Spring is finally here, and that means Easter brunch, Passover Seder, egg hunts, family get togethers, et cetera. Basically, everyone comes out from the winter hibernation and welcomes the new growth. We’re not so different from the animals, you see. The skies are less gray, color begins to return to the world, and people want to shake off their seasonal affective disorder. People also want to return some more color to their wardrobe, but aren’t ready for full-on sunny, beach brightness just yet. Enter the pastels. Like hibernation, imagine yourself waking up from a deep sleep. Pastels are the level of color intensity that can handle the moment you first crack those eyelids. Pastels are like telling color, “I like you, but I just want to be friends.”
The important thing to remember about pastels is that they can either compliment your skin tone extremely well, or wash you out and make you almost disappear. It’s important to pick the right colors for you. For those with fairer skin, seek out those very light pastels. The goal is to work with your skin tone here. If you have more neutral tones, then stick with the more neutral pastels like tan and peach, but feel free to play in the blue and green space a little too. Remember, for fairer guys and more neutral guys, pastel means pastel, not neon. Unfortunately for guys with tan or brown complexions, the options narrow a little. Softer pastels like pink and lavender work well; however, the options are limited. But rejoice! Rich and bright colors look great on you (all year long in fact), and while guys on the fairer end of the spectrum can’t pull it off, you can. If all this seems a little confusing, the folks over at Effortless Gent put together a great chart to help you out here.
I put together a few of my favorite pastel shirts. Take a look. If you’re in the market for a new shirt or two this spring, you can’t go wrong with any of these. I’ll personally be picking up a new oxford and a couple new polo shirts
