Yes, you heard us, COLOR. Now, most men are as averse to color as Gwyneth Paltrow is to McDonald’s, but in the Springtime it’s OK to get out of your navy-blue rut, leave the safety of your grey in the closet and even, heaven forbid, stash the slimming aspects of black in the back of your wardrobe while you break out the green, turquoise and orange.
And believe us, we realize that most men won’t touch any sort of color in their wardrobe unless they’re wearing an apron behind the barbecue, hitting the links, surfing in Malibu or happen to be a birthday clown whose job it is to entertain children. Why else do you think that men’s clothing in every color besides black, navy blue and gray are always on deep discount at most department stores?
But here’s the thing; this spring, deep, rich colors that you typically see more towards the fall are being seen in designer palettes from New York to Milan, and from Burberry to Dunhill. For example, at Selfridges department store in London, men’s clothing buyers have been bringing in both bright colors and deeper, darker but still colorful colors. According to menswear buying manager Luke Mountain, colors are doing quite well this season and selling in everything from chinos to tuxedos and more.
Alssandro Sartori, the artistic director over at Berluti, says that the use of deep colors wasn’t something that he came up with on a whim. When asked about his use of colors his answer was that “What I think is more interesting is something more elaborate and rich”. His favorite colors this Spring season? Deep forest and palm green, petrol blue and aubergine.
Most fashion experts suggest that, if you want to put a bit of color into your wardrobe this Spring, you start with just one “jewel color”, one that works well with your skin tone, and possibly two if you think you can get away with it. Most will tell you to stop at two because, with three or more colors, you end up “looking like a potpourri”.
It’s also a good suggestion to sample colors by purchasing relatively inexpensive items first, before you go onto big-ticket items that might give you “buyer’s remorse” later. Trust us, it will be a lot easier to forget about that moss green Polo shirt in the back of your closet, but doing the same with a $450.00 leather jacket from Berluti might be a bit harder.