Easy fashion 4 all

Easy fashion wear 2010

Since it’s getting warmer and I just want to get dressed quick and go outside without a fuss, it’s hard to resist the siren song of my super-easy tees and old sneakers. Which is fine (we all need our chilled-out days), but I’ve been looking for some easy pieces that will keep me as polished in spring as I was in my sweater dresses and suede boots all winter.
	I love the body-conscious sensibility Black Halo dressesare known for, but this airy frock in spring green is a welcome departure for a balmy evening. Black Halo – Ruffle Front Racer Back Dress
	A leather jacket is made sophisticated with clean lines and a nude hue, while the lace-up detail at the back keeps it unique. Veda – Alexander Leather Jacket
	Old Hollywood sexy, in a spring-perfect lightweight fabric. Just need to remember to avoid subway grates. Dolce Vita – Florence Dress
Keep your spring look out of couldn’t-care-less territory, in What's New.

There’s been a lot of gravitation toward black and white these days (I’m guilty as well) because of their timeless appeal, but as classic as the colorless duo is, shades of the rainbow have been a factor in fashion for years. In the right hands—like those of Chris Benz, whose masterful employ of Roy G. Biv makes your basic black and white look like boring fare—color has real staying power.

Look to Benz’s spring collection, the inspiration for which is as seemingly out-of-left-field as a dress that mingles red, fuchsia, teal, and orange (Benz does this, brilliantly). The designer took his cue for the season from “Revolutionary War-era dressing,” he told Style.com. That’s right: styles of the American Revolution. And yet each piece feels modern and unforced. The faintest hint of military influence underlies the collection as a whole and comes out strong in a militia-inflected jacket (a clever, fashion-forward take on The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper). The rest is about color. Bright colorblocking plays beautifully among neutral pieces, and even the boldest combinations—like the red-fuchsia-teal-orange numbermentioned above—feel effortless under Benz’s deft eye.

So keep thinking about those investment pieces, ladies, but don’t limit yourself to the b’s and w’s. Every wardrobe could use a color lift like Chris Benz.