Q: I recently bought a beautiful pair of gray Dansko short boots. They are lovely! But nothing I wear really seems right with them, and I'd love to hear how to wear boots that are gray or other nonstandard colors. I never can quite know if I am choosing the right leggings or tights, and it always feels a little off to me.

A: I feel your pain on this one; I've owned a couple of pairs of gray boots in my time, and found them utterly confounding to style. But I do have a handful of tips that have worked for me.

First, try incorporating gray clothes into your outfits. Since we're used to footwear being dark or bright, colors that are light and pale trip us up when worn that low on the silhouette. Mirroring the gray at your feet with gray elsewhere makes the addition seem more natural.

If you're a tights person, wear your gray boots with pale hosiery. High contrast tends to look a bit odd when the footwear is the lighter of the two shades, so opt for hosiery that's even lighter than your boots. Charcoal works with a variety of dark gray tones, but you can also look at olive, tan or even patterned tights, which feel less heavy/dark than opaques.

Finally, consider saving these boots for warm-weather wear. No matter how dark your skin tone is, gray shoes tend to look more natural against bare skin. Light-colored footwear makes us think of spring and summer, so even tall gray boots will work well on bare legs.

Q: What's the best way for a busy person to pay attention to style trends?

A: Since style trends range from kooky clothes only East Coast It-girls will wear — carwash skirts, I'm looking at you — to considerably more versatile items, this is a tough question to tackle.

If you're curious about true runway trends, Elle and Harper's Bazaar create illustrated and narrated roundups for print that eventually make their way to the magazines' websites. High-end trends will trickle down to H&M and Target eventually, so it helps to be aware even if you don't intend to purchase.

For more down-to-earth advice, Glamour's summary of the season's most wearable trends tends to be spot-on, and People Stylewatch always offers "the look for less" options. The website whowhatwear.com has a frequently updated section on trends that's a good mix of outlandish and approachable, and if you're a Pinterest fan just searching for "spring fashion trends" will produce a plethora of visual inspiration.

Q: I'm committing to buying only American-made clothes, secondhand items or clothes I know are ethically sourced.

And it's surprisingly hard, particularly for workout wear, to the point where I've given myself a pass on gym gear because I haven't been able to find anything made here that's of the sweat-wicking variety. Any resources to recommend?

A: First off, kudos for shopping with the greater good in mind! I've made a similar commitment myself, and agree that ethically made workout clothes are incredibly hard to track down.

Avocado offers a handful of tanks and wicking tights that are made in the U.S., and Yoga­smoga uses low-impact dyes on fabrics created domestically. Greater Than Sports has wicking tanks, tights and capris that are all made in the U.S., and if you're willing to deal with more absorbent fibers, Alternative Apparel makes super stylish sweatpants, tees and tanks using low-impact dyes and recycled fibers.

Sally McGraw is a Minneapolis-based personal stylist and creator of the Already Pretty (alreadypretty.com) blog. Her fashion advice appears on this page once a month. Send questions to tellus@startribune.com.