Joyful Jeans

Last month the Duchess of Cambridge visited London’s Olympic Park to play a little field hockey with the British Hockey Team. Dressed in Team GB’s colors, the item of most fashion interest was her skin-tight red jeans and ever since she hoisted her hockey stick, colored jeans have been flying off the shelves on both sides of The Pond.

I’m glad to see the trend shows no sign of abating as it’s a perfect way of freshening up your jeans wardrobe for spring and summer. In a kaleidoscope of colors, from pretty pastels to vibrant brights, there’s a pair to suit every color palette.

If you’re not used to wearing color on your bottom half, team it with a neutral on your top half to ease yourself into the look. For the fearless amongst you, try color blocking solid colored pieces together. The key to making this look work is combining bold colors with other bolds, or pastels with pastels. Limit color blocking to three main elements (top, jeans and shoes), keeping any other accessories (such as jewel ry) simple, to avoid the look becoming “bitty”.

Pair colored jeans with a printed top for a fun, playful look – polka dots, stripes, geometric or floral prints, all look good. Alternatively, switch things around by wearing a floral-sprigged printed jean and a solid color top. Grounded by touches such as lace-up Oxford shoes or a boyfriend blazer, the look stays super stylish rather than cute and sweet.

Pink jeans & black top, J. Crew; Green jeans by Joe’s Jeans, Nordstrom; yellow jeans with striped top, J. Crew.

Fashion expert Cheryl Lampard is the founder of Style Matters International, www.stylemattersinternational.com