Marianne, cobalt is my favorite color! I'm so flattered to be copied.

The black vest looks fantastic! Don't worry about it looking dark-- the cobalt is so bright it's not dark. I love cobalt and black. How about the top with a black pencil skirt? (How many times has someone told you you need one now? ;)). My personal favorite is a black dress (sheath) layered over the button down. Don't you have a black structured waistcoat of some sort? Your CM vest will be wonderful.

For autumn, try the cobalt with cream or ivory. (This translates to white in summer.) I agree that the green jacket doesn't work right.

Also try yellow. But I suggest that if you're going to combine the cobalt with another bright, you need to have a proportionately smaller or larger quantity of the second bright (Probably in your case you will want to go smaller). So for example-- a yellow skinny belt. A cream skinny belt would work great too. Or a cream pencil skirt.

How about a charcoal grey cardigan.

Do you know I realized I have one rack of clothes in my closet that looks black, white, and cobalt? Yummy!

I love cobalt blue too, and you (and Patience!) look great in that color.

Patience has some great suggestions. I also don't think the vest is too dark; I like the look of that outfit. To brighten it up, consider wearing accessories in a complementary color (orange).

Other colors to try with cobalt:
- Brown
- Fuschia
- Aqua, purple, or other analogous color

That's a lovely colored shirt, you can mix it with many other colors. In one of her posts, Angie combined cobalt blue with lime green and white, and it was fantastic. Just another idea!
Both outfits you posted are nice, but I think if you combine the shirt with colors that provide more contrast, the shirt is really going to stand out. Good luck!

I think it looks stunning with black. The black somehow really sets it off and makes it almost electric (in a good way). I'm not crazy about the green. It just seems to be from a different family all together...very earthy. I see mustardy golden yellows (not too bright or it looks like primary colors), white or cream, orange, coral, citron, and mint green.

Thank you for the great ideas, ladies! I'll try it with my too-short black dress that I posted recently. I might be just not used to the combination with black. Hmm maybe I should add some white. I want to get one non-neutral cardigan this fall and I will try to keep these colors in mind :)
I love the color itself, but I only own a couple of things in it, and would like to add more. It's definitely your pictures, Patience, that rekindled my interest after not wearing it for a few years.
Re: pencil skirt, I would love one in theory. I've been trying to plan my purchases for the fall and went through all my possible activities and it's quite sad how casual the situation is :(. There are many things that I would love to try that are not suitable for my lifestyle - I'll just have to enjoy them vicariously through YLF. Anyway, I might actually add the skirt to the list, since it could be something to fall back on in case of emergency. I'll have to enlist YLF help since I haven't worn a pencil skirt in over 10 years.

I love cobalt. It's such a flattering shade. I think it combines best with white or ivory. For a more vibrant look, you could also try combining it with an orangey-red. For a toned down look, you could try a gray jacket or vest, and a small yellow or red accent. Personally, I don't like cobalt combined with black; it feels a little pedestrian. I also think you will have a hard time pairing cobalt with most greens. A vibrant bottle green could work though. A little touch of orange would look great with this blouse. You could try carnelian earrings or a persimmon-colored scarf.

Marianne, another thought is to add pearls to your black and cobalt ensembles. This might brighten things up for you just enough. The more I think about it, the more I think experimenting with grey is another good idea for fall. The lime and cobalt is a very spring-y combination. I was also going to suggest navy but some people might also consider this more spring-y. I also love Cathy's idea of trying analogous colors like purple/plum.

Marianne, the first outfit you posted is FANTASTIC! I love it. Very sophisticated.

The second one is good, too, but I think you could do better with the colors. Somehow the forest-y green and the brighter blue didn't work so well together. You've gotten some great suggestions for other colors in this thread, though.

Cobalt with black and white or cream is one of my favourite combos! The shirt looks stunning, Marianne! Love it with the sleeveless black pullover. Now I’m doubly glad I suggested you keep the grey boots :0)

How about with your white jeans? Pearls? Your emerald green flats? Black waistcoat? Or navy waistcoat? Grey is also good. And yellow! I’m getting carried away. I adore bright cobalt. Many possibilities. Black jacket?

I’m with Maya on the olive jacket – too earthy for this vivid graphic item. Perfect for Jean.

I agree with all of what the others have said, love the cobalt with black. Black is a great neutral with any bright color because it carries a weight similar to the brightness of a color. Oh, I sound too arty. The green is too blah for the bright. Angie is right, perfect color for me!!

Thank you for the ideas! I think I am getting a better grip on it now. The green jacket is brighter in person, it's kind of grass color, but yes, I saw that it wasn't working. I just took a few pics with random things from my closet while the kids were eating lunch.
Jean, please feel free to sound as arty as you would like! I really appreciate your professional input. For some reason it's always been hard for me to have a good idea of my own coloring in relation to other colors, and that's why I always end up in grey :)

Aren't you lucky that you actually look good in grey :0)