July 27, 2023
So after we determined on Wednesday that it’s possible to accent black with just about any other neutral, I want to see if it’s possible to accent black with your favorite color…
There are, of course, lots of colors that I’m not including here! All colors are not easily found in this current “in between” season of clothing – not enough summer clothes, and not enough fall clothes… sigh…
But I always feel confident that a pretty shade of blue will look great!
Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; earrings – Anne-Marie Chagnon; pants – L.L.Bean; cashmere cardigan – L.L.Bean; scarf – Jessie Zhao New York; boots – Easy Spirit
Burgundy isn’t a color that one expects with black, but the scarf makes ALL the difference… And adding a 2nd accent color with turquoise earrings… why not?
Turquoise earrings – The Met Store; infinity scarf – The Met Store; Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; pants – L.L.Bean; cashmere cardigan – L.L.Bean; loafers – Birdies
Hot pink? This scarf is irresistible! You don’t have to have the earrings AND the scarf AND the shoes, unless it makes you happy…
Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; earrings – Deepa Gurnani; pants – L.L.Bean; festival pink cardigan – J.Crew; scarf – Versace; ballet flats – Jeffrey Campbell
Green is pretty unexpected, but it all comes together:
Earrings – Monica Vinader; Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; pants – L.L.Bean; cardigan – J.Crew; scarf – Hiva Atlier; boots – Spring Step
Of COURSE purple goes with black – especially if you have this amazing scarf. I’m really struggling with myself to not buy ALL OF THE PURPLE CLOTHES at Eileen Fisher right now…
Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; earrings – Diyanmmy; pants – L.L.Bean; coat – Eileen Fisher; scarf – Versace; loafers – Massimo Matteo
You know, there’s no reason that your 2nd layer has to be a cardigan or a nice jacket – a sweatshirt is a perfect option, and they tend to be available in lots and lots of colors…
Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; earrings – Kate Spade New York; pants – L.L.Bean; sweatshirt – L.L.Bean; scarf – The Met Store; sneakers – Veja
Okay, black & white is NOT an accent color, but I couldn’t resist showing this cardigan. If you have to wear your black column somewhere kind of dressy, or serious, this is an excellent option!
Earrings – Etta Gray; Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; pants – L.L.Bean; cardigan – Lands’ End; scarf – AllSaints; flats – Børn
I know that I showed camel before, but I couldn’t resist showing this scarf with a camel cardigan. In Paris, women wear scarves that don’t match ANYTHING in their outfit – we can at least be a little bit bold, right?
Earrings – Missoma; scarf – The Met Store; Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; pants – L.L.Bean; cardigan – L.L.Bean; loafers – Gentle Souls by Kenneth Cole
Pink! An adult, more muted pink, but with a gorgeous scarf and amazing earrings…
earrings – Dauphinette; Tee shirt – L.L.Bean; cardigan – L.L.Bean; pants – L.L.Bean; scarf – The Met Store; loafers – Sam Edelman
So what neutral color should I look at next? I’m very drawn to olive green…
love,
Janice
p.s. Seven years ago, a lucky woman was going to Northern Ireland and England, with a wardrobe in black, white, grey and French blue…
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Love these.
The 7 years ago link is missing and I’m so keen to see it!
Such mighty temptations: the blue sneakers, the green cardigan and several of the scarves are just fabulous.
The scarves in this post are amazing. I’m sure you will get a ton of suggestions about what neutral to use next. I would vote for navy or olive….Or maybe not as I might find them to be too tempting. Have a great weekend ladies! Already looking forward to Wednesday and the next installment of Six Paintings to see what you’re doing there……
Olive!
aargh – is it just me? the lookback link isn’t working… although all the others seem to. off to go dig through the archives to try and find it!
(and that’s an amazing deal on that LE black & white cardigan! except i just got a new black & white tipped sweater… timing, timing!)
Not Working
Yes. Olive please.
Olive please. Finding that it’s now a color that works for me and many things already in my closet.
You found such beautiful scarves for this post. Also, I’m realizing I wear “outer columns” a lot more than “ inner column”. But I think the same color combinations would work.
Oh, that pink sweater! Olive, please :). Here’s the Look Back link: https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2016/07/outfit-packing-black-blue-and-white.html/
I vote for olive too.
Is it just me or do some of these combos bring to mind a certain time span? The black and burgundy says early nineties to me while the black and cobalt is all about late eighties.
Those combinations do resonate with times when we wore them a lot – it’s always interesting to talk to someone younger, who doesn’t remember those times! To a 35 year old, royal blue and black is just another color combination! We carry our history in our minds, don’t we?
hugs,
Janice
Reminds me that I had an amazing knit jumpsuit in cobalt & black in the 1980s…perfect for parties! Now, I won’t wear black at all near my face.
Yes olive it’s becoming more popular it can skew warm or cool as well. My favourite was the bright pink the ‘adult’ version was a warmer pink and could very well suit another complexion. I was a little insulted at the inference that one pink was more ‘adult’ than the other. Would I interview the woman in the ‘adult’ cardigan and not bother with the woman in the bright pink thinking she might be Barbie incarnate and maybe not very professional. On the other hand maybe ‘adult ‘ implies more ‘mature’ or ‘aged’ ‘no fun’or, heaven forbid…old lady!!!
Maybe labelling colours as ‘adult’ ‘professional’ ‘immature’ etc. should just stop?
Oh please “Anonymous”. Janice is totally inclusive. Stop looking for problems on this site where none exist. We come here for fashion and not political commentary. And of course you’re “anonymous”.
Well stated!!
