Weighed down by that winter coat or feeling suffocated by all those snuggly jumpers?
Time to lighten the mood and freshen up your style with spring’s new trends.
This season, designers acknowledged the credit crunch to re-work some boomerang classic trends we’ve seen before – less spring fling, more long-term loves.
Even designer Vivienne Westwood recently demanded we all stop shopping for clothes for six months to help save the planet.
So use your money wisely and invest in key staples or rummage through your wardrobe and tweak the clothes you’ve got, to stay one step ahead of the catwalk game.
We highlight the front row trends that had the fashion pack on the edge of their seats. Take a hop, skip and jump into spring mode.
WILD THING
AS SEEN AT: Paul Smith, Chloe, Marc by Marc Jacobs.
No funds for a round-the-world ticket? Get your globe-trotting kicks through the bright and beautiful tribal trend. Your African style adventure awaits via crazy mismatched batik prints or more subtle chic safari suiting. Opulent tribal-inspired jewellery is the easiest way to access this look without the airfare.
GET THE LOOK: Rocha. John Rocha at Debenhams tribal dress, £35; M&Co print tribal dress, £40; Love Label at Littlewoods Lena tribal platforms, £37.
SORBET SHADES
AS SEEN AT: Burberry, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders.
Lemon, mint, lavender and rose ... seems the designers took their inspiration from a mouth-watering Häagen-Dazs menu. Cool pastels are the freshest shades on the colour palette chart this season and you can go as sickly-sweet as you fancy, no calorie counting necessary. Toughen up the look with contrasting stark black accessories if you don’t want to look uber girly.
GET THE LOOK: Dorothy Perkins beaded tunic, £35; Marks & Spencer ruffle tunic, £29.50; Wallis contrast bag, £30.
EYE-POPPING PRINTS
AS SEEN AT: Versace, Alexander McQueen, Peter Pilotto.
If computers started designing clothes, they’d look like this. Advances in digital printing spawned a head-turning, eye-boggling collection of multi-coloured prints on the catwalks. Think geometric, psychedelic and graphically challenging! Not for the faint-hearted, these prints pack a punch single-handedly, so keep fussy accessories and jewellery to a bare minimum.
GET THE LOOK: ASOS tie dye blazer, £60; Marks & Spencer geometric print dress, £45; Accessorize multi-coloured abstract silk scarf, £10.
MILITARY PARADE
AS SEEN AT: Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander Wang, Balmain.
Dig out your Nineties khakis from the All Saints band-bopping days, military’s had a modern make-over. From combat camouflage to utilitarian multi-pocket jackets, this uniform is making a victorious re-run. Lose the brassy red numbers and opt for a dusty colour palette of khaki, olive and camel. Give your khaki an edge with shoulder embell-ishments or sequins.
GET THE LOOK: Evans parka, £49.50; Rocha.John Rocha at Debenhams shirt dress, £35; Jane Norman military buckle belt, £12.
NUDE KNOCKOUT
AS SEEN AT: Valentino, Donna Karan, Givenchy.
Give your birthday suit a new and improved exterior with this season’s nudes. Delicate hues of blush pink, creamy caramel and soft peach dominated the runways in sheer chiffons and billowing ruffles to tick the box for femininity.
The new nudes work in both fairytale frocks and slouchy suiting alike. Avoid looking washed out by picking the perfect nude for your skin tone.
GET THE LOOK: Fever Ivy dress, £69.99 (left); Dorothy Perkins tiered lace tunic, £30; Faith Abrianna bow pumps, £34.
Beauty buzz
The glow of a highlighter is one of the easiest and quickest ways to make the transition between heavy foundations of winter into the dewwy-fresh appeal of summer. No7’s Natural Radiance Highlighter (£13.50) brushes on easily to give a luminous touch, highlighting the face, neck or decolletage. From Boots until March 23.
