I don’t mind, since grey is a staple for me. I love mixing it with black, I love how it looks with jeans, I love the texture variations when it’s combined with silver, and I love punching things up with scarves. It’s flattering on my skin and I feel good in it.

The brown side of neutrals doesn’t work so well for me, though I do wear it occasionally. I can see how this would be frustrating for someone looking for brown tones… I would NOT like it if everything in the stores was brown and tan!

I have definitely noticed this in the stores too Angie. Grey is my favorite and most flattering neutral, so i have a lot of it in my wardrobe. It does happen often that I love an item, but it only comes in black and grey, and I already own something similar in these colors, so I will pass. However, if I spot a great grey item in an interesting cut/shape that I already don’t have, it will be mine I have recently bought a pair of grey plaid tights that i am figuring out how to wear.

I’m still feeling relatively new to the gray game … but if the shops are truly shunning brown, that’s a shame for those who look great in earthy tones!

I forgot to add that I would love a pair of gunmetal grey satin skinny/straight pants for the holiday season.

That’s precisely my feeling, Ellen. It’s back to a good retail season being all about offering enough colour and style variety. We just don’t seem to be getting it right now. Perhaps we never really do, but there are usually a few colour spectrums available in stores at one time. Must be a sign of the times.

If you love grey, now is your time to stock up!

I definitely agree. I prefer browns and creams, which you can find occasionally if you really look, but mostly it’s black and grey, which aren’t my colors. Grey is okay, but I have enough of it already and I’m really trying to steer away from black. It’s really hard to do!

I’ve been a little disappointed in all the lack of color this fall. I don’t have too many grey and black items, so I don’t mind that a lot of things are available in those colors. However, it seems like almost everything is only available in those colors, which doesn’t really make me want to buy a lot of things. I’ve found in my online browsing, that the few items that are available in other colors seem to sell out quickly, and then all that is left is black and grey (or navy).

I love grey and black, but I often find that “I have nothing to wear” if I stock up on only these colors. This will be a season of my looking for great accessories and some fun colored outerwear.

Here in Europe we don’t see too much grey for the Fall / winter but is a sea of black… so the problem is the same.. its difficult to buy something in any other color rather than black.

I have mixed feelings about grey too. I’m attracted to it– there are a lot of shades– but I also feel like it’s been around for a while now and change would be good. I do not want everything in my closet to end up grey. However, I don’t feel excited about brown even though I could wear it so I’m not missing it. I would like a few more ivory/cream options.

I’m happy to see more grey and black (my preferred neutrals, in addition to cream and blue denim) in stores, but the lack of colors otherwise is proving to be difficult. I don’t wear a lot of brown and don’t even touch tan, so I’m relieved that I can actually go into a store and find something I like.. nonetheless, options would be nice!

Gray is my favourite so I’m using this retail opportunity to stock up! I am aware of the retail “cycles” and know that grays will disappear at some point and I won’t be able to find any to save my life! Not all grays are created equal so I am fussy about which shade of gray I choose…some have a lot of warm tones in them and that will just not do against my skin tone. I have the same issues with brown…only the crisp, bitter browns are wearable for me.

Agreed! I happen to love grey, it’s my favorite neutral, and it seemed to me that there were years on end that brown was by far the dominant neutral in the stores. Still, I have to agree that the pendulum has now swung too far in the other direction. How about some navy or cream for a change?

Thanks for chiming in from Portugal, Rute. That’s good to know. I guess black-rutting is the same as grey-rutting. That’s why I’m so drawn to dark blue at the moment just because it’s a different neutral. Sort of desperate!

Ana, this is not the season for our colour palette. Oh well! Hopefully we’ll find a few fab items anyway

Sarah, that is SUCH a good point. You do feel you have fewer wardrobe options if loads of things are grey and black. I definitely feel like that too.

Since I’ve been building up my wardrobe the past year or so, I don’t really have that much grey in my closet (in fact, I didn’t own a grey cardigan until a couple of days ago) so I’m not really that over-exposed to grey at the moment. I will only stock up on a couple of items this season as I really love a lot of color. It has been disappointing not to find more color options. I even resorted to buying a black cardigan (gasp…a first for me) since I loved the cardigan and there was not another color option. I hope we will see more color in the spring.

I haven’t been shopping much, but I noticed that, too. Grey is one of my favorite colors, but it has to be the right shade. I am also capable of overdosing on grey, so I have to be careful. Right now I am debating if I should use the opportunity this season and get basics like grey cardigan and grey dress pants.
I am still loving grey footwear – it’s so incredibly versatile.

