Dress for the weather you want—throw on a cool olive-colored moto jacket over your summer dress as the temperature drops or splurge on a jewel-tone dress as the holidays approach. AKA living your life in seasonal color. Florals for spring may not be groundbreaking (famously acknowledged by Meryl Streep’s character Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada), and trends definitely come and go, but the idea of dressing in seasonal colors is a fashion rule of thumb to live by. These colors mirror shades seen in the four seasons of nature, and each season has its own set of traditional colors that are typically associated with it. You’ll also find variations of these hues every season that are deemed current by the fashion trend of the year. Macy’s is breaking down dress colors by season, the top seasonal colors and our on-trend dress colors, prints and patterns!
• Fall. It’s time to fall in love with dresses at Macy’s. When the leaves start to turn those magical red, orange and yellow colors and fall from the trees, get ready to update your wardrobe to reflect their beauty with dresses in the same toasted tones. While fall dress colors emulate the rich hues of autumn, they also slowly mark the shift towards more neutral tones. Once those vibrant colors fade away from the outdoors, it’s time to welcome the grays and creams of winter. Try these favorite fall colors at Macy’s:
Red Shades For Fall. Muted reds are must-haves for fall. If you’re invited to a vineyard wedding this fall, grab a gorgeous merlot red formal dress…because wine not? You’ll look seasonally appropriate and wedding appropriate. Check and check.
Top Fall Reds This Season: Merlot, Biking Red, Cranberry and Crabapple.
Orange Shades For Fall. Mix in a livelier fall color like orange into your dress rotation. It mimics the bright orange falling leaves and looks super-cute in your annual pumpkin Instagram pic. Don’t forget your PSL (pumpkin spice latte)—it’s a great pre-event pick-me-up. Ask for an extra shot of expresso if it’s a late-night event.
Top Fall Oranges This Season: Burnt Orange, Orange Tiger and Peach Pink.
Yellow Shades For Fall. The epitome of autumnal shades for fall—deep, creamy yellows. Gold is another fall favorite in evening dresses. There’s just something about a girl in gold.
Top Fall Yellows This Season: Muted Mustard Yellow, Butterscotch, Dark Cheddar and Gold.
Brown Shades For Fall. Combine your creamy yellows with soft nutty browns or deep chocolate browns for an ultimate chic fall look. These color dresses will also look great on you if you have rich auburn, honey blonde or golden-brown hair.
Top Fall Browns This Season: Hazel, Sugar Almond, Khaki, Camel, Chicory Coffee, Rocky Road, Mahogany and Espresso.
Green Shades For Fall. Earthy colors are at their finest for fall. You’ll be a vision in a green evening gown. Magical gown, magical glow. What more could you ask for?
Top Fall Greens This Season: Chartreuse, Green Olive, Guacamole and Antique Moss.
Purple Shades For Fall. Dark muted purples look beautiful paired with quintessential rich fall colors and neutrals, too. Not to mention the air of royal chic they bring to your look.
Top Fall Purples This Season: Mauve, Aubergine and Grapeade.
Neutral Shades For Fall. You can’t go wrong with creams and all shades of gray and black…because neutrals look nice on you (and mostly everyone!).
Top Fall Neutrals This Season: Frost Gray, Paloma, Crème De Pêche and Vanilla Custard.
• Winter. Fiery fall leaves fade soon replaced with bare trees, while crisp air turns to cooler temperatures. Winter is here! In nature, winter marks the absence of color. It also marks the time when you can be found cuddled inside by the fireplace with hopes of that first picturesque snowfall (if you need us, we’ll be here all winter. That is, unless we get invited to a fun holiday party or winter wedding). Traditional seasonal winter colors are neutrals combined with deep, rich jewel tones that represent the joyous holiday season. Winter colors may tone down at the start of winter, but they definitely turn up for the holidays. Let’s get into the thick of winter colors at Macy’s:
White. Are you dreaming of a white winter? You’re in luck. Winter whites are definitely a thing and Macy’s can’t get enough of them! From stark white to shades of cream, you’ll want to incorporate these winter dress colors into your wardrobe.
Top Winter Whites This Season: Crème de Pêche, Rutabaga and Vanilla Custard.
Black. All black everything…can your wardrobe ever have too much black? The answer is simply no. Black is the perfect neutral that goes with (almost) everything. It also makes a super elegant winter dress option for an evening wedding or holiday party. Get yourself plenty of black evening dresses—you won’t regret it!
Brown Shades For Winter. Warm fires, warm browns. You get it. Similar in color to roasted chestnuts and logs on the fire, dresses in shades of brown work beautifully with other earth-tone colors.
Top Winter Browns This Season: Chicory Coffee and Rocky Road.
Gray Shades For Winter. Skies are gray, so fill your wardrobe with super-chic frosted gray dresses. Grays combined with blacks, blues and metallics are sure to make a sparkly entrance at any event this season.
Top Winter Grays This Season: Frost Gray and Paloma.
Red Shades For Winter. Feeling red haute? Ring in the festive holiday season with bright reds—a red evening gown would look stunning at a corporate Christmas party.
