Red is the colour of the season, but brown is the next big on-trend colour for Autumn and Winter ’23 and ’24. The earthy neutral fringe trended for a while, but has finally gained momentum and is back to having a mainstream fashion moment after a fifteen year hiatus.
Brown is popping up in clothing, footwear and accessories. Simply described as brown, or as one of the many variations, including dark chocolate, milk chocolate, espresso, mahogany, hickory, clove, truffle, chestnut, birch, beech, mocha, java, saddle, and fudge. Some browns are very dark and almost black. Others are lighter, but still a dark neutral. Browns can be on the warmer or cooler side. Available mostly in solids, but also in some patterns. Take your pick.
Brown has a strong ‘70s connotation for me. As a child of the ‘70s, I vividly remember people wearing brown. My late Mama wore a lot of brown with mustard, teal, burgundy, toffee, light blue, and antique pink. It is indeed a very versatile dark neutral. Maybe more versatile than charcoal, black and navy. To my eye, brown looks great with other dark neutrals, light neutrals, earth tones, jewel tones, pastels, brights, mid-tones, muddy colours, neon, and metallics. That covers ever colour in the universe.
I wore a bit of brown in the ‘70s, and under duress in the ‘80s in the form of a brown school uniform. The latter killed brown for me for decades. It was only in July this year that my mood swung in favour of wearing it. I’ve recovered. I saw a Theory pants suit I fancied, held it up to my new dark blonde hair, looked in the mirror and thought, I like it! The brown works well with the brights, light blue, and cream in my wardrobe. One of my wild cards of the year, and I’m enjoying it a lot. I love a spontaneous purchase that works out. Quite the thrill.
Currently I have four brown items in my wardrobe. The pants suit, which I’m wearing here. A patterned mesh top to go with it, and an old pair of tortoiseshell RayBan sunnies. I don’t plan on getting more brown items, but never say never.
Some of my clients are thrilled with the return of brown, while others are less interested. How about you? Does brown feature in your style?
