With a rainbow of bright accessories lining up in stores and getting buried at the bottom of sweatshirt-heaped closets, there is little excuse for students to wait for spring to add brightness to their wardrobes. These are ways to salvage wardrobes and sanity before full-blown seasonal depression hits, and people fall in compliance with the muted tones that are common in wintertime fashion.
When temperatures don’t allow for flashy fashion options, and brown, dark-green or neutral sweatpants make blending into the stark trees a cinch, the best way to brighten your clothing is with colorful jewelry and scarves.
Customers have been buying a lot of colorful jewelry because they want something different for the winter, said Andy Beers of Modern, the interior design shop at the Fifth Street Public Market.
“The glass rings by Dawn Benedetto in ruby red, blues and purples really look like candy,” Beers said.
Benedetto’s Poppi brand earrings brighten faces with teal emerald, fiery red, orange and yellow and bottle-green glass beads. The tasty “lentil” earrings spill down in equally jarring red and refreshing citrus colors.
Portland Monthly magazine Style Editor Jill Spitznass scopes out “Pier 1 and Import Plaza for cheap and fun accessories like bright, fake pashminas and chunky bangles.”
For brightening on a student budget, Spitznass suggested getting creative with places that sometimes get looked over.
“Target is also a fantastic source for jewelry, belts and bags, and their clothing sale racks are gold mines,” she said. “And if all else fails, Goodwill! Cut stuff up, layer it, toss it.”
University sophomore Vanessa Brunner said she wears colorful scarves to perk up neutral-shaded coats.
“I never really thought about it, but it does kind of add something cheerful to my day. It might be some kind of unconscious thing, or it might be just a fashion statement on my part, who knows,” Brunner said.
If brightening a dim wardrobe is the last thing on your mind, but you still crave those juicy spring colors, a bouquet of flowers from Rhythm & Blooms will add cheer to your desk.
“Weather has a lot to do with moods, so people buy bright flowers to brighten their houses,” said Bonnie Lindsten of
Rhythm & Blooms’ Fifth Street Public Market location. “We still have lilies, mums and roses in yellows, reds and oranges.”