By Marie Marra

Actress Reese Witherspoon, in her “Legally Blonde” film role as Southern California fashion maven turned Bostonian and Harvard Law student, outlined the Apparel Buyer’s Challenge:

“Whoever said ‘peach’ is the new ‘pink’ was truly deranged.”

To buyers of women’s, men’s and youth apparel, forecasting color trends two or three seasons ahead can seem like a random turn of the roulette wheel. Fortunately, we improve our bets by watching Color Trend Forecasters, and by working the patterns that emerge from major trade shows and apparel industry insiders. Apologies to “Legally Blonde,” but buying color lots for next seasons need not be a bad deranged bet.

Cite the Color Authorities. The Color Association claims to be the oldest color forecasting service in the U.S., issuing color reports since 1915. Because its color trend predictions influence the front-end of the production chain — from textile manufacture and fiber arts to fashionable car colors — CAUS looks 12-to-20 months ahead. (Yes, that’s a geologic eon in e-commerce

Go to their web site < www.colorassociation.com > and click on Color Trends. You can view The Color Association’s palettes forecasted for the current season of Women’s, Men’s, Youth and
Interiors/Environmental design. For example, Women’s Apparel for Fall/Winter 2007-2008 features an array of color chips ranging from subtle blues and brick reds to slate gray and lighter salmon pinks, as well as that soft peach deemed “deranged” by Legally Blonde Reese.

Interesting site commentary on the many predicted shades of blue is: “These blues also underscore the wide and continuing acceptance of denim, and the fact that nearly any contemporary color must accommodate or enhance the most American of all fabrics.”

Do a color palette pulse check on Men’s and Youth clothing for the upcoming season. The site even displays texture blocks on which you drag-and-drop color chips to test fabric effects.

New palette forecasts from CAUS are now available for three apparel categories, up through Spring/Summer 2008 and Fall/Winter 2008-2009, for $425 per season of crystal ball swatches.

For a more global hue, check the site of the International Colour Authority at www.internationalcolourauthority.com. Panels of international color specialists cast their predictions twice a year in London and then market what they call “directional palettes” worldwide for women’s wear, men’s wear, leather fashion, furnishings, carpets and paints.

Press the Flesh at Fashion Shows. Major trade shows offer apparel buyers a unique opportunity to source product, network with industry colleagues and meet specialized industry publishers, who can help them niche-market to resellers, discounters, off-price jobbers and past-season retailers. The big shows also aggregate all those style, color and trend predictions noted above into one convenient convention hall. Easy viewing. Easy deal-making.

Fashion industry site infomat calendars fashion shows near and far – New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and regional fashion or sports apparel centers across the U.S., as well as Toronto, London, Rome, Paris, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Bangkok. Sign up for their monthly email calendar of shows at: < www.infomat.com/calendar/infsi0000164.html >.

Look for trade show news from Top Ten Wholesale and VSEs. See www.TopTenWholesale.com plus affiliate sites at www.Wholezilla.com, www.OffPriceNetwork.com and www.WholesaleU.com. You can also wiki it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JP_Communications .

Vertical Search Engine news and blogs drill down into what’s most useful to apparel buyers and sellers, in every fashion category, from wholesaler to reseller. Top Ten Wholesale joins 140,000 apparel industry insiders from throughout the U.S. and around the world to cover the August 2007 fashion industry extravaganza in Las Vegas. Representing:

• MAGIC (men’s apparel and accessories)
• ENK’s Women’s Show (designer), Lingerie Americas and The Exclusive (luxury)
• ASAP Global Sourcing Show and Global ECO Apparel Trade & Fashion (overseas apparel sourcing with an eye to the eco-friendly)
• The Accessories Show
• Kid Show Las Vegas
• International Swimwear / Activewear Market
• Moda Manhattan
And more.

Upcoming news and views on Las Vegas Fashion Week will include: trends, styles, price points, innovative sourcing and next season’s color palettes.

Did you know that in Hollywood courtrooms, designer footwear can save the day?

At the end of “Legally Blonde,” Reese Witherspoon wears neither pink nor peach in court. She dresses in quieter colors predicted by The Color Association for Fall/Winter 2007-2008. But it’s her Manolo Blahnik shoes (remember them from “Sex and the City” TV?) that won the case. See, the hostile witness was the kind of guy who not only perjured himself, but he recognized Reese’s Manolo Blahniks and claimed they were LAST season’s. !! It was enough to impeach his credibility on other matters. Case Dismissed.