Your Stylist: How to wear spring’s acid bright hues

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Resident Image stylist and market editor Melissa Magsaysay soothes your sartorial woes in the weekly Your Stylist blog column.

Vivid pops of juicy colors are everywhere in clothes, accessories and makeup this spring. And though they are inspiring to look at and indicative of warm, sunny days to come, such bold hues can be intimidating to try to wear.

It’s easiest to start with accessories, such as shoes or a bag, paired with basic neutrals like a white or black top and jeans or a simple white dress so the bright accessory is the thing that pops and becomes the focal point of the ensemble.

Bright accessories are certainly fun. Kate Spade’s Scout bag comes in an eye-catching lemon yellow as well as a watermelon pink, should you feel like being daring, and the pink stripe down the front of this orange Marc Jacobs bag is the right amount of flash for those who are more conservative when it comes to color. Belle by Sigerson Morrison has a fuchsia flat with a tan cap toe that’s a nice blend of bold and neutral.

But what I think is a trickier aspect of this trend is how to wear brightly colored separates without looking or feeling like a clown. I was a bit perplexed myself until I ran into fashion publicist Lauren Urband at a lunch a couple of weeks ago and realized that putting bright colors together isn’t just possible, but it also should be encouraged.

Urband was wearing a vivid purple sleeveless blouse from Kate Spade with a pair or shocking orange cropped pants from Jil Sander. She tempered the bold pieces with nude pointy-toe Valentino heels that had little spikes all over them and a pair of tortoise-shell sunglasses from Norma Kamali. The combo of colors and neutrals was just right, and she certainly stood out in the crowd, but without looking like she went overboard with the trend.

So take a cue from this prime example and pair bright-colored separates. Just temper them with nude shoes and more subtle accessories or none at all.

If wearing an acid-bright piece with jeans, opt for either a deep, dark indigo so the look is clean or a pair of crisp white jeans or trousers, which looks so fresh, modern and 100% summery.

Send your style queries to melissa.magsaysay@latimes.com.

At top, Kate Spade Scout bag, $395, at KateSpade.com. Credit: Kate Spate. Fashion publicist Lauren Urban wears a cool combo of bright hues. Credit: Stefanie Keenan. Jil Sander orange sweater, $845, at Barneys.com. Credit: Jil Sander. Marc by Marc Jacobs Francesca bag in reef blue, $528, at Neiman Marcus. Credit: Marc by Marc Jacobs. Belle by Sigerson Morrison two-tones ballet flats, $225, at Bloomingdales. Credit: Sigerson Morrison. Bottom left, Current/Elliott Stiletto pant in cayenne, $188, at Ron Herman. Credit: Current/Elliott. Bottom right, Marc Jacobs Bamboo bag in cogac, $1,485, at Marc Jacobs stores. Credit: Marc Jacobs