Take care with color

Wearing color isn't easy. Just ask designer Sigrid Olsen, who founded her clothing line sold in department stores and boutiques in 1984.

She says wearing color can be intimidating to women because they're afraid of looking clownish.

"My first rule of wearing color is to tone it down to make it a neutral on outfits," she said recently during a phone interview from Hong Kong.

She suggests layering a fun color such as hot pink, moss green or turquoise under a gray, black or brown suit, accented with a pretty necklace.

But beware of the volume of the color. Just because you want to wear color, it doesn't have to be the color's brightest shade. A hint of color can go a long way, she said.

Also be careful not to abuse color by wearing head-to-toe of the same color. For instance, Olsen suggests wearing a bright orange tunic with white jeans instead of orange bottoms.

And don't be overly matched. Coordinating shoes, handbag, earrings and scarves to match a sweater is overkill. She suggests an all-white outfit with a red bag and black sandals with silver jewelry.

And finally she reminds us that just because a color is trendy -- like yellow -- she cautions jumping in for the sake of jumping in.

"Just because it's all over the news, the worst thing you can do is wear a trend because it's trendy," she said.