EDGE Boston

In the summer, color means everything. You can no longer be pale. Your hair needs highlights. The sky must be bright blue. And your tight, black turtleneck feels so five-minutes ago. The key to surviving the fashionable summer months is not always about keeping cool, but about keeping colorful.

It’s 95 degrees outside. Thank god it’s casual Friday. Just to keep from fainting, you plan to wear a white tank and khaki shorts with flip flops. Stop right there. Count how much time you spend inside your air-conditioned office and how much time it takes to walk from the subway to the door. What happens if today of all days, the hot receptionist on the fifth floor wants to get drinks after work? The tank top makes your waist expand and your shorts make your butt disappear.

I dress with the weather. Through the hot summer, I enjoy the bright colors that never fit with the gray winter skies. Here are some ideas for how to play with some new color for all your summer events.

THE OFFICE
This, of course, depends on the casualness of your office. If you must keep with your dark suits, leave your jacket home and wear a suit vest. Thrift stores often break up suits, making lone vests affordable. With your waist visible, wear a colorful belt that contrasts your likewise colorful shirt. Wear a solid shirt in a vibrant or pastel color and choose to go crazy with either your tie or belt. If they match, it’ll look nerdy. If they clash, it’ll be harsh.

THE CASUAL
Perfect for a business brunch or casual place of work, white pants are the new blue jeans. Yeah, I hear you – “White isn’t a color.” Well, it’s the black for the summer (or until Labor Day). If you are eating or working in an air-conditioned location, opt for light sport jackets in tan or for the daring, pale blue. The most fun is taking your favorite blue jean / button-down outfits and pairing the shirt with your white pants. That blasting red shirt may have sat on your $200 blue jeans, but it will scream with your bleach white pants. For work, wear some straight leg linen. On the beach, go for a loose boot fit with a fabulously big flare. At a party, choose white jeans.

THE NIGHT
With the temperature down, the night allows some liberalities with the anti-black summer sun. It’s almost like you can wear your favorite winter outfit without a bulky coat covering it up. Switch things up with a lighter jean or white shoes, preferably with some wear. You can remind everyone it’s summer by tucking in that shirt (still vibrantly colored, of course) and wearing a loud belt.

THE BEACH
This is the only time I would break my no-shorts rule (then, of course, I have skinny chicken legs) though I rarely will. I love some loose white, linen pants with flip flops and a worn Henley for a change-of-Polo kind of pace. If your torso is far short of appearing on the cover of Out, wear a flatteringly colored polo or Henley with a necklace in place of the shirt’s graphic.

And most importantly, have fun with your clothes- it’s summer!