The Key To Chic: Women's 2018 Fashion Trends at MAGIC Trade Show

February 27, 2018

Women's 2018 Fashion Trends at MAGIC Trade Show

As I browsed hundreds of booths at MAGIC Trade Show earlier this month, I photographed anything and everything that captured my attention. After a few hours, it all became a blur of prints, colors, and silhouettes. The more memorable looks on the trade show floor tend to stand out to me because of a new color scheme, silhouette, print mix, or unexpected pairing. For spring/summer 2018, I've chosen to highlight seven key themes that kept emerging as I strolled past vendor after vendor. In terms of color, millennial pink is still going strong, but there's a new player in town - lilac. This season it's a pastel shade of purple with pink undertones. Think Ultra Violet, Pantone's color of the year, but more muted and soft. It's already popping up in retail stores, and fortunately, if you've stocked up on all things millennial pink, they work well together.

Here's a look at the top seven Women's trends I spotted for spring/summer 2018.

1. Ruffled Sleeves
All kinds of statement sleeves dominated the show this season, but tiered and ruffled sleeves were the main attraction. Bonus points for pairing with a ruffled skirt (see number 4 below).

See more ruffled sleeves:

2. Tie Waist Details
While self belts on tops and dresses aren't new, the tie waists on trousers, skirts and denim feel fresh and chic. They are easy to style with crop tops and tucked-in blouses. Paper bag waists like on the skirt below are a key detail as well.

More tie waists:

3. Woven Straw Bags
The straw/acrylic handbag craze launched by Cult Gaia's ubiquitous Ark bag in 2017 continues with new styles that include round shapes, ring handles, and picnic-inspired silhouettes.

straw bag fashion trend spring summer 2018

Browse more straw bags:

4. Flirty Ruffled Skirts
Wrap style mini skirts and pencil midi styles feature ruffles, tiers, and flounces galore. The more details, the better.

See more ruffled skirts:

5. Colorful Camouflage Prints
While florals, stripes, and gingham are standard spring/summer print staples, camouflage is emerging in colorful and embroidered versions for a modern take on military-inspired style.

Discover more camouflage:

6. Pretty in Pastels
Color trends are all over the map, but one major theme stood out. I spotted a wide variety of pastels including mint, lavender, blush, mauve, banana, lilac, and peach.

Shop pastels:

7. Vertical Stripes
Spring/summer is the season of stripes, more specifically, vertical stripes. When teamed with the aforementioned ruffles and tie-waist details, it creates a fun, embellished look for summer.

See more vertical stripes:

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Get more fashion trend reports here:

Four denim trends for 2019

Seven trends for fall 2018 on Fashion Trend Guide.

Five denim trends for 2018

Five Women's footwear trends for 2018

Men's spring summer 2018 fashion trend forecast

Women's spring summer 2018 fashion trend forecast

Women's fall 2018/winter 2019 fashion trend forecast (macro trends)

Women's fall 2018/winter 2019 trend forecast (four key themes)

Women's spring summer 2019 fashion trend forecast

Browse more trends for 2018:

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