Gray Goosed: Color Shines in Spring Fling

An unexpected shadow has fallen over runways this spring: Gray is the neutral shade of the moment, W magazine reports. Once a seasonal look, gray—be it silvery, smoky, or tinged with brown—has become a year-round staple, replacing “black in fashion and beige in makeup,” says Chantecaille’s creative director. Even taupe-lover Bobbi Brown used stones as inspiration for her latest palette.

From handbags to nail polish, gray was omnipresent in last fall’s collections and is still in vogue, from the Jasper Johns exhibit “Gray” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the fashion world. No longer restricted to the lids of gray-haired women, gray shades accent eyes in a wide-ranging palette, from L’Oréal’s pewter “Steely” to Chanel’s silver-hued “Glacier.” (More fashion tips stories.)