It's that time of year again; Spring is in the air and all women know what that means. If you haven't had the chance to peruse your closet lately, now is the time to do so. While many items from last year are still in style, there are a few items you may want to purchase to spice up your Spring wardrobe.
Visiting various stores this week, the one fashion trend that is making headlines is the color of your jeans. While many of us have dark, distressed, stonewashed, faded, and torn jeans, what most of us do not have on our fashion "must have" list are jeans in bold colors. Staples have always been different shades of blue and perhaps black jeans. Living in the warm climate of Austin, white jeans are becoming more common. But now, the jewel tones are being added to our jean mix.
While many fashionistas have embraced this trend, the buying patterns are not as high as anticipated. Speaking with retail associates at various stores throughout Austin, all agreed that "colorful jeans are a hard concept to sell. We have found that many women still go right for the blue jeans regardless of the emphasis on color." A Macy's sales associate, Amanda F. says, "I work in the junior department and I have customers ranging from their early teens to women in their 60's. These women are the trendsetters and I would have to say that 20% of what I am selling in jeans are colors. Mostly the royal blues and purples are the color of choice. The excitement levels are not there and most of my customers are still buying regular blue denim jeans."
Maria Garcia, a retail associate at Old Navy explains, "I am seeing that as Spring is nearing, more colors are selling but the blue jeans are still selling the best. Colors that are doing well at our stores include turquoise and purple. Women can coordinate better with these colors."
Always looking for a good reason to update my wardrobe, I tried on every color that was available. The problem became clear; we can wear any color t shirt or sweater with our blue jeans. This is not the case with the bold colors. Before deciding on what color to buy to make my jeans a 2013 statement, I had to see what the women on campus at U.T. were wearing. After walking around for thirty minutes or so, I found jeans with the bold brights. And then after an hour on campus, the brights were taking over the blues.
Speaking with the students, I discovered that if you are a real fashionista, you have to buy at least one pair with color. "It puts you in a different mood when wearing jeans that are red or purple or yellow," explained Alexis Courier. Being a junior at U.T. she said, "My friends and I went on our weekend Spring shopping journey. Color is the statement and this year the color is in the jeans. We all got a pair. I chose red because it makes me happy. There are a lot of coordinates I can wear with this color. And I am having a good time with jeans that are not always blue." Fellow students agreed as they were styling royal blues, purples and different shades of yellows. "While this fad may only last until next fall, we are loving it. Prints are going strong and we are pairing print tops with our colorful jeans."
I decided to be daring and went with the turquoise. I could not let a fashion trend pass me by. But, I am not a print person unless the print is outstanding. And sometimes, that is a bit more difficult to find. But, I also don't give up. SoCo has the best prints in Austin so if you have a chance, shop in the smaller boutiques for your tops. Of course, basic black tops are everywhere and it just so happens that turquoise jeans and black coordinates look sensational. And I feel very Spring, 2013 now. Join the fun but please do remember, it is still the skinny jeans that are on top of the list. Do not ruin the new fashion statement by buying the wrong silhoutte. Skinny jeans in bold colors has started to enter the fashion scene in Austin. And while the capitol city is always colorful in many different ways, we are just adding a bit more color to welcome Spring 2013 in Austin. Make that Summer, 2013 as well. In our city, we all know that spring lasts for a few weeks and before we know it, summer has arrived. Enjoy!
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