Spring into Color

Taking cues from a midcentury classic, the season’s new looks have a bright, optimistic vibe

Hand painted paillette fishtail hem gown designed by Lloyd Klein.

Photography by Rachel Whaley

“It’s a very blue year,” says Susan Stein. Fortunately, Palm Springs Life’s fashion editor is talking literally rather than metaphorically. Blue, she points out, has been out of favor with designers for a long time. Its resurgence owes a debt of gratitude to an even bigger spring trend: color, color, color!

“There’s not much black in the picture,” Stein reports. Instead, look for fuchsia, purple, and tangerine — and patterns, especially floral prints, and a variety of textures.

As for shapes, expect to find store racks with tapered pants and simple sheaths. “There’s a huge influence from the ’50s and ’60s — and that is a return to the classics,” Stein says. Designers, she adds, are giving consumers more options to suit different types of bodies, including tapered pants and flounced hems on dresses. “Dresses have been important for the last five seasons, and they continue to be so,” Stein says.

Like clothes, like makeup. Trend followers will be wearing eye shadow and eyeliner in colors to match their outfits. If they want texture, they might paste on velvet eyeliner strips. Either way, they’ll be sporting false eyelashes. Orange and fuschia lipsticks complete the package. “Red will always be here if you can wear it and have a good time with it,” Stein says, “but some people aren’t comfortable in it.”

Just as much a fashion staple as red lipstick is the trench coat. But this spring brings a twist with more fabric choices. To show off the look, Stein pairs a lightweight trench coat with a neon green turtleneck. Neon, she says, is important this spring as an accent. “It’s not meant to be worn head to toe,” she warns, “unless you want to stop traffic.”

Location: Movie Colony, Palm Springs. Courtesy of Benjamin Leaskou, Greater Palm Springs Realty
Fashion Editor: Susan Stein
Hair: Joy Fields, J. Russell The Salon!
Makeup: Chip Tuvman, J. Russell The Salon!
Models: Virginia Martin and Marketa