Top Winter Reds This Season: Ruby Red, Chili Pepper, Crabapple, Cranberry and Merlot.
Purple Shades For Winter. Make it a royal affair with this jewel-tone color that’s perfect for the winter season. A purple formal dress is super rich looking.
Top Winter Purples This Season: Grapeade and Tyrian Purple.
Green Shades For Winter. Green is definitely the new black. Enchanting like emerald, green evening gowns shine with superior glamour.
Top Winter Greens This Season: Eden and Forest Biome.
Blue Shades For Winter. For a truly frosty feel, like the slightly gray-tinged skies on a clear yet crisp winter day, flaunt a subdued blue dress. For a radiant night out, go with a jewel-tone blue dress. No winter blues here!
Top Winter Blues This Season: Bluestone, Galaxy Blue and Evening Blue.
Macy’s Fall & Winter Color Trends In Dresses!
Look out for floral prints dresses. They continue to thrive in the fall season with fresh florals in celebrated fall colors. Walk (or dance) on the wild side with animal print dresses—Macy’s is here for fierce fall fashion. Sequins are also having a moment along with fun sleeve details. Watch out for white; it’s not only a trend for fall and winter, but yearlong, too. Who said you can’t wear white after Labor Day?
Macy’s Fall & Winter Dress Trend Picks:
• Spring. The snow is melting, the birds are chirping, and the flowers are finally blooming—let’s spring ahead with gorgeous spring colors. The seasonal colors of spring (and spring dresses) are much like the season itself: light, airy hues that are made up of pastel versions of the colors of the rainbow. Let us light the way for you with these subtle, yet brilliant spring colors:
Pink Shades For Spring. Not just for baby girls, pastel pinks making stunning spring dress colors for women of all ages.
Top Spring Pinks This Season: Pastel Pink, Blush Pink, Pale Peach and Coral Pink.
Yellow Shades For Spring. As soft as a spring chicken. Think sunshine…the kind that softly wakes you up in the morning by peeking through your window. Soft yellow is a gorgeous accent color for spring.
Top Spring Yellows This Season: Soft Yellow and Sunlight.
Green Shades For Spring. The grass is definitely greener on the pastel side. Spring greens are mostly light and bright compared to the dark woodsy greens of fall and winter.
Top Spring Greens This Season: Mint Green, Spring Green, Biscay Green and Chive.
Blue Shades For Spring. Nothing but blue skies for days. Incorporate light blue, baby blue, denim blue and navy this season. A navy formal dress would look ultra classic at a spring wedding.
Top Spring Blues This Season: Baby Blue, Classic Blue, Faded Denim and Mosaic Blue.
Purple Shades For Spring. Lavender—the smell and color both scream “Spring has arrived!” A light purple dress like lavender is super sweet and ethereal looking.
Top Spring Purples This Season: Lavender and Grape Compote.
Neutral Shades For Spring. Even though spring is all about bringing back color to your dress wardrobe, mixing in neutrals is important, too. Think light gray and cream.
Top Spring Neutrals This Season: Lark, Cream, Brilliant White and Ash.
• Summer. Ahh…sweet summertime, when the days are long and the nights short. Reflect the summertime sunshine with a dress in warm colors. Get inspired by sunny skies, romantic sunsets, summer blooms and ocean blues. Have fun with your dress selection by embracing these bold colors, but don’t forget to mix in plenty of white. Although it’s a yearlong trend, it’s also the official “non-color” of summer, so stock up on a ton of little white dresses. Let’s dive into summer colors at Macy’s:
White Shades For Summer. It’s time for little white dress season. White dresses are perfect in the summer for almost every event—leave the white summer dress at home if you’re attending a wedding or any other festivity for a bride-to-be.
Pink & Red Shades For Summer. Bring on the bold pink. Fuchsia dresses are fantastic for summer events. Go even bolder with a bright red dress like candy apple red. It’s always fun to stand out.
Top Summer Pinks & Reds This Season: Bold Pink, Fuchsia, Flame Scarlet and Candy Apple Red.
Yellow Shades For Summer. When life gives you lemons…use them as color inspiration! A summer dress color that’s perfect for this bright, warm time of year is lemon yellow.
Top Summer Yellows This Season: Lemon Yellow and Saffron.
Orange Shades for Summer. Orange you glad you added orange to your color palette this season? We are! Sweet like summertime, a mandarin orange dress is sure to sweeten up any summer event you attend.
Top Summer Oranges This Season: Mandarin Orange and Orange Peel.
Blue Shades For Summer. The type of summer blues you want to have. Take inspo from the dreamy blue waters of your favorite beaches. A royal blue evening gown at a summer event will definitely make a splash.
Top Summer Blues This Season: Royal Blue, Turquoise and Mosaic Blue.
Macy’s Spring & Summer Color Trends In Dresses!
Synonymous with spring and summer attire: floral print dresses. Go with seasonal pastel florals in spring and bright floral prints in summer. Fashion trend spotted: animal print dresses. Macy’s is wild about animal prints for spring and summer. Blue, black and metallic patterns are also color trends to look out for, along with pastel pink.
Macy’s Spring & Summer Dress Trend Picks: