Color Me Blocked

One of the hottest trends in both men's and women's fashion right now is color blocking. This means that you have several pieces of clothing in solid contrasting or complimentary colors combined into one outfit. There are some people who are willing and able to pull off this look in its bold runway style using bright primary or secondary colors. Yesterday's post introduced you to the high fashion of Pitti, where several people were seen wearing this trend.  However, most of you are not going to feel comfortable dressing this conspicuous, and will therefore abandon the trend all together. I'm going to show you how to pull out elements of this trend to make it wearable. Let's start at the top though, and show you a few pictures of color blocking in its "true form."

Ok, now. Let's discuss two ways we can make this trend accessible to you. Your first option is to find a great bright shirt or sweater and pair it with a neutral pant. This gentleman chose white, which looks fresh for summer. You may also have a pair of tan or black jeans that could get you the same effect. He still went pretty bold with his sweater color. If this feels outrageous to you, go with a color more common in your closet, such as blue, green, or red.

Your second option is to utilize your MUST HAVE unstructured blue blazer. (Hmmm, I feel a blog post topic coming on...) Unstructured blazers have little to no canvas or shoulder pad and can be found in more casual fabrics than your regular sport coat, such as washed cottons or linen. They are often unlined as well. Think of this jacket as functioning like denim.  Jeans are most often blue, right? But we don't even think of them as a color. They go with everything and are neutral. Your blue blazer works the same way. So find a great pair of colored jeans or trousers--maybe bright, or toned down in a pastel, throw on a nice white button down or tee shirt and your blue blazer, and voila! Consider yourself color blocked!

All of these photos are by street photographer Tommy Ton, and you can see the full slide show featured on Style.com by clicking here.

Please comment below! I'd love to hear your opinions on this trend and how you might wear it, or why you wouldn't!