With $300, he suggested going for a bright trench coat, wide-leg pant or dark denim jeans, ballet flats, and a colorful accessory.
"Many specialty brands and designers have played with the raincoat and pea coat by crinkling nylons or cottons and adding bold details like silver or gold big buttons," Julian said, with "more brights, from yellow to orange to fuchsia." He also recommended metallics "since this will spill into fall of '08."
Everyone we talked to mentioned bright dresses for spring, either in flowery prints or geometrics.
Phelps of Style.com stressed the floral trend. "One way to get your florals on is a great new dress. The shirtwaist is a good investment." That will make our engineer/fashionista Raquel Reed happy.
"I want to treat myself to spring dresses," she told us. "But instead of five, I'm going to buy myself one."
elizabeth.large@baltsun.com
SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT
Here's a list of must-haves for the season in order of importance, according to our sources:
Bright print dress, floral or geometric
Wide-leg jeans or other pants
Bold-colored anything
Chunky jewelry
Metallic accessories
A pretty white blouse
A clutch or double-handled bag
Patent leather ballet flats or heels
Something safari or in a tribal print
A colorful jacket or trench
THE GETS FOR GUYS
Men who like to look good have money issues, too. May we suggest choosing from this list, made up with help from Macy's, if you can only buy a piece or two:
A relaxed sportscoat
A short nylon outerwear jacket
A patterned dress shirt
Botanical or other bold print ties
Bermuda shorts
Lightweight knit sweaters
Casual footwear like Sperry Topsiders
Refined polos
