MOUNT VERNON — Easter fashions aren’t just for little girls who like to dress up. Grownup girls also like to wear something special, something colorful, something new for the spring holiday. It’s a day to celebrate the arrival of spring with a new outfit.
Fashion writer Angela Epps recommended pink, blue, purple and yellow, the colors of spring flowers, and added that pastels aren’t mandatory.
“Choose colors that make you feel good,” she wrote [in what magazine?]. “Every woman has a personal standby, a favorite color she knows she looks good in.”
At Cato, assistant manager Deanna Fletcher said pink, baby blue, yellow and green are popular colors for spring and Easter. Manufacturers are naming this season’s green “opaline.” Bright primary colors are popular, too.
Although Cato doesn’t stock dresses, plenty of bright-colored separates light up the store: Flowing skirts, baby doll and trapeze tops, belted tops and blouses, sweater sets and more. Some features are new; others’ popularity is carrying over to spring: Darted blouses, puff and balloon sleeves, long-length tops, floral patterns and swing jackets — cropped jackets with flared bottoms that swing when one walks.
Fletcher said Cato’s popular spring accessories are ballet flats, purses the size of totes, rings with oversized stones, and dressy and casual flip-flops. Traditional black patent leather for dresses and purses remains popular, she said, as it has been for decades.
For accessories, Epps recommended wearing simple jewelry that complements the outfit, letting the dress or suit be the main attraction, with all else adding touches that complete the look. That said, Easter is the perfect day to wear the traditional hat — a stunning one, perhaps adorned with pearls, beads or lace, but definitely with a ribbon or flowers in colors that match, or complement, everything else.
At Payless Shoe Store, bright colors haven’t made an entrance yet, and there are plenty of traditional black, tan and white strappy, dressy shoes.
“We have a lot of wedge heels coming out,” said Mackenzie Myles, sales associate.
She also noted that even shoes are fashionably accessorized now, with bows, beads, buckles and baubles.
JCPenney store manager Darlene Ward said her store is stocking bright colors and pastels, many flower prints and some earth-toned green fabrics. It even carries a selection of men’s brightly colored dress shirts, in turquoise, royal blue, red, yellow and more.
“Sage green has been a popular color since last fall,” said Ward.
Women’s suits and two-piece dresses are also popular at JCPenney, many with cap sleeves and flared skirts, ruffles and flowing layers, others made from brocade fabrics.
Adri Trace at Fashion Bug showed off the store’s large selection of pink and “foliage” green, including outfits mixing the two colors and a soft, cheery pink and green plaid.
Although Fashion Bug also doesn’t stock dresses, except formals, the store has plenty of dressy separates with interesting features.
“It seems to me there’s a lot of cinching this year,” said Trace, including cinched-leg cropped pants and cinched-waist tops.
Trace, too, has found swing jackets very popular, as well as baby doll tops, elbow-length sleeves, belted blouses and tunics.
“Tunic tops have been popular for the last couple years,” she added.
“It’s fun watching what comes in to the store,” said Fletcher.