I actually ordered some brown boots recently, because the black was all sold out. I already have three pairs of black boots, so I figured I should branch out, anyway. The boots haven’t even arrived yet, and I’m already worried I won’t be able to make them work with my other colors… so maybe that’s a part of it: stores don’t want to offer too much color variations, because they know people like me can have a hard time branching out? In any case, I am kind of determined to make the brown work with my coloring. I’ll keep the brown on my feet and legs and try pairing it with my navy, blue, green, and (possibly) red tops or sweaters… we’ll see if my plan actually works, lol.

I am on the hunt for a grey military type casual jacket so at least until I find that…not tired yet.
A good time to acquire quality charcoal cashmere polo or trousers as well.
The lack of brown bothers me. I love earth tones and especially a taupe or mushroom shade. Somehow it is flattering for my brown hair, green eyed pale self.
Brown is a terrific neutral for boots! Rae – try with those colors and hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised.

Being one of those people who looks best in brown family neutrals, I am perpetually sick of black and gray. *So* many items come in black only, or black and gray only- especially now. I like the dove and silvery grays, but I don’t want a wardobe filled with them.

I love gray and black, but I’ve recently switched my hair color from blonde to red and that’s thrown my whole wardrobe and make-up palette out of whack. I need warmer tones with this hair.

I’ve always had some grey in my wardrobe, but the biggest discovery this year is grey footwear, thanks to you Angie. I am absolutely loving grey footwear. I am disappointed by the overall drab color scheme for FW2009, even JCrew, which used to have wonderful winter brights, has gone the drab route, not as bad as AT, but still kind of drab… I want to find indigo blue or mustard color wool pants, so good luck to me.

I have definitely noticed this too! I have been hunting all over for some good browns this year, and having very little success. I didn’t want to rebuild my wardrobe with a black base for my neutral, but I don’t have much choice. I have scooped up some terrific grays this season, though; lots of yummy charcoal and darker greys for dresses, sweaters, etc. The dove grey is better as an accent color for me, I think.

That said, I also really miss blues, greens and reds. I have enough purple now.

Since I did not take advantage last time, I don’t mind the fact that grey is still big this year. I didn’t like it initially but now I love all shades of grey when paired with brights, sour colors. I’m glad I’m getting a second chance.

I was under the impression that, owing to the recession, many items only come in basic neutrals or sometimes even only in black. Looking at BR’s sale site, it’s obvious that white items inevitably end up on final sale (SUCH a shame). It might just be a practical matter.

I miss the browns as well. I found a brown flyaway cardigan at Express a few weeks ago, thank goodness. I love specific grays.. such as charcoal.. but I am tired of all the gray and black. I don’t wear black very often, and having gray as the only other choice just doesn’t work. I thought I could branch out and wear prints but even those are gray or some combination of gray and black. I miss color so much!

I’m having a hard time this year with too much gray and black in the stores. They are not really good colours for me, so I try to avoid them. I will wear them in bottom pieces but not up top.

There is not a lot of brown or cream but I have managed to find a dress, pants and a coat in earth tones so I’ll just have to buy minimally this year.

I did buy a couple of pieces in black and gray but carefully, like a black v-neck dress.

I am sorry to see gray for spring; in the winter I can get away with it, but for summer I wear fewer layers and the one nearest my face should not be gray or black.

Colour trends do change, so maybe in a couple of years…

I’m glad to see the gray trend continuing. I spent almost a decade living in Seattle and recently moved to St. Louis. To my dismay, when I re-evaluated my professional wardrobe, I discovered that it’s about 2/3 black and composed almost entirely of heavier materials. (I worked in a business casual office, and the only time I had to dress in more formal business attire was for fall & winter in Seattle.)

I am working on moving my go-to neutrals from black with a few charcoal gray pieces to a range of grays plus navy. My tops are bright enough–it’s mostly bottoms and jackets that I’m worried about. I’m only just realizing what black does to colors. These combinations looked fine to me in Seattle, but the quality of light in St. Louis is showing me how flat the combination really is.

Yesterday while shopping at Nordstrom I noticed an abundance of purple. Purple, purple, everywhere purple. Talk about a color of the season.

No peacock blue this season, and while it is a pretty color I saw two women wearing it yesterday and unfortunately it had a dated feel to it. Am I looking at color through the spectrum of trend?

I don’t want to be a victim of trend.

Rute is right, black is always big in the UK as well as continental Europe and just like the UK there is a lot of grey around at the moment too. There is still a bit of brown around, but not as much as there was a couple of seasons ago. There is a bit of cream as well. Maybe there is more variety in the UK?

The other colour that is big for basics (as Carissa has pointed out) is purple. I love purple so am being very careful not to over indulge!

