When I wrote about trends a while back, I mentioned the things that just keep going and going, until they stop being trends and enter our sartorial landscape as permanent features. This has been the case with ballet flats and skinny jeans and I think it has happened – although on a less massive scale – to pastels.

It’s certainly strange to call it a new, exciting trend every single spring, when it’s been around for years now, if not for a decade. I seem to recall a powder blue Balenciaga princess coat from 2006 or 2007, unfortunately I couldn’t track it down. But I vividly remember this amazing Vogue shoot with Suvi Koponen: it’s from 2008, it has lots of pastels and it still looks fresh.

We probably reached Peak Pastel in the spring 2012, when everybody from Louis Vuitton to Prada to even Marni(!) was doing pastels. They haven’t really gone away since: remember the pink coat obsession from autumn 2013? Of course, fashion industry must get us to buy stuff, so there are subtle changes in how we are supposed to wear them – from the romantic to the sporty to the structural power pastels and pastel-blocking. This year, it’s pastels and khaki, something that works surprisingly well.

I have covered pink and lilac on the blog already, at least in passing, but the pastel I actually wear the most is blue. I include everything from a very pale white-based blue to almost up to cornflower in the same family that I call – possibly misleadingly – powder blues. It’s a diverse and versatile family and and while it’s traditionally something associated with blondes, Lupita has conclusively proved that it can look exquisite with darker hair and skin.

These blues aren’t quite as easy to combine with other colours as navy or beige, but they do work with a surprisingly vast range of tones. Powder blue is, of course, lovely with cream and ivory and grey, but also with other pastels (I would keep the shapes simple and strong), denim, tan and many beiges and browns. It is absolutely stunning with red and modern with khaki and forest greens. You can also wear it head-to-toe or at least several pieces together, but if it’s not an exact colour match, be careful. It’s OK if it’s just the intensity of the colour that differs, but you have to make sure that the items have a similar undertone (too much green, and it does no longer look good with proper pastel blue).

Powder blue works equally well as a big swath of fabric (a coat or a gown), a knit, a skirt or a shirt, a base for patterns, or an accent – bags, shoes, nails, sunglasses, everything looks great. A piece of light blue instantly brightens your day and your look. I stupidly left my pale blue silk shirt and pencil skirt in Tallinn and these are among the very few items of clothing I actually miss.

Pictured:
– pale blue bag by Zara
– sky blue flats by Nicholas Kirkwood
– Dior nail polish in Porcelaine (for colour reference only – it’s incredibly difficult to work with)
– Cire Trudon Josephine candle
– patterned coat by Zara