For fall and next spring, pants are demanding a lot of attention -- they're bright and colorful. To break out of your usual blues, we went to three local boutiques for advice on how to wear the hot denim hues.
DABBLE WITH THE TREND
Many of the new colors are actually pretty subtle. If you try a bright shade of blue or green, you can start to get comfortable with the idea. "[These jeans] are like a neutral, almost gray," said Jada Breuer, owner of Karma. Even though these are straight jeans, you also can try a colored jean with a wider leg.
Alex Barnard, shop clerk at Karma, wears Level 99 jeans ($94) with Tulle tee ($46), Fever sweater ($88), Fossil boots ($156). Bella the dog, model's own. Karma, 867 Grand Av., St. Paul, 651-291-1997.
PAIR WITH NETURALS
Most people are used to wearing printed and colorful tops with basic pants. Now you want to reverse that concept by wearing gray, brown, camel, black, white and navy shirts with a pop of color on the bottom. "You can wear graphic on top or just a white or black tee," suggested Thao Nguyen, owner of Parc Boutique.
Hannah Alley, shop assistant at Parc Boutique, wears Blank NYC jeans ($80), Mink Pink striped shirt ($70), Aryn K. jacket ($99) and Minnetonka Moccasin booties ($55). 320 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls., 612-353-4966.
GO FOR COLOR BLOCKING
For fall, anything goes, colorwise: Wear red jeans with a hot pink blouse and teal jeans with royal blue sweater, or play with monochromatic by pairing rust jeans with a camel jacket. Amber Toste, owner of Houndstooth, suggested "mixing and matching similar color palettes." Put jewel tones with jewel tones and primary hues with other primaries.
Amber Toste, owner of Houndstooth, wears J Brand 811 jeans in aubergine ($169) with WKSHP tee ($44), Wooden Ships cardigan ($92) and Sam Edelman boots ($210). 5749 Egan Dr., Savage, 952-440-2807 and 582 Prairie Center Dr., Eden Prairie, 952-261-2974.
PICK OF THE WEEK: KNIT BLAZER ($89.90), POLKA DOT BLOUSE ($59.90), RIB LEGGINGS ($35.90), BLUCHER SHOES ($89.90), ZARA.COM
Fans of Spanish-retailer Zara have long campaigned for the fast-fashion company to open a location in Minnesota. While that wish hasn't come true yet (are you listening, Mall of America?), you can now shop Zara's new e-commerce site with free standard delivery and returns. The clothing and accessories for men, women and kids are slightly more expensive than most fast-fashion lines, but the pieces are also higher in quality and will last longer than one season.