I just got grey tights and a v-neck sweater, and I would like to get some grey boots or heels yet, but otherwise I’m pretty well stocked on grey. Dresses, pants, sweaters, jackets, blouses, scarves, gloves, t-shirts, shorts. Yep, I have a lot of grey. I do wear it a lot. I like brown better than grey, but grey is more versatile and not quite as harsh as black, so I would like to see grey stick around. I would just like it to be joined by a wider variety of neutrals.

Hmm I don’t mind. I understand how it can be frustrating for you, Angie, since this affects your job. But I seriously will not mind another year of grey.

-meream

I love grey- light grey, charcoal grey, heather grey. I have grey flannel trousers, grey T shirts, and lots of sweaters in varying shades of that color. I love it as a neutral. But I have so much of it that I can’t justify any new clothing pieces in that color. However I do have a wool sweater in grey that is pilling so maybe I have a new excuse to look for a replacement!

See, I am delighted! Black makes me look sallow and white makes me look like a ghost. I have porcelain skin with dark, dark brown hair and brown only works in certain shades! Grey is my favourite neutral and black in small doses.

Gray is one of my best neutrals so I’m taking advantage of the current situation. I am missing seeing more color, though. Who’d think the perfect red cardigan would be so hard to find?

I’m actually huge on monochrome – most of my wardrobe is black, grey or white. I really hope this trend continues!

I don’t think I’ll be getting much more gray this season since t I stocked up well last time, but it’s a neutral I’m loving more and more over time (and not just dove gray – I like smoky gray or charcoal too.) I’m kind of glad to have an alternative to black since it’s not my *best* neutral (though I don’t completely avoid it) and have tried to stock up.

I love grey, however it is not a good color for me and I must refrain from buying…it is everywhere… and I am always tempted…like the other trends it too will be gone when a replacement color hits:)

Yes, as another person who likes brown and green (red hair, green eyes), there’s not a lot for me in the stores right now. However, I’m having luck at thrift/consignment stores with items in these colors.

I’m a fan of gray because it’s helping me break out of my wardrobe of blacks. Probably my biggest concern about another season of gray is that if it’s “in” now, it’ll be “out” later and I’ll feel more self-conscious about wearing one of my staple neutrals. I don’t look as good in warm/earth tones, but I *would* like to see more jewel tones to add that “pop of color” to my essentially monochromatic wardrobe.

I love gray and it is my favorite neutral second to black. I occasionally wear a cool dark brown, but in general I don’t look good in earth tones. While I feel sorry for those who do not look good in gray and back, I certainly suffered through the 90s when everything was brown. I guess now is my time to stock up.

Gray is my favorite color, so I’m glad that it’s everywhere! I hardly wear brown, so I haven’t noticed that there aren’t many earth-tone neutrals out there…that would be frustrating for me.

Thanks for your opinions on grey!

The only thing I’d like to add is that grey won’t date. It’s available in busloads at the moment because it’s the neutral of the season, but it definitely won’t date. If a colour works well for you, it’s always in fashion.

I’m not missing the earth tones this season because I’ve been trying to steer AWAY from them. With naturally dark brown hair and aging skin (now that I’m 40) I find that the earth tones that used to work so well on me now actually seem to wash me out. To that end, I am actually buying MORE grey at the moment as a workable neutral to go with all the black and jewel tones in my closet, like red, purple, merlot, bright pink emerald green, etc.

This winter that has just passed in Aus was dominated by black and grey. I am not all that fond of the look of grey on myself though I do have some clothes in it. Trying to find something like a sweaterdress that wasn’t in black and grey was nearly impossible.

In spite of having dark brown eyes, I’ve found this past year that grey is a better neutral than browns for my skin tone so I still hope to purchase more grey while it’s abundant. However, greater variety in neutrals would be a good thing for everyone. I’m beginning to think of purple as the new red worn as a neutral. It seems to go with everything.

I’ve actually been glad to find so much grey in stores this season. I’ve been needing to wear business casual daily since starting a practice teaching stint, so I’m stocking up on dress pants, button downs, vests, etc. I couldn’t bear with the thought of black pants every day but I found a couple pairs of grey trousers that have made dressing for teaching each day much easier. I’m more comfortable pairing black with grey rather than more black, so it’s not overwhelming, plus it’s easier to match with the many purple items in my closet. I also think grey looks nicer with a white button down than black does. I always used to default to black, so grey has been a refreshing change. I also don’t wear brown or other earth tones, so lots of grey works for me!

I don’t think I’m quite as tired of it as you just yet, but that is partly because last season I experimented with gray in knits, which have become shabby, so this season I’m upgrading to better, more long-lasting fabrics.

But it is very true the stores are OD’ing on gray. I do panic thinking there will be a backlash next season and it’ll be all earth tones, which I’m not sure I’m ready to re-embrace.