Bold Baby Girl.

The title of this post hails from an embarrassing childhood story that tends to resurface with alarming frequency, and that prompts me to question the authenticity of my creative spirit. I’ll recount it here, just to further humiliate myself: When I was growing up, my Dad owned a number of racing horses. Whenever he purchased a new horse, he would let his five children submit their suggestions for a suitable name. These tended to run the extremely creative gamut of “snowflake fluffybell,” “sprinkles,” “rainbow smiley face,” “lightning thunderbolt,” etc — and my Dad routinely rebuffed them. One time, however, when I was about six, he announced that he was purchasing a new filly, and requested name submissions. I just so happened to accompany my father to the racing track that afternoon, and slyly filched one of the racing programs, tucking it into my pale pink, My-Little-Pony-stuffed backpack. When I got home, I furtively — and very carefully — copied over a few names from the program onto a scrap of paper (I must have known it was wrong, because I recall crouching behind a door in an ill-lit corner of the house to do this) and proudly presented them to my father, convinced that he would be unable to trace my intellectual property thievery. When he read them, he burst into raucous laughter. There, on the paper, I’d proposed the following names:

Clearly he knew a six year old would never choose a sleazy name like “Bold Baby Girl,” as only a creepy, elderly, mustached lecher would use that term of endearment, and the other two were complete gibberish to me. Does a six year old know that the noun “key” is also a slang verb? And I’m pretty sure I was three years away from knowing what the word “Advice” meant. I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar. We laugh about it to this day…and now you can laugh at me too. But while we laugh, we can also appreciate the way I’ve reappropriated the title to apply to one of the hottest trends of the season: BRIGHTS/NEONS, for those bold baby girls out there daring enough to test-drive the trend. Lots of you have given me positive feedback on some of the BRIGHTS/DAY-GLOs I’ve been featuring (see my posts “Bright Idea” and “Hi Def” for inspiration) — and for good reason. They’ve been all over the place, from street style forums to style blogs to the runways.

{Anna Della Russo in Jil Sander, as snapped by StreetFSN}

{Taylor Sterling of Sterling Style, rocking it}

{christopher kane, ss ‘2011}

{brights on the red carpet}

{fedora seen on the street — snapped by StreetFSN}

{as seen on ania b.}

A few of the things I’m currently lusting after? First — bold, kitschy shades ($89, Jack Wills):

Very neo-Miami Vice with a slim-fit white blazer ($385, Theory), a gold statement necklace (love this tangly little thang — $412, Gemma Redux), and a bold little t-dress ($158, Chinti and Parker):

I’d pair with some bold sandals (Zanotti, $450, Intermix) and a slightly off-pitch (i.e. NOT stark white) tote in blush/cream/taupe, like this Anya Hindmarch style ($948, ScoopNYC):

For work, how slick would a bright pink or canteloupe shift ($310 each, Cynthia Rowley) look?

I’d wear either with a big lucite necklace ($250, Ben Amun) and a pair of stark white flats (Bloch, $200, Zenggi):

How perfect with this bank-breaking Alaia handbag (um, I die. And so would Mr. Magpie if I scooped this puppy up, but for a very different reason — $3,070, Net-A-Porter):

I’d finish with these pretty gold-accented bracelets ($150, Monica Vinader):

As an alternative, consider a white shift ($255, Theory) with some bold baubles (Mawi, $845, LesPommettes — but check out the entire incredible collection of gems at Mawi):

Some gravity-defying, wild Nicholas Kirkwoods and a funky Alexander Wang boxy clutch ($795, LaGarconne) finish the look with flair:

I’ve featured lots of pinks/oranges above, but I’m also liking electric blue — consider a bold necklace ($150, Tuleste Market) with some matching blue tootsies ($149, Isola):

Ideal with this go-geous Matthew Williamson asymmetrical dress ($1,285, Matches — do you die over the print?!):

Any of the above get-ups would look phenom with a boxy little clutch like this Melie Bianco style ($70, Melie Bianco):

Looking for some additional accent pieces to fold into your wardrobe without running the risk of appearing too 80s-gone-wrong? Tom Binns came out with a ton of UBER-bright jewelry pieces (check ’em out here), but these earrings made it to the top of my list ($200, TomBinns):

Lovely — as are these modestly-heeled Pierre Hardy tootsies (what they lack in height they make up for in color — woah, nelly! — $575, Net-A-Porter):

Just think of the splash you’d make pairing those items with a white cocktail dress. Beyond. For more casual wear, try a bold leather-band watch in a juicy kiwi or mandarin orange color ($90, Tokyo Bay):

Could make quite the splash with a pair of lime green flats ($160, PrettyBallerinas) and one of those amazing Jil Sander “market” totes ($690+, Net-A-Porter):