The Most Indelible Color for Long Dreary Winters: Cotton Candy Pink

Hi guys! Groundhog Day just passed, so in the spirit of repetition, I watched the famous movie of  the same name and was re-seduced by Andie MacDowell and Bill Murray all over again in that classic romantic comedy. There’s a scene in the flick where Andie is watching Bill Murray carve an ice sculpture in her likeness. They’re in the snow, and Andie is wearing a cotton candy pink sweater. It’s not couture but she looks like an angel in it. Amidst a cloud of inky curls, her skin looks creamy yet flushed in all the right places. This is what the perfect pink can do for you.

It’s definitely a complexion-pleaser for any skin tone, but more importantly, it looks so pretty and uplifting on the most dreary and overcast of days. And speaking of bleak conditions, how bout these last few years? Talk about a long winter! After three years of hiding behind hideous masks from a global pandemic, we are all ready for a bit of bloom and blush!

The coat pictured above is vintage and from my personal collection of couture. The hat is custom by Russian milliner, Denis Gulyaev. I love wearing this combo when it’s snowing. It’s so feminine and dreamy! And with the record-setting cold snap yesterday in the northeast, I urge every style maven to get in the pink, pronto!

It will transition perfectly into spring and is ideal for Valentine’s as well! Check out this stunning Valentino 2023 feathered pink confection, fresh off the catwalk, slit to there and lined in crimson just in time for V-Day!

In matters of style, it’s the unexpected that surprises and delights, which is true of life as well. Any fashionista knows this intuitively. It goes without saying that I’ve been predicting purple for fall going forward, and that will be an enduring trend for a few seasons to be sure. But here’s a bold declaration: Every girl needs a pastel pink ensemble, or a cotton candy-pink statement coat for arctic temperatures.

It’s so iconic, and looks stunning in the bitter cold. I love pale pink in woolen or fuzzy textures but it looks equally ethereal in diaphanous textiles or floral prints, like Giambattista Valli’s, below. Just look at these models from the runway of Valli’s Spring 2023 show. I love their white eyeliner, which I’ve written about previously here on BSSTW, and the pink pallor really makes their complexions look radiant. I adore the giant fabric roses adorning the shoulders of the model below left and the giant, shoulder-duster earrings pictured below right. Pearls pair perfectly with pink!

Fashion designers are pretty preoccupied with pink at the moment. Sheguang Hu, Zuhair Murad, and Carolina Herrera are all doing it. One of my favorite couturiers, Lebanese sensation Nicolas Jebran, did it a long time ago! I’m obsessed with Jebran’s pink cape dress, below, which he produced way back in 2015! Now this is couture!

You can wear your pink casually in the form of a snug Angora sweater with black velvet leggings and ballet flats. It looks so Audrey Hepburn. Or, for a formal occasion, opt for a breathtaking monochromatic ensemble like the one below by Elie Saab.

We’ve all seen our fair share of hot pink lately, and I must admit that I am not a fan of that particular color. But lightening up with something a little softer, like these saturated yet paler pinks, is delightful in the most hostile weather conditions. You’ll look at once innocent yet alluring, creating an interesting dichotomy that is also a bit disarming but very, very memorable. And isn’t that what every girl wants? To be indelible? I think so! See you around my fellow fashionistas! And I look forward to seeing you, in the pink. This is one trend that’s worth repeating!