September 28, 2026
I’ve been seeing a lot of black with brown in my neighborhood, and I’ve been meaning to share it with you…
And then I stumbled across this painting! I’ve been having quite the run of good luck with paintings corresponding with my “real life” sightings; I think that’s a good sign.
The first brown and black sightings I made were of women wearing a brown skirt or pair of pants with pretty much everything else in black. A scarf with the two colors, or a pair of earrings in onyx and tiger’s eye, served to pull together everything and make it look intentional:
Cotton/cashmere turtleneck – L.L.Bean; earrings – Anabel Aram; scarf – The Met Store; suede tote – Madewell; corduroy jeans – L.L.Bean; loafers – Sam Edelman
I particularly admired this dressy version:
Black silk shirt – Banana Republic; earrings – Farra; scarf – Kueen; handbag – MKF Collection – J’OMOR; ballet flats – Sam Edelman; cashmere skirt – Nordstrom
A brown dress might be a fun way to experiment with brown; add a scarf and earrings, and your black “regulars” take on a new look:
Cotton cardigan – Lands’ End; scarf – Coach; earrings – Chico’s; corduroy dress – Boden; handbag – Talbots; boots – Munro
This heroine has a clear affinity to square motifs! And don’t forget – when you’re looking for a scarf, check the men’s department; they’re often much less expensive than “women’s” scarves, and they have color combinations that we don’t always see in the “heroine’s” department!
Black cotton-cashmere sweater – Alex Mill; earrings – Shymi; scarf – Nordstrom; corduroy pants – Alex Mill; tote bag – MZ Wallace; loafers – Gentle Souls
Let’s flip this idea on it’s head – you wear lots and lots of brown, but seldom wear black. Maybe adding a simple, timeless dress will open new “outfit doors” for you:
Jacket – J.Crew; owl brooch – Chico’s; feather earrings – Lily Charmed; handbag – Dolce Vita; pumps – Diba True; dress – Eileen Fisher
If you need a new way to wear your brown things, a pair of black jeans might spark some ideas:
Rich coffee tee – Lands’ End; earrings – Anthropologie; cabled cotton cardigan – Lands’ End; black jeans – L.L.Bean; tote bag – Patricia Nash; loafers – UGG
I wear brown sweaters and shirts with black often, but I haven’t had a pair of brown pants since… I was 10?
Maybe time to think about it…
love,
Janice
p.s. Ten years ago, turquoise was our chosen accent color; we looked at it with six different neutrals, with some fun results.
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