September 25, 2024
It’s been a while since Echo released one of their Echo 100 scarves – what fun these scarves have been…
And this is perfect timing, because one of our heroines who is devoted to the black core of her wardrobe has been invited to a wedding for which the color palette is warm, autumn colors! Can she do this? Heck yes…
She had already been considering adding brown to her wardrobe for ages – her eyes are brown, for heaven’s sake! So she finds a few things…
Black shirt – Lands’ End; earrings – Maadili Collective; scarf – Echo; Heather hickory sweater – J.Crew; Black pants – L.L.Bean; bag – J.Crew; loafers – Nine West
She knows that she’s going to need something to wear to the rehearsal…
Dark orange wrap top – Lands’ End; fire opal earrings – Artisan; scarf – Echo; black pleated skirt – Lands’ End; velvet bag – Fable England; slingbacks – Madewell
It’s the same outfit as the first outfit, only backwards! This time, she’s wearing a brown column with black over it:
Rich coffee tee shirt – Lands’ End; scarf – Echo; earrings – LOFT; rich coffee knit corduroy pants – Lands’ End; black cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; waterproof boots – Söfft
What to wear to the wedding???? It’s not a super-dressy event, so she doesn’t need a long dress, nor anything sparkly or shimmery…
But when she finds the handbag, her choices all fall into place!
Blush pink cardigan – Boden; scarf – Echo; earrings – Deepa by Deepa Gurnani; ponte knit dress – Banana Republic; bag – Betsey Johnson; flats – Seychelles
She’s finally got everything hanging on her drying rack – it looks pretty good:
Even though she planned her pack outfit by outfit, she still wants to be certain that she has options. You never know when something will turn up with a gigantic stain, or a massive hole, or for some weird reason won’t button/zip…
So she plots out four more outfits, just for fun!
Brown and black together are fast becoming one of my favorite color combinations…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago (when I was on vacation!), I shared a wardrobe in grey and black, accented with coral and turquoise. It’s hard to go wrong with those two accents!
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Brown and black are an underrated colour combo. I think they’re fabulous together, especially in prints and this post has just reminded me that I have a long piece of black and brown paisley fabric that’s been in my stash for a few years. Methinks I should dust off my sewing machine.
This is a gorgeous scarf and I love the unexpected injection of soft pink with the more classic Fall colours. The scarf’s purple tones are gorgeous too but I’m not 100% sure of how well purple goes with brown. Thoughts, anyone??
wendy,
Purple and brown, separated by an off white top and accented with a scarf or necklace with both colors in it that pulls it together — sure !
Purple and brown can go great together, provided they share the same undertone or relative intensity or contrast well. A very taupe-y brown with lilac, rich chocolate and grape, camel and eggplant, mauve and dusty rose brown, are all delicious together.
Just what I was going to say! I wear purple and brown or rather lilac/taupe and mid-purple with mid-brown.
“I shared a wardrobe in grey and black, accented with coral and turquoise. It’s hard to go wrong with those two accents!” I love coral and turquoise. In fact, I am quite smitten with almost any combo of blue and orange (and sometimes purple). I know there have been previous discussions where it’s mentioned blue and orange remind people of school uniforms, but I haven’t had that particular experience. These are all quite lovely, and that purse is adorable.
The colors wouldn’t work for me, but they look beautiful together!! I love these pairings!
The wedding outfit is interesting because black and blush pink aren’t a warm, autumnal color combination to me, but it’s certainly lovely! I like brown and black together, but I find it works better for me when using a distinctly warmer shade of brown than this. The brown pullover sweater is just about different enough from the black column to work, but the dark brown column with black cardigan doesn’t have enough contrast to my eye, at least on screen. But wearing the scarf that has distinct black and brown colors does help sell the combination as intentional rather than oops, grabbed the wrong sweater in the dark of morning. I don’t care for the scarf design (I tend to avoid ones with human figures on them) but the color palette is great.
I am the opposite! I love these whimsical type scarves. I actually have a scarf with girls doing all kinds of things on a navy background. Too bad these girls don’t have navy blue hair instead of black. Oh well. Saved myself some $$$!
I love how individual taste in scarves can be! I adore whimsical animal prints but human figure prints are meh for me…or at least, I’m meh about wearing them; on a person with the right personality, I’m sure these scarves shine!
