Happy Monday, ladies! So if you’re a part of the Chic in Seconds community (subscribe in the sidebar if you’re not!), you knew this post was coming. Except it was supposed to be on Thursday. Only, California decided to have an unrelenting torrential down pour this weekend and I was only able to get this one outfit shot. 🙁 So I’m swapping Monday’s post with Thursday’s post and will take a little time off this week for photography purposes. C’est la vie. Anyway, today’s post is now all about how to wear pastels in winter. I’m breaking it down and making it super simple so you can save time and look ultra chic, without looking overdone.

SIMILAR COAT // SIMILAR TOP // AERIE LEGGINGS // SIMILAR BOOTS // SIMILAR BAG // SIMILAR NECKLACE

THINK ICE QUEEN

The first and maybe most important step for wearing pastels in winter is intention. You don’t want it to look like you accidentally brought out your spring wardrobe early (the next two steps will help a lot with that). But first, you want to keep the look from being too casual. Pastels in winter necessitate being a little dressed up, but they can still be somewhat casual. I brought the ice queen into this look by choosing a shiny, silky blouse, a marble print bag, and a chunky bejeweled necklace. The faux fur coat also carries a luxe vibe that adds a little ice queen to the look.

OPT FOR WINTER TEXTURES

One way to achieve your ice queen look is with faux fur, like I said above. But fur also accomplishes the next step for wearing pastels in winter: opting for winter textures. Cork, linen, and chiffon can feel very springy and quite the opposite of a winter-appropriate look. Although, they can be done correctly, but you would typically want to avoid pastel shades. Instead, when wearing pastels, look for them in winter textures like furs and chunky knits. You can even get away with pastel suede in your handbag or shoes because the soft shade still looks incredibly warm and cozy, which makes it read winter.

COMPLEMENT WARM PASTELS WITH RICH, DARK COOL TONES

Finally, to keep your look from being too thought out, and thus dressing it up too much for a casual look, ground your outfit with a dark, cool tone. The outfit I’m wearing today would have looked amazing with a dark blue skinny denim as well. If only mine fit after the holidays. ;P

But sticking with warm toned pastels, like reds and pinks injects a little bit more different into a winter look. And if your whole look is on the warm or cool end of the spectrum, you will look overdressed. So it’s by far the simplest to chose warm-toned pastels, and ground them with one piece in a dark cool tone like a deep, dark blue or black.

What do you think of pastels in winter?