Pantone, the world’s leading color trend forecaster, has chosen Pale Dogwood as one of the big colors for spring/summer 2017. The thing is, the exact shade is truly just a starting point, a suggestion for the shade and intensity deemed to be popular.

In 2016, Pantone declared Rose Quartz, a slightly richer version of Pale Dogwood, as the color of the year. So now that we’re into the second year of essentially pale pink’s popularity, we should start seeing it in the stores.

Here are a few tips from your friendly, Denver image consultant on how to wear these beautiful blush tones:

• Pale pink can be worn with black; however, it needs to look intentional. A sweater in the pale shade with black pants and minimal or no accessories just isn’t going to cut it. Polish is what you’re going for.
• Pale Dogwood pairs especially well for spring with Hazelnut, another Pantone spring shade, for a soft, low contrast look. Hazelnut is a warm taupe hue that is a great neutral for transitional and spring basics such as pants, skirts, and jackets.
• Going in the opposite direction, especially great for Valentine’s Day, is to wear Pale Dogwood with Pink Yarrow, a tone of fuchsia, creating a fantastic monochromatic color scheme. Consider taking it one step further with rose gold jewelry!
• Look for Pale Dogwood and other light pink shades in suede shoes, cozy sweaters, and other richly textured clothes and accessories until the thermometer registers spring.
• Not sure if these pale pinks flatter your skin tone (um, I get pretty washed out,) wear them away from your face or in accessories.

I’ve probably mentioned it a 100 times on this blog over the years, but I vastly prefer spring/summer clothes to fall/winter ones, so I tend to jump the gun on the season. If this is you too, I invite you to experiment with Pale Dogwood and other pinks to brighten up your winter days!