Lighten up this spring with these softly coloured pieces.

Every season, the MR PORTER team proffers a little guidance on the main trends you might like to be aware of. We’ve already highlighted some – camouflage, polo shirts and pleated trousers, to name a few – but the arrival of spring welcomes a new colour palette. Navys, blacks and dark greens tend to be left behind with the cold, wintry months to make way for a brighter wardrobe, one filled with soft, pastel-tinted hues. The pleasing thing about this trend is that you aren’t confined to one colour, but tread carefully. With greater freedom comes greater margin for error. So, we’ve put together three essential tips to ensure you can wear pastels with pride, whatever the occasion.

With pastels, it’s important not to overdo it. By which we mean not wearing head-to-toe bubblegum pink. Instead, you should wear pastels with a contrasting, neutral colour in order to pare back your look. To demonstrate this, we’ve chosen our favourite camp-collar shirt from Sasquatchfabrix. Made from a light and airy fabric, it’s the perfect choice for balmy summer days, and its salmon colour is an easy entry point into the whole pastel trend. Combine the shirt with a navy pair of chinos, such as these from NN07, which are a great lightweight alternative to jeans.

Despite the exciting prospect of summer, the weather has not fully warmed up yet. If you’re investing in this pastel trend, a sweatshirt, such as this one from CMMN SWDN – designed exclusively for MR PORTER – will be more than appropriate, keeping you looking breezy while staying nice and warm. A casual pastel piece such as this looks best when worn with jeans. We suggest Our Legacy’s washed denim. The faded colour works perfectly with the sweatshirt’s dusty pink hue.

Pastels are a great way to cheer up tailoring. We suggest throwing on a nice, light shirt, such as this mint-green Oxford from Drake’s, under a dark jacket. This will give a nice pop of colour, which hints at a laid-back attitude and makes a firm nod towards summer. There is no point trying to dress up pastel too much, so we recommend keeping your blazer on the relaxed side with this wool and silk-blend jacket from Thom Sweeney.

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