This casual outfit formula is based on dark colours like shades of navy, grey and black – a popular palette in cold weather. You don’t need to incorporate white, but I couldn’t resist showcasing it through footwear and topper just in case you love white as much as I do, and prefer to see a bright neutral in the mix. 

The refined integrity of the pieces is on trend. Sleek and simple silhouettes, clean lines, subtle textural interest, no distressing, no tough, minimal hardware and embellishment.

Here are the components: 

• Bottoms: Choose grey, blue or black embossed or flocked jeans for a textural touch. Self-coloured patterned jeans are another option. Of course you can wear plain jeans, but you’ll lose the textural component that makes the outfit interesting. I added in some denim skirts if you fancy giving those a whirl with trendy footwear. 
• Knitwear: Think solid fine gauge pullovers in black, grey or dark blue in a silhouette of your choice. V-neck, turtleneck, crew neck, scoop, high-low hemline. Anything at all. 
• Topper: A dark peacoat is a modern classic, as is a moto jacket and military coat. A cocoon coat is another option. 
• Footwear: Sleek black riding boots are modern classic, and patent gets my vote for Team Magpie. I’ve thrown in streamlined flat white Beatle booties and low heeled ink blue navy ankle boots as trendy options. Wear them with the jeans or skirt. No studs or zippers. 
• Accessories: Finish off the outfit with an oh-so-trendy upscale backpack as a nod to the ’90s. If that doesn’t float your boat, choose a chic tote, crossbody or satchel. Throw in a casual wooly beenie, newsboy or beret if you like to wear hats. Add eyewear if you need specs or sunnies. Leave off the scarf and jewellery and sport outfit simplicity. 

The strength of the formula lies in the combination of pairing simple, tonal dark colours (adding white is optional). Apart from the denim, the pieces have a crisp and dressy integrity to them. This creates a more sophisticated casual outfit, especially when the fits are tailored and fluid.

Designer Bella Freud, best known for her slogan knits like “Je t’aime Jane”, has created a whimsical country-inspired knitwear collection for the iconic British brand Barbour.

In her essay on knitting, Alison Lurie goes into the history of the craft and chats about how knitters are depicted in literature. I found it a very enjoyable read.

Adam Jones, Dior’s former knitwear designer, has just launched Yarnlight Collective, a collection of mood-enhancing knitwear. Journalist Stephanie Theobald puts one of his sweater’s to the test and shares her findings with us.

Fab Links from Our Members

Kkards was struck by how succinctly Suzy Menkes outlined the impact of globalization, online shopping and fast fashion retailers on the world of fashion in this NYTimes article.

Lyn* enjoyed Bonnie’s exploration of how she feels about her nose through a series of photographs snapped throughout the years.

This article over at The Cutting Glass on “Alternatives to the Standard Men’s Suit” got Vildy wondering how all those pioneer women and men, wrapped in layers of voluminous garments, ever got anything done.

Angie had fun browsing these Singapore street style shots, featuring lots of ladies dressing very stylishly despite the most hot and humid weather on earth.

Rholmes27 is very intrigued by this “Dream Specific Wardrobe Dreams” approach of finding wardrobe holes and making a shopping plan. 

Harmonica and Suz point us to this short Popsugar video that in a playful way shows us ten ways to wear a classic white button-down.

We all have flattering colours that make us look fresh, healthy and vibrant by complementing the colours in our hair, eyes and skin tone. And then there are the colours that makes us look dull, overpowered, sickly or severe. 

Personal colour analysis by a professional (often an image consultant) is one way to pinpoint a set of colours that works well for us. Another is to work through a book like “Color Me Confident” by Veronique Henderson and Pat Henshaw. If you are battling to find colours that work and feel overwhelmed by all the options, then this will be an interesting process and a helpful starting point. It might help you to build a wardrobe around a few focused colour palettes and simplify the mix and matchability of your pieces. 

But what happens when you don’t like the colours that were suggested to you, while the colours that you love don’t make the list at all. Or when you like to reflect seasonal trends in your style but the fashionable colours aren’t on the list? Fashion is about fun, and where is the fun in excluding colours from your repertoire?

Colour relativity to the rescue!

We see colours in relation to each other and not as isolated variables. Colours “change” when they are surrounded by other colours. And I don’t mean we just think about them differently, I mean that we actually “see” something different. Greg brought up some interesting optical illusions when I mentioned that I was writing about colour being relative. It’s such an interesting phenomenon that I’m going to go on a little tangent.

Consider this picture.

See the gradient in the inner rectangle, how it goes from light to dark? Well, there actually isn’t a gradient at all. That is actually one uniform colour. Your brain is telling you there is a gradient because of the surrounding colours, but it isn’t there.

