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column of colour, and learning from your photos 10.1.22

LJP

Veteran

I had a breakfast date yesterday and decided to try Angie's column of colour . I had this all worked out in my head the night before using some navy pieces I don't wear anymore. Beautiful navy crepe t-shirt style top, jeans or navy joggers, navy/white soled nylon sneakers and a stylized navy nylon "windbreaker" from CM . I put it all on , then couldn't get it off quickly enough. I looked like I was wearing a service uniform.

Lesson one: a column of colour needs varying texture - and not just subtle variations. Especially in standard service uniform colours of navy, grey etc. Why the h3ll did I buy these navy sneakers anyways ?? (last year, wore them once, they feel missy and slightly too old lady, UGH). I don't wear navy anymore , but must have had some idea I was going to. Lost that plot, that's for sure.

So, now running out of time, and because I now had jeans on, I threw on a olive silky blouse, my olive sneakers and an olive camo pattern cotton jacket. Off white bag for some brightness. Felt quite decent in this outfit, took some photos, and headed out. The outfit was fine , but just that. Not great.

Lesson two: a successful column of colour still doesn't work just because everything is shades of the same colour and there is texture variation . Also - pay attention to the little details, which you might not notice until you take a photo of yourself. I didn't realize the blouse had a major packaging crease right across the middle - good grief.( Also, it would have looked better semi-tucked, but I am just too flabby to do that right now. The side view is awful. I'm way out of whack with my weight and physical condition . ) A belt would have been fabulous too - adding real polish, but see tucking comment above. . And then, just because the shoes are olive green too, the juxtaposition didn't work to my eye. An olive green patent loafer would have been much better , and the juxtaposition from the casual jacket would have been enough. I think this was a good example of the Rule of 3 gone nuts. Silk, denim, suede, cotton, dressy, unpressed top. casual, dangerously low cut blouse = good lord. Too much in one outfit and I felt it.

Some photos below , and the $700 patent loafers I found - I wish.

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52 replies

Latest reply was from Stagiaire Fash

kellygirl

Veteran

It sounds like the navy column should work--were all the pieces matte though? I think that's usually the issue for me that's why I always default to shiny/silky with matte (usually denim.) That pairing always seems to work. I really like the olive with the denim and the sneakers--that looks fantastic. Olive is your color! And, your hair is so fab!

Curious what the navy crepe tee looks like. It's dressy? Can you pair it with black instead?

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Thanks for this--I'm trying CoCs too. Also have been trying to summarize for someone why the selfies

Gotta say, that closeup is killer--jacket colors are amazing on you. Maybe try it with some greenish khaki?

LJP

Veteran

Kelly- yes , everything was matte . The crepe tshirt top is a million years old , but I keep it because of the quality of the construction . It was one of those odd pieces from Banana Republic years ago that were head and shoulders above their usual mid-tangle quality . It looks fine with denim , or black , but then needs a jacket or top with some interest to make it work . I used to wear it with a chartreuse velvet blazer , also from BR , and felt great in it .

LJP

Veteran

Thanks SF . I usually just pop the jacket over anything - a grey tshirt , etc - for a very casual look. Not a fan of khaki / olive bottoms with this jacket : again , it can look like a military uniform . Maybe a pair of lovely olive wool trousers , but I don’t any .

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Sorry--should've read better. You're quite right about denim in those colors. Green would probably be the same. I'd wear pale pink or another pastel with the colors in the jacket, but don't expect you have that in your closet.

LJP

Veteran

No, pale pink is not something I wear , but if I did, it would be with a darker fuschia velvet blazer or cashmere sweater . I prefer stronger depth of colour .

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Chartreuse, like Merwoman wears so well? Or plum, if you don't care about the column of color idea?

LJP

Veteran

Sure - lots of options

kellygirl

Veteran

Ah, I see. T shirt styles are tough for me as well so I get the additional “interest” completer point. These kind of basics seem like a no brainer basic but to work on its own it seems like it has to be in some kind of luxe fabric or an unusual cut or have some kind of interesting detail or it has to be the complement to a cool pair of pants/skirt. I love chartreuse and navy btw.
Anyway, just my Sunday musing in my head to toe column of black Athleta camo sweats I always enjoy your posts.

kkards

Veteran

As someone who wears a lot of navy and resorts to a color of color a lot…I will say that especially with navy it’s harder than you would think to achieve a really great outfit. Why be use navy’s some in a ton of different shades, depths and IMO its harder to do than a column of black.

Any way, I like this olive, camo outfit. IMO it’s get depth and has a great casual vibe.

Love the loafers, here are the $800 sneakers I’ve been lusting over for months

Saks Fifth Avenue

Chloé Nama Platform Sneakers

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Top Pick

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LJP

Veteran

I totally agree , kkards , and I too have been listing after those Chloe sneakers . A Canadian financial guru and media personality I follow wears them and I LOVE them . Of course I don’t make $1M a year like she does so perhaps l’ll settle for a knock off

rachylou

Veteran

Excellent points. I wonder if the silk olive blouse was… lonely… if another small touch of luxe would change it from ‘fine’ to ‘great’.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

The whole "column of color" thing seems so straightforward, but it's really not once you get into the details, is it?

