IF YOU have a sweet tooth, switch your sugar habit to your wardrobe. Candy-floss shades are this season’s style dessert of choice and, best of all, the trend is calorie-free.
The spring/summer catwalks were illuminated with dreamy pastel shades that read like an ice-cream parlour menu – mint, peach, lemon, rose, lavender and powdery baby blue.
“It’s time to bid a long overdue farewell to black,” says Vogue’s executive fashion editor, Calgary Avansino.
“This refreshing palette of pretty ‘sweet-shop’ pastels sings spring.”
So lighten up your new season wardrobe by adding a little sugar-coated chic. Depending on just how sweet your tastes are, we take you through the lip-smackingly tempting ways to work pastels.
SUGAR OVERDOSE
Feminine, girly, and a tad OTT? If this sounds like you, let pastels go to your head like a sugar rush.
Take inspiration from the likes of Valentino and Dior, who showcased the trend with delicate chiffons, layers of tulle and ruffles and frills to appeal to the romantics among us.
A girly dress is your must-have pastel piece of the season – perfect if you have a social calendar crammed with summer occasions that require the dressing-up box wow factor.
STYLE TIP: Maintain a youthful innocence by keeping jewellery to a minimum and teaming your super-sweet dress with barely-there strappy heels.
TRY: ASOS lilac ruffle dress, £35; Forever Unique green ruffle shoulder Elsa dress, £200; Jane Norman lemon layered skirt, £28; Rio Moda Monza pastel leather driving gloves, £20.
ONE LUMP OR TWO?
If you want to try out pastels without the risk of looking like a seven-year-old playing fancy dress, transform those baby pinks and blues into grown-up glamour.
Sorbet shades set the mood for Burberry’s catwalk with a pastel meltdown of top-to-toe icy tones that have been replicated all over the high street this season.
Burberry designer Christopher Bailey kept the same-shade looks super-cool by mixing up varying fabrics and featuring edgy detailing such as draping, ruching and knots.
Give a nod to pastel power with a Burberry-inspired mac or “knotted” skirt.
STYLE TIP: It’s all in the design detail, so choose your best feature and let the clever draping do all the flattering work.
TRY: River Island knot skirt, £36.99; Whistles blue ruched body-con dress, £150; Louche at Joy rose pink Honey Bow mac, £59; ASOS blue Pebble suede platforms, £75.
DASH OF SWEETENER
Pastels don’t have to be saccharine sweet. Give your pastels more punch by going either sexy or sharp.
Designer Christopher Kane’s pastels were far from innocent, taking his inspiration from Lolita with sexy features such as thigh-high splits and suggestive see-through panels around the bust.
Marios Schwab, Tommy Hilfiger and Donna Karan all toughened up their take on pastels with slick suiting. Opt for separates such as trousers or shorts in modern shapes for pastels minus the flounce.
STYLE TIP: Tone down too-pretty pastels with a don’t-mess-with-me pair of chunky gladiators or boyish brogues.
TRY: Hobbs NW3 mint green tab shorts, £79; Warehouse pink linen boyfriend blazer, £65; Radley pastel Pocket bag, £75; Timex 80 pink and mint Tri Colour Watch, £50 at My-Wardrobe.