Let’s start the New Year off right when it comes to preparing you to be “on trend” with your style. Color is always important but it is even more important to wear what looks best on you (always trumps a trend – always!) but it is also good to know what is going on around you when it comes to trends and how to adapt them to fit you and your own personal style.

PANTONE (here comes the legal jargon directly quoted from their web site) is the world-renowned authority on color and provider of color systems and leading technology for the selection and accurate communication of color across a variety of industries. The PANTONE® name is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer. They have chosen “the it” color of 2012 – drum roll please . . . 17-1463 Tangerine Tango!!! For most, this means a subsidiary of orange. For the fashion community we wait with baited breath like we are waiting to hear the award for best picture at the Oscars each and every year – then cheer with glee when it is finally revealed. After that the race is on to find things in our own closets (and those close to us) that are in this hot new shade. If none prevail then it’s a shopping we must go.

I know you are thinking “oh goodness I don’t look good in anything orange”. I did too! What I did cheerfully find was that I did like this Tangerine Tango color and that I didn’t look half bad in it either. There are so many ways to incorporate this latest “it” color into your wardrobe without having to wear it from head to toe. Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize!

1.   Skinny belt – the perfect way to add a splash of color to the LBD (Little Black Dress) or to any neutral without going overboard. Plus a skinny belt is “in” right now in itself.

2.   Statement Jewelry.  Adding statement jewelry in the latest color to spruce up any outfit and, again, look like you have known for days what the hottest color of the year is.

3.   Scarves.  There are endless ways to wear scarves – which leads me to my next point. Find a scarf with the color incorporated in it and pair it (in your hair, around your waist, in a feminine bow around your neck) with a white T, jeans, and a hot hot shoe. Or find a scarf that is entirely one color and add it around the strap of your handbag for a “pop” of color with any ensemble.

4.   Shoes.  My very favorite piece of fashion fame is the shoe. Oh how I adore shoes —but I must digress. Grab a shoe with the “it” color in it or go bold and get a shoe that IS the “it” color and use it to jazz up a monochromatic look – all black, all white, all grey, all beige, – you get the point. My preference is a 6” platform but flats are a great way to stay comfy and in style at the same time.

5.   Handbags.  Don’t forget the clutch! Pick up an adorable clutch handbag and you will find out fast that not only are you so chic but you don’t need as much in your purse as you thought – new year new outlook.

6.   Cosmetics.  Go crazy and try this shade in a new lip gloss or lip stick. Make-Up is one of the greatest accessories and it comes off if you don’t like it – no harm no foul right?

Fashion and personal style is all about having fun above all. Remember to go with what feels right and what makes you happy. You are the one who has to wear it and you want items that make you feel amazing every time you put them on.

Julia Rutland
Aesthetic Design Style House

Julia Rutland is the Founder and Owner of Aesthetic Design Style House located in Indianapolis, Indiana.  For more information about Julia, her company and the services she has to offer, please visit her website at: www.aestheticdesignstyle.com.