Ask Earl With Laurel Pantin: How to Style Primary Colors for Spring

We all have that one friend we turn to for fashion advice. On the internet, that second set of eyes is Laurel Pantin—a writer, editor, mom, and entrepreneur-about-town—whose never overdressed or underdressed. Ask Earl is a direct line to Pantin’s brain, where once a month, she’ll help you solve the age-old question of what to wear—and how to wear it, well—for any possible scenario. Trying to figure out how to style work pants without looking corporate? Or how to pack for a long-haul flight with toddlers? Maybe it’s summer outfit ideas that don’t involve dresses… Whatever your question, Ask Earl is where you’ll find the answer.

Hi! I’m Laurel Pantin, and this is my dream come true. I write a style and shopping newsletter on Substack called Earl Earl where I write about, well, a lot of things, but mostly personal styling and identity, and how to feel current without looking trendy. Last October, I brought my newsletter to life when I opened Earl IRL (get the pun?) in Beverly Hills. It’s a teeny tiny boutique and styling studio where I can work one-on-one with clients helping them figure out their own personal style, and build an arsenal of clothing that makes them feel excellent. My favorite thing in the world (besides my kids) is helping people solve their style and wardrobe, and I’ve made it my job—my actual job—to answer styling questions. What a trip!

And now I’m more than delighted to bring my perspective and eye to Vogue Shopping, and to launch my new column, Ask Earl. Every month I’ll be answering a real style question from a real reader, and hopefully making getting dressed every day both a little easier, and a little more exciting. My personal style sweet spot is a blend of practicality and expressiveness. I’m not really a minimalist or a maximalist, I’m emotional about clothing, and inspired by an outfit’s ability to make something innate and personal visible to others. Style is one more way of communicating something interior, and when you feel like you’re properly expressing yourself visually, the rest of your day becomes so much easier.

We are on the cusp of summer and, with any luck, the brink of a vacation or two. One of the questions I get asked the most this time of year is a technique for packing, especially packing in just a carry-on. I love traveling with just a tiny carry on, but I will say—for some trips you just have to take the pressure off yourself and bring it all. When I go to Paris or New York for fashion week, I bring it all; I’ll check a bag and maybe bring a spare outfit or two in a carry-on just in case it gets lost. There’s nothing wrong with checking a bag, but it is a pain, and when you’re dying to go from the tarmac to adventure, waiting at the luggage carousel stinks.

So, here’s my strategy for packing for a week—ok, or up to 10 days—in just one carry-on.

Step 1: Choose Your Foundation

First, I like to grab six pieces: three bottoms and three tops that represent my basics, and will be the foundation of my travel wardrobe. For tops, I always have to have at least one button-down—this one is from Maria McManus—a sweatshirt (I love this one from Everybody.World), and a tee, which is also by Everybody.World. I also always pack a swimsuit, this one is custom by Tara Matthews, and also works as a bodysuit—but for the sake of numbers, we’ll count it as swim, not as a top.

The bottoms I picked are a pair of long denim shorts from Róhe, B Sides jeans, and a full skirt from Rachel Comey. Between these three things, I imagine I’d have almost all my bases covered: something cool and light for a hot day, dressy for evening, and… jeans, you always need jeans.

Step 2: Piece Together the Outfits (and Snap a Pic!)

Once I have my six items identified (okay, seven), I try every bottom with every top, and then you should have nine outfits you can rely on. I snap pictures of each of these, so when I’m traveling I can remember which combinations I loved, and which I didn’t like as much, but might want to return to. These nine don’t have a ton of personality, but they’re a solid framework, and will give you easy options you can turn to.

Step 3: Sprinkle in Personality Pieces

The next thing I do is grab some personality pieces. These are vibrant, silly, special things that you sprinkle in with the core to make it sing. For a week to ten-day long trip, I grab two more tops, and two more bottoms. I picked some Chan Luu green floral pants, a Zankov sequin skirt, a Zankov sequin pink knit top, and my Dries Van Noten Hawaiian print scuba blazer.

This is also where I bring in accessories. I try to limit myself to four pairs of shoes (because remember, you can wear your bulkiest pair on the flight and keep that space in your bag): I bring one pair of casual sandals, one pair that’s flat and dressy, one pair of sneakers, and sometimes—depending on where I’m going—a pair of heels. I also pick my bags, I bring a bigger tote and use it as my carry-on on the flight, this one is by Cahu and we carry it at my store, and a clutch to carry during the day but also at night. This one is from Savette. I also tossed in a silver beaded belt from Kallmeyer and a feather brooch from Indress.

