For a few years now it has been hard to find wardrobe items in dark brown. The neutral fell off the fashion radar and for six years it’s been all about black and shades of grey. Ink blue returned two years ago and is gaining momentum, but still not much brown. 

Well, I’ve just spent a week shopping the preselections of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale with clients for Fall and Winter 2014 and I’m happy to say that dark brown is back. It was well represented in clothing, outerwear and footwear. There was even dark brown underwear and sleepwear. And of course, handbags in all shades of brown. 

This is great news for lovers of dark brown. Although I’m not drawn to it for my own style, the assortment of brown merchandise went down well with most of my clients. It looked particularly sensational on those who wear earth tones well. We built beautiful Fall and Winter capsules around dark brown by combining it with dusty pinks, mauves, burgundy, denim blue, cream and olive. The browns looked very fresh against the usual sea of black and grey. 

It’s been a LONG time since we’ve had black, grey, ink blue and brown all making a fashionable statement in the same season. I love it. This level of variety should be available every season. Aside from being a great option in itself, dark brown looks great combined with other dark neutrals like black, ink or grey. Mixing it up is what 2014 fashion is all about.