The color purple

Purple in its many hues is the color of the season, from lilac and lavender to violet and plum. Find it on footwear and bags, coats, maxi dresses and dirndl skirts.

With so many shades to choose from it is possible to be chic in purple this spring. More adult than pink, softer shades of purple are romantic without being childish.

Royal Purple is having a fashion moment, together with lavenders and lilacs in satins and suedes. From rich hues of grape, plum, aubergine and eggplant to brighter violets, amethysts and pinkish mauves.

What I'm wearing:

Dress: Temptation Boutique, Cardigan:Esprit, Shoes: Michael Michelle, Accessories: Temptation Boutique, Watch: GUESS, Clutch: Louis Vuitton

The Role of Purple in Women’s Fashion

Purple in Chinese culture is a lucky color, the color of wealth and prosperity in Feng Shui. It is unconventional and enigmatic, elegant and the symbolic color of royalty. It sends fashion messages of seductiveness and style, especially when found on rich fabrics such as velvets and satins.

How to Wear Purple

Purple’s mix of red and blue looks good on nearly everyone, in one hue or another. Mix this spring’s regal tones of purple with teal and white.

According to style mavens Trinny & Susannah, (Trinny&Susannah.com) in their online feature “How to Wear Burgundy,”for more plumy, burgundy tones, avoid black and use rust, chocolate brown or olive green. Say this stylist duo, “rich colors should not be deadened by navy blue or black,” lift burgundy shades with contrasting brick-browns, rusts and oranges and reds.

Avoid a top-to-toe look by contrasting your accessories. Charcoal gray is a strong look. For office appeal, wear black opaque tights and patent shoes.

Which Purple is Right for Your Complexion?

According to In Style Magazine’s “What’s your Perfect Color?”,  women with honey-toned skin, like Beyoncé Knowles, look stunning in lavender and lilac. The contrast of a cool pastel tone with golden skin looks very striking.

Fair-skinned and blonde-haired woman look good on deep plums and purples, especially if they have dark eyes. Dark dramatic colors and offbeat shades like burgundy, wine and plum, bring out the warmth in the eyes and look striking against pale skin.

For darker-haired women with porcelain skin, shades of violet complement the skin tone, rather than making it look washed-out. Blueish purples look good on women with reddish coloring in their hair.

Purple for Spring 2012

The runways of New York’s Fashion Week fell into a purple haze, with violet velvets architecturally sculpted aubergines and elegant eggplants. Find them mixed with pinks and blacks, and on bows and fringes, taffetas, rich velvets, patents and sexy satins this spring.

Purple for spring has a regally bohemian feel, find it in fashion accessories, footwear, coats and this season’s trendy biker jackets, as well as sculpted cocktail gowns, luxe maxis and coats. From Herve Ledger’s body-clinging silhouettes, to futuristic prints from .Jeremy Laing, Russian folklore-bohemian-esque designs from Anna Sui, purple dirndl skirts from Oscar De La Renta, and purple and olive green florals from Michael Kors. Spring 2012 also means on-trend outwear, like Sonia Rykiel’s swinging ‘60s lilac coat.