Get ready to co-ordinate tanned shoulders with icecream-coloured clothing.
The international trend towards sweet shades of pastels is arriving just in time to girl-up the Kiwi barbecue season.
Baby pink, icy blue, minty green, light lavender and pale yellow are prettying up our summer collections and adding glamour to the time ofyear when the desire to look cool can be overridden by the need to keep cool.
Getting in on the trend doesn't mean you'll need to swelter all summer though. Swap the boardshort and racer-back ensembles for leg-baring short shorts or dreamy dresses made from floaty fabrics. The famously demure designer Juliette Hogan has a collection made up of cute-but-ladylike candy colours and Twenty-seven names have not held back on the trend for pastels.
If you're worried about looking too sweet, pair your pastel pieces with black for a more rock-chic look. Just consider restricting yourself to one shade of pastel and and one black item. Anything more and you run the risk of looking like a human licorice allsort.
Likewise, you don't want to appear like you've stepped out of a baby boutique so consider wearing more than one shade of pastel carefully.
Pastels are a trend that works in well with the others that are showing up for summer - harden up your pastel pieces with khaki or make them prettier still by pairing them with all the white lace pieces about.
Pastels look sweet on tanned brunettes and pale blondes, but if you find they wash you out then you can still get in on the trend with candy-coloured nail polishes and eyeshadows.
