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Any other neutrally challenged ladies out there?

StyleDetective

I read occasionally that a lot of people have trouble branching out of neutrals and adding colour to their wardrobe. Not me! I have the opposite problem - I think I am colour mad and find it hard to make myself buy neutral colours instead of bright ones.

For example, on the weekend I went out intending to buy a sensible black short coat which would go with nearly everything in my wardrobe. What I actually left with was a bright blurple jacket, which sang to me on, but ultimately is a lot less versatile than the black would have been, since I own so much colour already!

Is anyone else like this? Is it simply a matter of forcing oneself to buy an item that isn't all that exciting because it's sensible, or are there other ways to make buying a neutral more appealing?

by StyleDetective

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by StyleDetective

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18 replies

Latest reply was from StyleDetective

Anonymous

Here is a post Angie wrote recently about non neutral "neutrals" that may resonate with you!
https://youlookfab.com/2019/03.....our-style/

Honestly, even "proper neutrals" like grey, will have an undertone of blue or brown, etc-so it's not as simple as it seems. Plus fabric and lighting conditions change how colors appear-sometimes a lot.

To me, colors that are close to skin tone-blush, peach, mustard, orange, gold, copper, coral, mauve, maybe even lavendar-work really well as pseudo neutrals.
Are there colors that you use as neutrals? Happily mix a variety of non neutrals? Or, do you have laundry bottlenecks because you really need the neutrals?

StyleDetective

Thank you for linking me to Angie's post! It did indeed resonate. Hearing that Angie considered tomato red a non-neutral was consoling, and by the time I got to Bijou claiming animal print as hers, I wondered what I had been worried about in the first place!

Probably this sounds like I do not know what I am doing, but I often wear a very bright colour (like emerald, cobalt or bright red) and then pair it with black or navy because I think I need something neutral to offset the bright colour. The only colour I really use as a neutral is dark purple, which I will mix with blue, pink or other shades of purple.

Your questions have been very helpful to me - they are making me realise I see neutrals in very traditional terms (black, navy, charcoal etc). But perhaps I need to give consideration to other options - lighter shades that are closer to skin tone as you say, or maybe dark shades that aren't black, like a very dark forest green, burgundy, or brown. Thanks!

Anonymous

Glad I could help! Love the happy coat too

Bijou

Veteran

StyleDetective - love the new coat and if you have lots of jewel colours in your wardrobe, then they should play very happily together.

For me, black is a favourite neutral and so many great items come in black, often I end up with too much of it and have to deliberately stop myself from buying more black.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Colour is VERY emotive and personal, Stye Detective. You feel what you feel - fullstop. It's all good, as long as you follow those feelings.

I wouldn't buy a black jacket or coat either. Tomato Red is a neutral to me. Brown is a non-neutral to others - it's that extreme. I feel calm and serene wearing brights from head to toe. Others feel serene wearing neutrals head to toe.

Helena

Veteran

I am a neutral girl, but my initial thought is, if you love color, wear the heck out of it! What's your tolerance for color-mixing? If high, then maybe neutrals don't need to be a big part of your closet?

Christina F.

Veteran

I love color but feel a strong need for neutrals to ground them. That's just me, though. There's no rule that says you need neutrals.

If you feel all your colors aren't playing well together, and you are craving neutrals but can't bring yourself to buy them, that's a different question. I find that shopping from a practical list but leaving room in my budget to fall in love with certain items that aren't on the list helps.

Greyscale

Veteran

Never force yourself to buy something! I love that blue jacket. And I’d play it up by combining it with whatever feels best, without feeling obliged to add black. (She says, as someone who wears all black - but if I do wear color I want to go all the way because I don’t always like the bright + black combo)

Windchime

Veteran

Before this blog, I assumed that “neutrals” were black, taupe, beige, etc. Learning to greatly expand my ideas about neutrals has been fun and freeing. For example, I bought—and love—a trench coat in navy blue. And I’m intentionally adding a lot of white to my wardrobe.

I would have chosen that super cute blurple jacket over a sensible black one, too!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

The blue/ blurple jacket is gorgeous! No wonder you fell for it.

