Addressed: How to Wear the Colors We Saw on the Spring 2026 Runways

Addressed is a weekly column about the act of getting dressed. Anything and everything is fair game for discussion—from animal prints and vintage clothes, to unpacking what it means to be a grown woman in a baby tee. Download the Vogue app, and find our Style Advice section to submit your question.

The spring 2026 shows have finally ended and one of the many, many takeaways this season was the unabashed and joyful return of color (stay tuned to Vogue Runway next week for our full trend breakdown). While it’s a liberating proposition—it’s time to have fun!—many people feel intimidated by color, thinking they’ll get it wrong and end up a “fashion don’t.”

Well, here at Addressed, we don’t very much believe in fashion don’ts, so we pulled some groovy color combinations from the spring 2026 collections for those who are considering a more lively wardrobe. These are easy ideas to remember on your shopping trip and they also apply when you’re “shopping” your own closet.

Trade Navy for Hunter Green

Loewe, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Umberto Fratini / Gorunway.com

Fendi, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Umberto Fratini / Gorunway.com

We’ve all accepted navy as a basic non-color color, and feel generally good about freely wearing it. Well, hunter green is really just the navy of greens, so why not try it instead? It could be outerwear—a tailored wool jacket really does go with everything—or a more romantic piece like a satin skirt. From the Loewe look you could easily craft an office-ready outfit that would stand out from the crowd, but not too much.

Eggplant Is a Neutral

Prada, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com

Burberry, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Gorunway.com / Courtesy of Burberry

Instead of thinking about navy or army green for your practical outerwear, why not experiment with an eggplant topper? The dark shade will hide wear-and-tear just as well as its classic counterparts, pairs well with other colors, and will automatically spruce up your fall and winter looks when the weather gets dreary.

Gray Doesn’t Mean Boring

Marie-Adam Leenaerdt, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com

No.21, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com

For those who have to abide by a strict office dress code, gray can actually be the opposite of boring. Actually, it can be liberating—just look at Thom Browne’s whole thing for proof. Also: An easy gray sweater or skirt can take the frou off sweet shades like bubblegum pink or orange. (Of note in the above examples is the introduction of another piece in a skin-tone shade for a bit more visual interest.)

Yellow Is Basically Khaki (If You Want It)

Eckhaus Latta, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com

MSGM, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Umberto Fratini / Gorunway.com

Khaki is another tried-and-true all-American classic. Well, guess what, a pair of light yellow trousers in place of khaki pants can bring new freshness to a spring outfit. You can also pair yellow with a true neutral shade like camel or greige, for a very zen feel, à la Eckhaus Latta.

Everything Goes With Black

Tom Ford, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Umberto Fratini / Gorunway.com

Maria McManus, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Umberto Fratini / Gorunway.com

Black stays winning because in the end, everything looks good with it. Bright neon shirt? Good. Lilac satin coat? Also good. The trick is to just make that single moment pop!

Think Pink

Jil Sander, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Alessandro Lucioni / Gorunway.com

Lii, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com

Actually, pink might be a great beginner shade to mix into your wardrobe in general because it’s easy to incorporate almost anywhere—under a gray suit, with a pair of yellow trousers, accompanying anything black. On the runways this season, it also looked really good sandwiched with a bunch of other unexpected colors. At Jil Sander, a light pink base layer was an exciting proposition underneath a shrunken smog-colored sweater (how good is the bit of petrol blue sticking out from the collar?), while at Lii it was the pairing of pink and red (another combo to keep in your back pocket) that livened up a melange of white and black tanks, and a muddy green skirt.

Put It All Together

Meryll Rogge, spring 2026 reayd-to-wear

Photo: Courtesy of Meryll Rogge

Versace, spring 2026 ready-to-wear

Photo: Courtesy of Versace

Once you’re ready to experiment with more than one color, consider bringing a shade of blue into the mix. You know how blue jeans go with basically anything? The same goes with other blue pairings. At Meryll Rogge, bright acid green got toned down a little by a blue layer, which then got another dose of “subtlety” courtesy of a classic trench coat (a great way to quell anxiety over wearing brights is to semi-hide them underneath true neutral outerwear). While at Versace, a red T-shirt (a standard wardrobe piece) was paired with a purple linen jacket (which we’ve already established is basically a neutral), and blue linen pants that stood in for jeans. It sounds crazy, but it works!