Rocking the rainbow

CEBU, Philippines - Before moving to live in another city for about the nth time after graduation, I took a quick look at my wardrobe and noticed that nearly 80 percent of everything in my closet from my shoes to my bags, to my dresses come in gray scale. So much for trying to put on a sunny disposition. If what we wear truly reflects how we feel on the inside, my wardrobe would probably be able to speak volumes about the gloom and doom of the past year-something that really isn't very representative of me or my life.

So I've made an addendum in my New Year's Resolution. I know it's not yet too late. My next shopping trips will be about shoving the grays and the blacks of my everyday wardrobe into the backmost part of my closet and replacing these with bursts and splashes of color that will make life a little bit sunnier despite its frequent storms.

I've realized that I'm not alone in this movement and I thank the high heavens that in quirkifying my wardrobe and my life for that matter, Emilio Pucci and BCBG Max Azria are one with me in this mission of missions. 

For the next few seasons, it will be about color and about being loud. And when it comes to pops of color, pints of patterns, and unexpected cuts and silhouettes, two fashion houses lead the pack. Here's a quick glimpse for some style-spiration.

Emilio Pucci

We love Pucci for its luscious patterns that we find anywhere from swimsuits to scarves to dresses. With the psychedelic colors, the skivys, and the bell bottoms that are marking Pucci's pre-fall collection, it's clear that we're on our way to adding some razzle dazzle into our wardrobes 70s style. 

Pucci rocks it with colors and patterns that require you to put on those oversized shades. Matching oranges with deep purples and accentuating it with a braided patterned belt, you can bet that Pucci is all about playing and having fun. 

Floral patterns that rub off an Asian vibe and animal prints in the most unusual of aquas make it clear that you, my dear, are no plain jane. You're bursting with ideas and rocking the world with that careless, can-do attitude. You're complicated and you live a life that's a full spectrum of colors. And when it comes down to it, Pucci wants the world to know that you are anything but boring.

BCBG Max Azria

Sometimes, it's not just color that adds a fun twist to any wardrobe. It can also be construction: changes in silhouettes and hemlines-small changes, really, but they spel the difference between boring and bombastic. 

Azria is all about playing with hemlines-particularly the tail hem that's a rising star in the following seasons. The uneven hemline undeniably gives the outfit an interesting twist. Take it an inch longer and you'll be one hot senorita ready to rock it with some Spanish attitude.

Azria is all about brights on neutrals. That scarlet satin belt on a beige dress or that slight peep of purple underneath all that black. It's also about the sheer detail ont he skirt for a glimpse of your gams. Azria is all about that sliver of being jologs buried underneath that serious attitude and that semi secretive mood that really itching for some gossip.  (FREEMAN)