I think Anonymous had a point, actually…
There are a lot of rules out there that tell us what we are allowed to wear based on age, gender, class etc. We might be happier if we questioned them now and then. But yes, I too come here for colour combinations rather than politics.
Personally, I’m all in on Barbie! It’s a celebration of women and I particularly like it since all the braying by conservative white guys. In fact, I’d love to see Janice do a Barbiecore wardrobe for “adult women”.
Navy please! As someone who cannot wear scarves (believe me, I have tried) I am wondering if many of these combinations would work without the scarf. Some of them are hard to picture. I think the black and white and also the royal might actually appeal more without the scarf. As I don’t have scarves to “tie” things together, it may be why I am drawn to monochromatic outfits or wearing colors of the same intensity. As always, I love these posts and wake up in anticipation of what Janice has created for the day. Columns of color are right down my alley!
I think they can definitely work without a scarf. Today I am wearing essentially a navy column (jeans and a navy tee) with a mustard yellow cardigan and cognac sandals and bag. I think they all tie together nicely. You can use shoes, bags or other jewelry to tie things together. I actually had a baseball hat earlier that had all my colors in it as well. (early kid drop off so no time to style my hair!)
Kristi, your use of the cognac leather with the mustard and navy is brilliant. I think it can be easy to underestimate how adding a third color in a thoughtful way can add to the dimension and sophistication of a look. Navy + cognac is gorgeous to begin with, and combining with a warm accent color is perfection. One of the things I really like about navy is how you can wear it with different leather colors to push an outfit in a warm, neutral, or cool direction to blend to your accent color(s).
For those of us who wear scarves, styling colors together into outfits is playing the fashion game on easy mode. It’s SO easy to tie together black and pretty much any other color if you use a bridge piece like a scarf, and I’ve had success with all kinds of prima facie weird color combinations using the scarf trick.
I agree with Kristi that another accessory can serve the same purpose, though I’m not sure a necklace, bracelet stack, earrings, shoes, or a small bag would have the same impact. A larger tote bag certainly would (assuming you are out and about carrying a bag). Although it gets away from the black column idea, you could certainly substitute a print top as your bridge piece.
That said, I think every one of these outfits would stand up fine without the scarf or any other print piece (though the aqua earrings in the burgundy outfit would probably need to be changed). None of these color combos strike me as the least bit difficult to wear or controversial. But people have different comfort levels/preferences with colorblocked outfits, so I can understand why some people would pass them over without a bridge piece.
Also the print scarves add a lot of contrast to the looks, so a person who likes/looks best with higher contrast might find the black + burgundy or cobalt or purple too low contrast without the scarf…though that could be mitigated somewhat with a necklace (or several). For others, removing the scarf leaves an outfit that is too high in contrast. It’s complicated!
For those like me who don’t wear black as one of our best colors next to the face, eliminating the colorful scarf makes the black top a less great choice. (I do wear a black top without a scarf sometimes but I know it’s not the most flattering look; sometimes we value something higher than “flattering” in our outfits on a given day, right, and go for “flattering enough”.)
My takeaway on these black column posts is “Almost any color can successfully be combined with a black column into a good outfit. If and how you chose to do that is intensely personal to each heroine.”
Thank you for your insight, Sally. My wardrobe is very low contrast as my coloring is considered light summer and I just look overwhelmed by too much color. I have gone back and tried to imagine each outfit without the scarf and I guess perhaps it is the level of contrast that catches me. However, maybe my favorite with a scarf is the burgundy and I think it is because of the infinity scarf. I don’t wear scarves, but I do wear necklaces. An infinity scarf wears like a necklace and is maybe worth a try.
Any scarf can be tied like an infinity scarf, if that might make scarves easier for you! Google instructions…
hugs,
Janice
Good morning Janice and ladies. I have some odds and ends today. First, do you mind clarifying how we can support your program? I am purchasing a lot less for several reasons. But I want to support what you do. I have been clicking on links more. And dropping items into shopping bags. It may become a good strategy for making wise choices. And more purchases through your website.
I would love to see some creative outfits with either navy or a cool olive! Maybe together??I found a jacket in a shade of olive called Eucalyptus and am looking for ways to wear it.
Thanks for caring about the business side of The Vivienne Files; my primary income comes from the ads on the blog, secondary is commissions. I can always put the “buy me a coffee” button up so that you can make a donation! My primary expenses right now are buying things for my mother, which is such a joy…
love,
Janice
Yes, Janice, do put the “buy me a coffee” up, please. It’s really my only way to contribute & to thank you for all that you do, as I primarily buy online from NZ companies.
Janice, Love these posts with black as the neutral. Cruising in France in early November and am using black as my core neutral.
BTW, the link to the black, white, gray, and French blue post from 7 years ago is not working :(
I’m transitioning out black clothes for other dark neutrals. However, I like the idea of pairing my existing black pieces (pantsuits, pants, and a knit dress) with other favorite/flattering colors. I like your black/purple and black/tan combination.
All of these are beautiful. The hot pink, of course, is right up my alley, but the purple…oh, that Versace scarf! I would wear that almost every day with almost everything I own! Simply perfect. Too bad I can’t spent that kind of money on ANY part of my wardrobe, much less a scarf. I’m still trying to save up for purple Comverse. I have taken a picture of it and will put it on my vision board next to the sneakers…you never know.
Don’t hesitate to check both Ebay and Etsy for scarves – they often show up at a fraction of the price of retail! And even with a tiny spot or two, they’re still very wearable. I don’t mind a scarf with a couple of small smudges or spots – that way I don’t have to worry about being the person who ruins something!
hugs,
Janice