is a great length to wear with the dressy high-waisted trousers because it lengthens the leg line from the hip upwards. Sporting a column of colour further emphasizes the vertical integrity. As a third piece, our blogger picked a fluid-fit double-breasted woolly jacket in the exact same shade of mint, which amps up the luxe vibe of the look. The tortoise shell buttons add a touch of soft contrast against the green. The low-contrast pointy-toe snakeskin slingbacks peeking out from under the trousers in shades of light grey work beautifully with the pastel outfit.

This fashion-forward look is all about texture created with faux and genuine leather pieces. Monica has paired a faux leather button-front overshirt in gorgeous chocolate brown with black faux leather Bermuda shorts. The colour combo is chic and eye-catching. Tucking the shirt into the below-the-knee shorts lengthens the leg line, while the strict pleat on the tailored shorts adds structure. The dark brown of the stiletto slides sits in between the black and lighter chocolate brown of the shirt on the colour scale and are a great way to pull the look together. The quilted material adds further textural interest, as does the handwoven effect on her softly structured hobo bag. Lots of arm candy, raspberry lippy, and oversized pearl hoop earrings are the playful finishing touches.

This exuberantly happy floral print tiered dress makes me smile. The pattern together with the voluminous fit and big on-trend bell sleeves is stylishly dramatic. The tailored fit on the shoulder, waist seam and V-neckline tone down the volume, while the lower section has tiers that amp up the volume. Monica’s flat white sandals, crossbody bag, and big white-rimmed sunnies echo the white background of the dress. Her bright pink lipstick and lighter pink toenails match the pinks in the fun frock.

The dark wash denim is perfect in this polished casual Fall look. Monica has tucked a gorgeous multi-coloured striped sweater into cropped, fluid-fit straight leg jeans. The dark blue denim makes the striking mix of earth and jewel tones pop. Tucking the top lengthens the leg line and exposes the playful rectangular patch pockets on the jeans. The shimmery material in parts of the sweater add subtle bling. Our blogger’s sharp black pointy-toe booties bring more shine into the mix. The brown crossbody and soft pink lipstick work well with the rest of the colourful palette. Monica’s long braids add groovy flair. Huge silver hoops and pearl arm candy complete the look.

Pairing two pieces with a very similar graphic circle and angular pattern but reversing the background colour is a fab way to do modern matchy-matchy. Monica is wearing a puffed sleeve jacquard sweater with black and white pattern together with a high-low midi skirt in cream with black pattern. The cropped sweater lengthens the leg line from the hip up, while the floaty fabric of the elegant pleated skirt creates tons of movement which makes the striking pattern stand out even more. Pairing the dressy skirt with stompy black boots creates on-trend outfit juxtaposition. Note how the white stitching on the boots ties in with the black and white colour palette, as do the big checked Chanel tweed bag and Monica’s white sunnies. Oversized silver hoops and a pile of hard-edged silver arm candy bring the bling. Finally, bright red lipstick brilliantly complements the graphic black and white.

I’m looking forward to hear what you think of Monica’s beautiful, eye-catching outfits. Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check out her Instagram account and blog for more style inspiration.

You bat for Team Winter if you prefer wearing Winter outfits to Spring outfits, and vice versa. Note that any type of Winter and Spring outfits count, whether your climate is mild or extreme. In Seattle our Winters are cold, grey, and very wet. The beginning of Spring can feel like Winter, but it’s usually warmer, drier, and sunnier by the end of Spring. That said, Spring is by no means hot in this neck of the woods. You usually need layers, toppers, and closed footwear for most of Spring.

I bat for Team Spring outfits by a billion percent. Spring shopping is by far my favourite of all the seasons. Because our Summers aren’t overly hot and I run cold, I can wear Spring wardrobe items well into Summer. I wear the same colour palette throughout the year — which is a Spring palette — so it’s not about sporting my favourite colours. It’s more about lighter layers, crisper fabrics, wearing patterned shirts and blouses, adding more optical white to my look, showing a bit of skin, sporting pretty dresses and skirts which add outfit variety, and leaving off the knee-highs because the weather is warmer. I can leave off the bulky beanie, woolly scarf, gloves, thick coat, thick knitwear, and fleece-lined hi-tops too. Plus I love the feeling of the warm Spring sun against my skin. It’s energizing, and I look forward to the onset of Summer weather.

Over to you. Do you bat for Team Winter or Team Spring Outfits. Tell us why, and no batting for both teams. If you can’t pick a side, I’m serving wholesome and fresh chicken noodle soup and keto za’atar olive bread on the bench in take-out boxes so you can enjoy it in the safety of your own home.