Janice,
I try to pack in groups of 3 items of a given neutral ( pants, top, and topper ) using 3 colors, say brown, olive , and tan , plus a couple of prints/solids in accent colors plus off white in tops and/or toppers, so that I can always do an inside and an outside column , as well as doing remixes .
Shrebee – I do the same thing to get my 13 pack ready: 3 bottom-top-topper combos, 2 additional tops plus either a white or off-white top, and then I add my jeans that go with everything! Sometimes, if it’s a dressier pack, I’ll sub in a dress for the jeans. Everything fits in a small carryon bag!
Although I have been following you for years, Janice, you are such a delight and very clever, this is my first comment. While not all of these are my colors, I was really moved by the scarf and the combinations you created with it. There is a certain elegance and refinement to them, all the while giving the appearance of comfort and ease. Beautifully done, and thank you.
Thank you! Please chime in whenever you feel comfortable doing so – we’re a very friendly tribe!
hugs,
Janice
Such a pretty collection. The heart purse and blush pink sweater are so appealing! I’m a fan of black and brown. The brown has been hard to find in the past but it is having a moment. I saw some beautiful brown pieces at Zara. I hate their website, probably because I’m older than their target audience and can’t stand having to figure out where a piece is categorized. They do have some classic designs with a modern flair that would work in well with this capsule. Specifically a brown sequin sweater and pleated skirt as an option for the ceremony.
I like brown better than it likes me – I absolutely can’t wear it near my face. Too bad, because I really do like brown and black together!
Sorry I can’t get past the wedding with the suggested color palette! Is that a thing among non-celebrities?
The scarf and wardrobe are lovely and inspiring!
I’m not positive, but I think my heroine is a member of the family – aunt of the bride or groom, I believe. So she’s going to be in some photographs at least at the rehearsal…
Yes, a very valid question!
hugs,
Janice
The last two weddings I attended had a preferred colour palette for everybody. I find it a bit irritating.
Aunt of the groom here. The bride will be wearing black and we’ve been asked to wear white. In October!
Planning to wear more brown this year but not with black, just too dark for my coloring. However, I do include black in my autumn palette along with olive, orange and turquoise. I’ve hesitated to wear orange with black as it seems too Halloweeny. But after seeing this post, I’m going to wear that combo. After all, if Janice is okay with it how can it be wrong?
It’s funny that even though I am my age, I still hear mom’s voice about color combinations! For example, don’t wear blue and green together, or pink and orange, or navy and black, or brown and black. There may be some others. I have gotten over blue and green, no prob there, as well as the pink and orange, if mixed in a print, but not color blocked. Just can’t do the other combos. Maybe it’s because my eyes need to have a light neutral in the mix. Thanks for these lovely images. I loved the side tie top from lands end. I checked the pleated skirt too, but no navy.
It’s def a thing to have a color theme for wedding event clothing. Especially for any relative.
Ha! I hear that voice too from time to time! But I wore dark navy and black just yesterday and really liked it. I also wore a scarf that included both colors
very pretty.
I recently walked past a scarf with lots of dog heads on it, which I ended up not buying.
I’d like to see this with brown as a neutral and purple & yellow (or orange) as accents.
Perfectly Perfect; I would wear everything❤️
Thanks for sharing your talents.
I have been wearing black and brown for years. Love it! And Indigo blue and black love it too! Really any shade of blue with black is magnificent❤️
Love the scarf. A brown and off-white base with the brighter accent colors (lilac, raspberry,coral) from the scarf, would be both more autumnal and festive. I would feel odd wearing black to a wedding, unless that was the couple’s request.
Back in the days when I wore almost entirely black and white, I was invited to a wedding that was important to me… I made a heroic effort and found something to wear that WASN’T black. Only to get to the wedding and find that the groom’s sisters all wore black! This was well over 20 years ago… I was gobsmacked. And sort of irked that I bought something that wasn’t really that great for me, just to “do the right thing.” Grr….
hugs,
Janice
This is truly my colour combination as I look and feel best in dark strong colours nature colours – I love chocolate brown with black. Nature knows how well it works as it is a common colour combination amongst animals. It reminds me of your series using pictures from nature, mostly birds if I recall correctly.