Dresses, blouses, skirts and pants in bright orange, pink and yellow - the colours of summer 2008 - have been hanging in boutiques and department stores since early this year.

The bright-colour trend is also reflected in jewellery fashions this year. Large stones glisten in blue, green and red tones and similar to the flashy clothing, attract attention.

"The colours of the season occur in the entire rainbow," said Karl-Eugen Friedrich, chairman of the German association of jewellers in Cologne. To emphasize the trendy green, red and blue tones, the size of the piece of jewellery is important. "A pendant can have a diameter of as much as three centimetres."

Even though they are known for their colours, rubies, emeralds and sapphires are playing less of a role this season.

"These stones are cut too small," said Friedrich, adding that by contrast the minerals topaz, aquamarine and spinel are "a big subject." They sparkle in deep violet blue, create a fresh array in green and captivate in luminous orange.

Whether these stones appear on necklaces or rings, earrings or brooches, "there are many variations - from tinted pearls to coloured stones," said Friedrich. "It was totally different three years ago." Now colour is back in again.

But these real precious stones and pearls, which are more expensive, aren't alone in bringing colour into play this season. Cheaper costume jewellery is also glistening in red, yellow and green. A must-have this summer, according to experts, is a bracelet, and it doesn't matter whether it's made of plastic, coloured wood or other material.

"Women who aren't into wearing a brightly coloured jacket or pants, can start with a bracelet," said style consultant Ruben D'Laguna Diaz of Stuttgart. "That's how she can show that she's trendy."

He recommends two "new" colours: dragon-fly green and tender yellow or a combination of two colours such as red and yellow.

"If you have pretty wrists and hands, decorate them with a lot of colourful bracelets or put on a flashy colour nail polish," advises style and colour consultant Dagmar Bothe of Berlin.

At the same time, she warns trend-conscious women to be careful: Depending on the industry a woman works in, multiple bracelets and bright green nail polish aren't always appropriate at a business meeting. Women are advised to accent their outfits with a few colourful accessories. D'Laguna Diaz also noted that bright colours match well with black.

Elke Giese, a trend expert at the German fashion institute in Berlin, recommends similar contrasts.

"A nice effect emerges when a white, beige or grey outfit is combined with yellow, pink or green sandals," Giese said. Belts, long necklaces and hairbands can comfortably set conspicuous spots of colour.

Such accessories can be used in multiple ways and are less expensive than a new jacket or skirt. The collections of Fabergé, Cerruti (Photo left: ring by Cerruti) , Al Coro, CADA, Pandora and others include the colourful accessories that are now in style.

Well-known fashion labels and jewellery boutiques have brightly coloured jewellery in their lines. That's making it possible for all women to use jewellery to keep up with the current colour trend.

But how colourful to be is up to each individual. Not everyone can wear everything, said Bothe. Whether flashy colours are worn alone in solids, are combined with other bright colours or are mixed wildly together is up to the individual.

When women want to know what colour suits them best, they should consider their complexion. Every skin tone has a palette of colours that match it best, said Bothe.

"Tomato red and fir tree green underscore the dramatic appearance of dark-skinned people, while cornflower blue and pink look super on light complexions with their light-coloured hair. More cool complexions combine well this season with fuchsia and plum blue, contrasted with light accents.

"Women who fall in the warm colour group can wear bright orange-red and all yellow tones through the colour wheel to olive green."

 (DPA - expatica 2008)

photos courtesy of: Fabergé, Pandora, Cerruti, H&M.