Here’s another optical illusion where we get the colours wrong:

See the two different shades of grey on the A and B squares? Another trick question, because those squares are exactly the same shade of grey. This is so hard to believe that you might be tempted to save that image onto your computer and check for yourself. Try it! Or click here to see the deconstruction of the illusion.

Greg tells me that all of the cells on our retina that “detect” colours are connected. So what one cell “sees” is directly affected by what the cells around it see. In addition to that the brain tries to compensate for lighting conditions and often makes mistakes (like the second illusion above) when doing so.

Now, I’m not at all suggesting that we should be wearing grey checks and gradients. These optical illusions really just illustrate how colour perception is way too complicated to be represented by a single set of good colours. The important thing is that imperfections in our perception of colour open up many possibilities.

Here are three simple strategies that use the relativity of colour to make it possible to wear colours that aren’t on your list.

Combine Them with Your Best Colours

Recently I mentioned that although grey is not one of my best colours, it springs to life and becomes flattering if I wear it with a sour shade of citron and bright white. It’s like waving a magic wand over the grey. Same goes for a muted blush pink that only works when I wear it with a crisp pastel pink, tomato red, or black and white. 

Wear Them in a Smaller Surface Area

One of my clients loves black, but it does not love her back. She feels that it is harsh and aging against her complexion. So she sticks to wearing black on smaller surface areas like handbags, belts and footwear, keeping navy and shades of grey as her dark neutrals for clothing. She’ll also wear black when it’s incorporated into a pattern with her best colours like French blue, purple and teal.

Similarly, I look awful in burgundy, but I will wear it in small surface areas when it’s incorporated into a pattern, like in the burgundy in this twinset.

Wear Them Away from Your Face

Wear colours that don’t look fab against your face on the bottom half of your body. One of my clients wouldn’t dream of wearing stone and dove grey as a top or topper because the shades wash her out and make her look sleepy. But she’ll happily wear them in a skirt, jeans, pair of trousers, or as footwear.

Think further than the confines of your prescribed colour palette. Your so-called “best” colours are merely a starting point. Like so much of the advice we hear about style, they should be seen as guidelines, not rules. You can wear pretty much any colour you care to if you wear it in the right way.

I’m a big Theory fan because their brand is exceptionally crisp, clean, simple and angular. And the quality is generally impeccable. I have many Theory pieces that I love every time I haul them out. They are pricey, but so far I’ve found the investments worth it. The brand runs small, so you might need to size up. 

These versatile Theory pieces for Fall can be mixed and matched with cheaper items, if you fancy the idea of high-low style. And because happy feet are a must in my world, I threw in some comfortable footwear options that complement the Theory pieces.

1. Theory Laura Mixed Media Jacket: A mixed media piece that looks as good dressed up for the office with a pencil skirt and patent pumps, as it does remixed with faded denim and biker boots. 
2. Theory Elizabeth Wool Blend Coat: We haven’t talked about it yet, but this is the coat shape for 2013. Masculine, unshaped, low stance, and good drape. That’s the best shade of camel I’ve seen in years. 
3. Theyskens Theory Paction Fruma Slim Stretch Pants: Sport a pair of fluid straight leg trousers to the office as a way of changing up your bootcuts and skinnies style. These went into my shopping cart because they are full length (FINALLY), and I fancy the idea of dark blue trousers to wear with my many black tops. 
4. Theory Jillian Wool Sweater: The fit of this pullover is stunning. Tailored, yet roomy, and very comfortable. 
5. Theory Avano Stretch Wool Pants: It’s awfully rare to see ruby coloured trousers. A breath of fresh air amidst a sea of grey and black. 
6. Theory Dancey Woven Blazer: Here’s the blazer to match the Avano trousers. A one button closure with a low stance is the trendiest blazer styling at the moment. 
7. Born Zowie Boot: A tough shootie to wear with jeans and pants. Also available in brown. Read the rave reviews. 
8. Söfft Abbott Pump: Low-heeled, interesting, and pointy toed. Super cushioning footbed, and also available in textured cinnamon, copper and pewter. You might need to size up.
9. Pikolinos Verona Oxford Pump: A colourblocked heeled oxford to wear with skirts and dresses. Fun with a moto jacket and textured hosiery. 
10. Arche Musaca Boot: Feels like butter and a sleek second skin on the foot. Check out the deep red.
11. Everybody Fedora Bootie: A tailored Beatle bootie with an edgy zipper. Check out both shades of burgundy. 
12. Corso Come Model Bootie: Ladylike, refined and modern. I wish they weren’t so high so that I could wear them. Please wear them for me. 
13. Tsubo Fie Bootie: A pointy toe with a roomy toe box. Slightly sporty but still pretty dressy. Also available in black and brown. 

We’ve been starved of dressy brown footwear options for years, but they’re available this season. Make sure you grab a pair if they were a wardrobe hole.