Spring is the season of growth and new beginnings, and in celebration of winter’s retreat you should consider injecting a bit of colour into your wardrobe.  Keep your blacks, greys and browns as your ultimate basic building blocks, but this spring incorporate punches of powerful color such as orange, crimson or pink in subtle ways to break up the drab and depressed darks of your winter palette.

Beneath a cardigan opt for a slightly loose fitting yellow ochre or salmon pink tee; pair a vibrant orange plaid scarf with a casual charcoal suit; or don burnt crimson loafers with your favourite denim.  The intensity of the hue is entirely up to you.  If you’re put off by this whole notion of color in your otherwise black wardrobe, try throwing some browned down hues that are dark and earthy as a start – we call this the path of least resistance, as these shady colors will calmly dissolve among your blacks.  Pastel colors or sheer fabrics are likewise easy interlopers across a landscape of white and beige garments, for their similar lack of contrast.  But it certainly takes a confident (read: sexy) man to go all the way with that hint of color by choosing the most vibrant and energetic colors available.  Just remember that when you take colour to these extremes, repeat the “less is more” mantra to avoid looking too flamboyant – unless, of course, that’s exactly what you’re after.

For The Men’s Book, published in Manchester UK by Ampers& Media Group

Pictured: Dsquared Spring 2008, images courtesy of men.style.com