I have a neutral heavy wardrobe myself— my key neutrals being navy/ink and all denim blues; most cool greys; and white. If you look in my closet you will find it heavily dominated by those colours as well as with brighter blues like cobalt (esp. in summer). As Angie says -- navy and denim blue would be colours to some. But for me, they are the backdrop and constant.

I also wear black, but more as an accent "colour" or completer. Meanwhile, fire engine red and cranberry serve as both a colours AND a "neutrals" for me. (Different purposes in different outfits). Basically, anything that goes with most of my wardrobe can serve as a kind of neutral in my books.

Sal

Veteran

Never force yourself to buy something- I think you made the right call. We are all so very different in our preferences and likes. And what suits us.

A couple of years ago I never would have mixed blush with red yet I like it now. I love yellows with blues. I do however have lots of black navy and camel/caramel and reasonable amounts of white and denim, and a smattering of grey.

Jane

Veteran

I would tend not to force myself to buy something unless I absolutely needed it.

So, I would take care to listen to your feelings, which sounds like it is what you did. Perfect!

KMM

Several years ago I decided I needed a black winter dress coat. I’m not sure why. I rarely wear black except for boots. Ended up bringing home this royal blue Lady Day coat from J Crew and have worn the absolute heck out of it, with any color outfit. I love it and it functions as well for me as a more traditionally neutral color would. I say wear what makes you happy!

For myself, I wear lots of color but tend to pair with navy and gray rather than other non-neutrals. I rarely wear an all neutral outfit as it just doesn’t feel like “me”.

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Gretchen

Veteran

100% on the non-neutrals train over here. Far better to feel comfortable in your colors than fit a narrow profile!

Alicewonderland

Veteran

I think you did the right thing by buying the purple coat that sang to you. This is the coat you will wear! I also tend to have mostly colors, and i did strategically a few neutral basics to increase the numbers of outfits I can make. All you need is a few. Like I just bought a couple grey dresses and one of each white, grey and black tees.

StyleDetective

All - thank you for these comments! Sorry it has taken me a while to reply. I absolutely loved reading about how varied everyone is in their use of colour, from those who find navy to be a colour, to those who mix bold colour combinations with confidence. And those somewhere in the middle of course.

It was particularly comforting to be encouraged by neutral-lovers to dress colourfully, if that's what I like. I suppose likewise I love the elegance of a neutral-based outfit on others - I love seeing Suz in her navies and silvers - though I just don't feel quite right when I copy the look.

Other thoughts:
- I have realised that what I was reacting to with the black coat is that I feel sad with unbroken black near my face. Not sure why I was trying to force myself to do this, but I was. I think it's time to see if I feel the same way about other neutrals, particularly lighter neutrals.
- I will also experiment with adding non-neutral tops/jackets in colours that are complementary to what I have.
- I took the advice to experiment with mixing colours and threw the jacket over a cobalt dress for work yesterday. I thought I looked like a human blueberry. But in a good way, or at least not a bad one.

Thanks again

p.s. KMM that's a beautiful coat! Looks like the sort of thing I'd want to put in my own closet...

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Hi Style Detective I’d been meaning to say how much I like your forum name and your pic with the cute hat! Neat to have another Aussie as others of us down under can see the occasional outfit in our same season.
I checked your profile and noticed you are also a Phryne Fisher fan, as am I! Since about 2014? In 2015 my best friend and I took a girls weekend to Melbourne deliberately to attend the Miss Fisher garden party. We dressed up 1920s of course.
Anyway back to the topic at hand. I also am not keen on neutral coats. My fave coat is black and white so I suppose neutral but not all one colour. I like olive and navy and pewter as my “neutral” bottoms and both my fave olive and navy pants are actually snakeskin

StyleDetective

Jenni NZ that is so nice of you to say! I'm always a bit shy to post photos of myself so I really appreciate the compliment. Yes, I love Miss Fisher - the show is so much fun and I love the character and style of Phryne. If I could wave a magic wand and turn my wardrobe into that of a glamorous lady detective from the 20s I probably would.

A Miss Fisher garden party with friends sounds like a lot of fun, and hopefully worth the trip from NZ

Re: neutrals, actually now that you mention it, I could also try adding interest by choosing a patterned/printed neutral, or something with an element of visual contrast. Thanks.