The tricky thing about this step is in grabbing things that have personality and bring a lot to your look, but that you wear regularly enough that you already kind of know what to do with them. If you pull out a complete wild card on a trip, you run the risk of arriving and feeling kind of stranded with that thing. I used to believe that I’d land in a new city and suddenly be a new person, the kind of person who wears leather shorts for example, just to find that….no. I will never be a leather shorts person. Reach for things you’ve already worn a few times, and things that you feel comfortable styling in a few different ways.

Step 4: Final Outfit Check

And this is the best part, repeat Step 2, incorporating all your fun new personality pieces, and trying at least two pairs of shoes on with every look. You don’t have to do every possible combination, but basically you want to make sure that you can have some fun with the things you plan to pack, pre-plan a few outfits, and take photos. If this starts to feel too challenging, or if you feel stuck, swap out one or two things. If your basics and building blocks are the things you wear frequently, the rest should flow, and packing this way will give you dozens of options that are both low-key and expressive, without taking up an enormous suitcase.

Want more? Shop April’s Ask Earl, below.

So, for my very first Ask Earl, I’m talking about color. I wear a lot of color in my everyday life, and a lot of very bright ones. On the runways this season, we saw so much bold, primary color from brands like Loewe, Celine, and Dries van Noten (my favorite), and it is super intimidating for a lot of people! However, after a few years of beige and neutrals, it feels so good to wear something bright. Here are some of the ways I do it.

One Pop and an Accessory

I hate the term “a pop of color”, because I think it usually looks gimmicky and only makes the color feel like more on an outlier. But in this case, I think it works because instead of a bright sweater with a black outfit, I’m wearing navy, which is also a color. Whenever I’m wearing color, I need to wear it with more color, not black or white. The navy suit is from Kallmeyer, and while it’s dark and traditional, it’s a beautiful color. The sweater is a super-off shade of yellow-green from Zankov, and if I were wearing it with black it would look a little jarring. The navy softens it. Then, the bright blue Esha Soni bag brings out the blue in the suit, and meets the weirdness of the Zankov sweater.

Try it With Beige

I shouldn’t hate on beige, it’s a great backdrop for bright hues, and if you’re a little intimidated by brights, mixing a few colors with beige is an easy way to make it gel without muting anything. This Kallmeyer blazer and the B-Sides jeans are an excellent foundation for the cobalt tee and lavender sweatshirt from Everybody.World, and this terrific bi-color Cahu tote.

Go Mono

A very easy way to pull off something very bold, is to wear head-to-toe color in two different textures. These Comme Si satin bias-cut pants in deep red, and the poplin shirt in a similar tone is one of my favorite combinations. The poplin contrasts beautifully with the sheen of the pants, and wearing two pieces of the same color takes a lot of guesswork out of whether or not something “goes”. It looks very styled and personal, but with almost no effort.

Bold + Bold

My main philosophy about wearing bright or kind of “off” colors is to wear one with another. If you meet crazy with crazy, (in this case, neon green with bright orange plus pink—and a little yellow) the two make a weird harmony. Someone is less likely to be like, “Woah! Crazy sweatshirt!” if you’re wearing it with another statement-making shade, than if you’re wearing it with jeans, for example. The only rule is that it all has to be solids—no prints or patterns. It doesn’t seem like it should work, but it does.

The Kitchen Sink

Someone recently asked me how I decide what colors to wear and which colors “work” for me, and I’d genuinely never thought about it. If I like the color, I wear it, and I’ll put it with other colors I like. It’s kind of like decorating your home, in my opinion. If you love every single thing you put in your house, it will “work” because the throughline, your taste, will make it all look and feel cohesive. Trusting your instincts like that is also a great way to discover what your personal style actually is! So anyway, this outfit is that. I love this egg-yolk yellow Everybody.world tee, I love the electric blue polo, and I love these aloe-green pants from Claudent (a UPF 50 brand we just started carrying at the store!). Would someone put them together on a moodboard? Probably not, but when you put them on as an outfit, they work. The jacket is kind of a grey-blue in person, and it’s from Birrot, another brand we just brought on at Earl IRL. This is, in my opinion, a perfect personality-forward outfit for running around all day.

If I could condense all of my advice about wearing brights every day, it would be this: close your eyes and throw it all on. Overthinking is the enemy, let impulse reign!

Your friend,

Laurel