Browns - YouLookFab Forum

I'm seeing lots of brown in NAS this year.

I have very little brown in my closet, but I am curious about adding some darker brown tones as a new-to-me neutral for F/W (as well as navy, which to be honest, I should have added a long time ago).

For those of you with narrowed down neutral palettes, how did you decide if brown was in or out?

I'm attaching some Finds in the direction I'm thinking.

Right now the only brown tones I can think of that are already in my closet:

Frye shortie boots (warm brown, cognac-ish color)
Cooler gray-brown dress boots (read more gray to be honest)
chocolate long sleeve Caslon tshirt used for layering
khaki really old blazer/jacket i haven't worn in a while
cream MK tshirt used for layering

I tend to gravitate toward black because of years of mindless dressing.

Could brown help up my style quotient or am I risking pricey orphans?

FWIW I have blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin.

Nordstrom

Eileen Fisher Leather Sleeve Merino Lambswool Jacket (Regular & Petite)

$598.00 $298.98

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Eileen Fisher V-Neck Stretch Knit Top (Regular & Petite)

$178.00 $69.97

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KUT from the Kloth 'Lincoln' Faux Leather Drape Front Jacket

$88.00 $57.90

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Halogen Textured Jacquard Sweater (Regular & Petite)

$68.00 $33.90

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Steve Madden 'Nyrvana' Boot (Women)

$149.94 $100.46

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10 years ago

carter

Veteran

My hair is dark brown. The color actually looks better on me than black, but I don't feel as "dressed" in brown as I do in black, or even grey. Brown just feels more casual to me, so I do it in casual outfits only at the moment. I have chocolate boots, suede coat, rain coat, tote bag, belt, jeans and a sweater. I love each item individually, and each is dressy enough to be work appropriate. But I just haven't done it. I've been thinking lately that I find accessorizing black and grey with brown really attractive though. The plan is to ease into it this way this Fall. We'll see how it goes. I may also have to try that EF sweater in your finds:-)

rabbit

I'm wondering about that this winter too, I did wear some dark chocolate/espresso brown leather boots and belts last winter and I like the look of the Kut from the Kloth jacket. I'm keeping my eye open for a great leather bag (that is like 90% off :P).

Things it paired well with: eggplant, cobalt/purple, dark khaki, dark navy/ink, charcoal gray (sometimes), pale peach, creams/wheats/sands, dark burgundy. Maybe works well but I haven't tried: hunter green, pale blues and light turquoises, black (with textural differences).

goldenpig

(website)

I have black hair and medium skin. I tend to look kind of blah in regular brown or camel, so I tend to gravitate more toward cognac or caramel. I like those shades because they are rich but not too dark, and they combine well with the spicy autumn palette I look best in (burgundy, rust, mustard, teal, ink blue, eggplant). I do have some chocolate brown boots though. If you have a lot of black already, you can combine brown and black for a fresh look.

lyn67

I'm blonde, and have been wearing chock browns (and browns of all kinds) and creams for a long period in my adult life, but then suddenly tired of them(and the somehow more muddy shades they had to be matched to), and change my main neutrals to bl&w (and brights). But I didn't stop wearing the very dark chocks (and taupe) I still love for my complexion and it's same slimming effect as blacks have:-). I now usually pair them with greys, blacks, and bright whites and so my seldom browns feel still fresh-and if not even more sophisticated, than earlier.

BTW I like each of your picks here. They are exactyl what am talking about:-))

Lisa

ABC you sound like me, I am also fair skinned and blue eyes (light brown hair) and only recently realized that brown is far more flattering on me than black. Nice picks.

gardenchick

My hair is dark brown and I have olive tone skin, so not sure I can help you in terms of having a similar complexion. But one thing to pay attention to is that there are a wide range of browns. Some of the darkest ones make me appear washed out. In terms of lighter browns, I love that cognac color but probably wouldn't wear it next to my face...but it would be a lovely accent color for a handbag or belt.

Each of your picks above is stunning--really! I could easily see a capsule with a brown jacket and boots, and mix and match tops in the colors others have mentioned above, with jeans or your black pants. So does not seem that these items would be orphans, they seem fairly versatile.

Liz

Browns are far better on me than black, so it would be a natural pick for my base neutral. However, I find it really hard to find color combinations that I like to wear with brown. Most of my colors are warm (tomato red, orange, coral, mustard, teal, etc.), and when I pair them with brown I end up in an outfit that feels very "autumn like" to me. To combat that, I have to restrict myself to "cold" browns and not buy warmer brown colors.

Janet

I've moved away from brown in recent years, but I was just thinking about this very thing this morning, as I've been playing with my NAS finds and doing some closet purging. I like the picks you've shown.

I have chocolate brown tall boots, and some jackets with brown. I also bought that Eileen Fisher jacket. My new 3.1 Phillip Lim vest also has a brown background, and I like that a lot.

I'm remembering with these purchases that brown actually looks pretty good on me, provided its a nice rich shade -- it plays well with my brown hair. I'm pulling some old things from the depths of my closet for evaluation, and some are brown, so I'm kind of happy to inject a new-old neutral back into my style.

Aida

I'm one of those who made a stylistic decision not to wear browns, specifically mid-tone and dark browns; I do wear tans, taupes, camels, caramels, and cognac. I made an exception for leather items though, and have a few but not many leather things in mid/dark browns, and am really looking to add more cognac (soooo nice paired with white!). My primary reasoning was simply to keep my urban/punk side strong and keep from looking earthy. I also often feel too "muddy" in the non-light browns; the darker shades tend to wall-of-brown into my hair, but the lighter shades I can mix in in ways that feel crisp or soft.

Very dark brown in particular I tend not to gravitate towards, but I did pick up this faux leather jacket in a so-dark-it's-almost-black at NAS which I am still waffling a bit on (if it were real leather I don't think I'd hesitate as much). I need to spend some time playing in my closet with it, but it's finally nice and warm here so I'm having trouble making myself do it

I don't know that adding brown would necessarily up your style quotient on its own; plenty of stylish ladies wear it, and plenty of stylish ladies don't. If the brown is right for you, and you want to add a bit of softness or earthiness, it's is great at that. Brown is also fun to mix with black to soften an otherwise harder look; mixes with browns can be quite rich looking. I'd say make sure you are comfortable mixing brown with your other neutrals and the colors in your wardrobe. If you aren't, then you do risk orphaning new brown items. If you're not sure, then it's worth picking something up and playing around with.

BLANKNYC Quilted Faux Leather Jacket

$148.00 $73.98

I meant to add, I like brown mixed with black, as long as its done well. I'd love to see brown/black looks that are edgy yet sophisticated -- I'll have to do a Pinterest search!

Thistle

I have light brown/dark blonde hair with hints of red in it. So, dark brown doesn't really bookend or do anything else for me. Light colored footwear is not all that practical for my climate or lifestyle.

I edited it out brown this past year almost completely because I am drawn to black and even very dark blue much more. I feel like they are dressier, crisper, and sleeker. They make me feel less dowdy.

I also am not a fan of mixing black and brown, so reducing brown makes my closet easier to manage as I don't need brown shoes etc.

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