Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Wearing Gray & Brown

Another question from Hännah! She says:
"I really like brown and grey. Like, chocolate brown button downs over muted light grey pants or with heathered lighter athletic greys (sweaters, camisoles, etc). I'll also pair greys with warmer, lighter browns, like this purse or my flats and boots in that same color. Is this kosher?"

I say yes!

Brown & gray, because they're both neutrals, can have a chic effect when paired together. Pairing warmer browns (camel, cognac, tan, rust) with warmer light grays (grays that have more yellow in them than blue, if that makes sense), creates a cozy, earthy look. Pairing darker browns (chocolate, coffee, chestnut) and cooler light grays (like silver) creates more of a clean, high contrast look and can also be done well. Charcoal grays mix well with both chocolate browns and camel.

If you're going to mix a heathery gray with brown, make sure the brown is more matte and basic, so you avoid looking frumpy. A good rule of thumb to avoid frump all together when mixing neutrals is to make sure to mix textures -- don't go with all knits: Instead, try to mix a basic knit with wool, chunky knitted fibers, chiffon, tweed, denim, or leather.

Hope this helps!

(All but two of the pics above are from Pinterest, and can be found on this board (thanks, Megan!). The other two are via Google, and Madewell.)

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