I think you're right on the juxtaposition not quite working. Jeans+jacket+sneakers meant that the only dressier element was the blouse (which I love, btw) and that balance doesn't quite work for your style. I'm assuming you also carried the bag on the ground next to you and bet that helped, as it's also more polished.

The loafers would be great, but you don't need to make this outfit perfect, just keep playing with what's in your closet and find the combination that strikes the right balance. I'm sure you have everything you need.

Jules

Veteran

Completely outside the CoC box now but have you worn the jacket with the new mules yet? It’s the kind of juxtaposition I love.
The olive patent loafers reminded me of Maguire shoes out of Montreal but I looked and they don’t have any patent olive loafers this year. Not that I think you need any

LJP

Veteran

Haha- so I can’t now obsess over finding the perfect olive shoe ? Darn .

LJP

Veteran

And yes , Rachy and Jenn, the silk blouse IS lonely - and could have worked with a dressier pant or a dressier shoe . Lots to consider. Jules - no, not yet . I only get to wear “ real “ clothes on the weekends if I’m leaving the house, lol, so my usage is way , way down now for my clothes . First time I’ve had the jacket on all year I bet .

Indigoprint

Veteran

Thanks for sharing your experience and thought process. I am guilty of the same thing, thinking I have an outfit figured but a detail is off.
That semi tuck is a hard one for me.... looks good from the front but I am unhappy with the side view.
Then when you look into it yo problem solve, there is not much visual representation showing that side view, so it makes me wonder.....

Cardiff girl

Veteran

The camo jacket looks fab ,l can see that being a real workhorse.l think a column of colour is much harder to pull off than it looks,probably helps if you can buy the whole outfit in one go but most of us don’t do that do we!

Laurie

Veteran

Cannot understate the power of a photo, right?
Well, you ended up with a great outfit, despite the journey. I agree that olive/camo is awesome with your hair and eyes.

I am thinking about a column of navy with the Quince fisherman sweater and ponte pants, and maybe navy sneakers, then topping with the merlot jean jacket, or a rain jacket in same color. And, I will take a photo before going out the door. Thank you, Lisa!

Sal

Veteran

I really like this, but I do know the feeling that an outfit is good/fine but not quite what you wanted.

I think it's either the shoes or the jeans (both which are fabulous) but maybe the combo feels too casual for what you wanted.

approprio

(website)

Veteran

I feel you. We can now safely conclude a column of navy needs a lot of help. We are none of us Jean Muir. But it turned out fine in the end, no? Because now we know, camo is your navy blue.

Irina

Veteran

Interesting. I don’t often wear a column of color but when I do, I need my shoes to be in a different color.

I’m with you on belts - a great accessory, wish I could wear it, would be much easier to add polish and structure to an outfit.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I love you in olives and earth tones, LJP! Your complexion wears them with panache LOOK at #4! KILLER blouse, and not an easy colour to look fab in. I think it's beautifully alluring on you.

YES to a dressy olive loafer working well here. Actually, I'm surprised you don't have one!

In my experience, a navy CoC is easiest to achieve with very dark blue jeans (kkard's point), and contrast white/cream shoes (Irina's point). It helps that I wear bright contrasting eyewear too.

As for non-neutral columns of colour - I wear those fairly often. Yes, there is textural interest in the column - to your point! - and I wear contrast white or cream shoes so that the eye can rest from the expanse of colour.

YES, the devil is in the details.

Anonymous

Love the silk blouse- and big yay to a dressier olive shoe! I think you have enough olive in your wardrobe to justify it
Definitely texture is needed with the columns of color. Maybe navy leather/pleather, velvet, or cords instead of the jeans, or a false plain print?

LJP

Veteran

I was taking the concept of CoC too literally , assuming the footwear should be part of it. Of course it makes sense to introduce a bit of a contrast or a equally toned neutral to make it look less like a uniform . Oops .

As to dressier olive footwear - believe me , if such a thing existed , I’d have owned it already . You’d be surprised how little there is at retail . It took me a few years to fine the sneakers as it was , and I had to pay a lot more than I liked , but they have been worth it . I had a pair of olive suede booties about 5 years ago but they became too uncomfortable as time went on ( i.e. as I got older , lol) .

The exercise affirmed my plan to slowly wean out navy and not invest in it anymore . A one-off like a dress would be fine , but no capsule-building for me .

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Hm, in the pix on Friday’s post, two outfits have shoes in the color of the column (which is what I did), one picks up black from the jacket’s pattern, and one has shoes basically skin color for the model.

catherine

Veteran

Your outfit looks cute, stylish, and comfortable. It seems like you’re pretty hard on yourself, which I understand.
When I see your photos, you look like a cool person who I would like to meet.

LJP

Veteran

Catherine - I’m always looking to tweak my styling skills - and have high standards for myself . Just like taking a test of sorts while learning at the same time .

SarahD8

Veteran

These are good lessons! I am taking notes.

I relate very much to the problem of wanting to recreate a look and then finding that the items in my closet just don't quite get me there. Interesting to ponder how *precise* and curated/controlled the inspo pics we see might be, and how that might or might not be relevant to the operation of wardrobes in practice. Hm.

I think you and others are on to something about the olive outfit needing another "elevated" or luxe/dressy element. How about those new loafer mules of yours? And maybe then switch out the bag for a black option?

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