Did you ever wonder how people figure out which colors are “in” for the season? I used to assume it was all decided by what showed up on the runways and then what ended up on the racks. Some seasons the colors work for me and some seasons they don’t!
It turns out that color trends are predicted at least a year or more ahead. Designers are working from color trend reports that have already been created. They might make a few tweaks and add in a couple things, but they are all basing their ideas on the trend predictions. And the people who make the fabrics are working off of those same color charts.
But who comes up with the color trends? I’m still not totally clear on this, but I think it’s based on opinions of designers and textile companies. So, are they really predicting what colors we will like, or are they deciding what colors we should wear next? Well, no matter how it’s decided, it’s already been set! You can find out what colors will be “in” for this Fall and even Spring of next year if you want to plan ahead for your trendiness.
You have probably already figured out what colors are out there for Spring/Summer 2009, 
but here are some of the most popular. They happen to be great colors for most complexions and eye colors and should be flattering for most people. If you want to see more of the colors and see the trends for Fall and Spring of next year, there are a couple of sites to check out. The first is www.pantone.com and another good one is www.fashiontrendsetter.com. It looks like the colors for Fall will carry over some of the summer colors, but everything will be muted slightly with some shades of browns and greys thrown in. That can actually help me plan ahead. If I buy some tops in some of the Spring colors that aren’t as bright and then buy some brown and grey sweaters/jackets to put over the top for Fall, I should be set!
I do still think it’s best to see how a color looks with your complexion, eye color, hair color, etc. before wearing it. If a color looks great on you, you will get compliments even if it isn’t “in.” Lemon yellow is in this season, but it doesn’t mean that I should wear a lemon yellow top. Yellow happens to be a very bad color on me and I don’t want to scare people! I can still incorporate yellow to be trendy by wearing yellow shoes, carrying a yellow purse, or using yellow accessories (though I am just too darn practical to do it when I know that color will be long-gone in a year).
Are you wearing the latest colors? Do you like knowing what the color trends will be ahead of time or do you want to set your own color trends?
Please stop looking at my non-trendy brown shirt and flip flops and leave a comment!
Lisa 🙂
About Jo-Lynne
I actually don’t pay much attention to which colors are “in” for each season. I tend to stick with the colors that I know look best on me – dark, rich colors or bright shades…not pastels and not white.
I always get excited when navy, wine, forest green, eggplant, bright orange, black, and red are “in season” because those are colors that I can pull of well. 🙂
Oops! I meant to say “pull off well.” 😉
This is very cool to know. I always wondered how designers/stores/magazines just happened to *know* what the new trendy colors were going to be!
A lot of cosmetic companies have already started production on products for 2 years from now. It’s a must if they want to have enough supply to meet the demand in 2 years. Isn’t that insane???