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As winter ends, nature arrays itself in fresh pretty colors. And in Spring 2009, the fashion world does the same.

One spring trend is vibrant, but not 1980's loud and jarring, pastels. The look is bleached-out and pale. Yellow, in shades such as lemongrass, Bauhaus or plain lemon, is key. Other important (and edible sounding) pastels for 2009 are saffron, salmon, gelato, sherbet, and sorbet. Pantone, a company dedicated to the exploration of color, lists many pastel shades in their Fashion Color Report for Spring 2009; citing Fuchsia Red, Rose, Lavender, Lucite Green, Vibrant Green, Rose Dust, Dark Citron, Slate Gray, Super Lemon and Palace Blue as influential spring colors.

Whitish colors are another component of the Spring 2009 palette. The hues off-white, cream, beige, champagne, bone and taupe are softer than stark white, but still make a nice contrast when worn with color-drenched pastels.

Different shades of gray, such as dove or slate gray, are the spring season's new black! Gray is subtle and neutral, enabling it to blend well with colors that black doesn't enhance (think of yellow and black together: the bumblebee effect). However, the old classic of black and white was still spotted at New York Fashion Week.

Many fashion designers favor outfits in layers composed of the same color family. They color block, or mix contrasting shades, like red paired with orange, or violet with blue. Another look is combining shades from opposite sides of the color wheel. Sinha Stanic has a pink jacket teamed with lime green jeans, and a Luella model covers her orange dress with a purple coat. The effect is initially unsettling, but interesting.

Metallic liquid silver and gold are also a Spring 2009 trend, much used by Prada and Marc Jacobs during New York Fashion week. The new metallics are softer and less aggressive than in previous years.

The noncolor of see-through and sheer fabrics are beloved by designers, but for the faint of heart, can be worn over a colored top.

Multicolored florals are appropriate for Spring, but rather than just using tiny flower prints, designers mixed small motifs with large and used high-contrast color combinations.

Like the seasons, fashion is cyclic. Trends burst into bloom, flower and eventually die, only to return later, bright and new. Spring 2009 colors are yours to enjoy, now and some time again in the future.

Learn more about this author, Andrea Kreidler.
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