Oops .

So I like the blouse with the sneakers but would do black, or faded black for the jeans. You probably avoid black like the plague when not at work.
With the jacket it looks too busy. Perhaps too many elements as you say? You do wear olive beautifully, regardless.

Check out Thursdayboots.com. They currently have a few options in olive suede, and they ship to Canada hassle-free. I have boots in the Duchess and Captain styles, and they are really comfortable. Yes, olive is a difficult color to find in footwear. Cole-Haan sometimes has styles in olive.

These look green on my screen, but maybe not irl. https://www.zappos.com/p/blond...../color/963

https://www.zappos.com/p/kenne...../color/529

I think this outfit looks great! As an outsider, everything seems to work to my eye. So to seems to me that this is one of those situations where rather than the outfit not being great, it is simply not great for you. Why? I think this is a question that only you can answer. Does the outfit not convey adequately an image of you that you want to communicate to the world? If so, why?

I am going through such a phase right now. I have a lot of well-fitting, nicely constructed clothes in my closet, which I used to wear and enjoy, but right now nothing seems to work apart from a handful of items. I am sensing that there is a change in direction/preference happening, but I can't quite put my finger on it. And I would like to refrain from making any purchases before I can figure it out. It is a process. Hang in there!

I think the outfit with the camo jacket is perfect, Lisa! You have an interesting juxtaposition, and just the right amount of 'cool factor'. Dressy blouse, sneakers, tough-girl jacket. I think you really hit the mark. And olive lights up your hair, skin and eyes.

I think your best outfits are when you don't overthink, and nobody does 'cool' like you do! So maybe a belt would bring something to the outfit. But maybe it would have driven you nuts, or pushed the outfit into 'overfussed' - and that is the enemy of 'cool'.

Sheryl - thank you - I'm not familiar with this company . Great selection !

SF - thank you. Not looking for boots at this time , and Zappos doesn't ship to Canada. Both are great options though if I were looking.

I do own a lovely pair of Fly London burnished olive green combat boots, but save them for winter wear as they are pretty clunky. I'd be looking to find an olive loafer at this point.

I have a sleeveless camo jacket and prefer not to pair it with sneakers. Even with a pretty silk blouse underneath it would still skew masculine casual on me. I agree that footwear that is a bit more elegant or feminine might make the subtle difference I think you are looking for.

Star - how do you wear your vest? I had one years ago from CM and wish I still had it.

I actually did not wear it this summer. We are so geographically close to an actual war, with refugees in our town, it did not feel appropriate at all. Last year I wore it a lot but not with jeans. Treated it more like a denim jacket, which I personally would not wear with jeans. So I wore it with dresses, skirts and shorts as a third piece. I only wear mine in summer as it is pure cotton and not suitable for any other seasons here.

I think you are too hard on yourself! The olive blouse is really pretty.
I also find CoC challenging, with pieces from different vendors and years, everything is a bit of a different color and it bugs me. The only way it works is if I pick pieces with different intensities, which sort of defeats the CoC concept.

the point of this post was to distill the C of C concept and examine what works and what doesn’t .

I tend to feel like a big block/blob when I attempt column-of-colour, so I can commiserate with the impulse to switch out pieces and heighten the contrast! I think CoC works best in your absolute best colours, and if you don't love navy and/or it doesn't love you back, then it won't be easy or enjoyable to wear it head-to-toe. Olive, on the other hand, looks spectacular, especially with luxe silky/velvety/brocade textures in the mix. I tend to shy away from pieces with lots of shine or lustre, which I'm beginning to see is why my CoC/tonal outfits often feel too heavy. But high-shine fabrics are often impractical for me lifestyle-wise, so... what are you gonna do? Bookending shoes, rather than trying to match them, makes total sense to me too. The few times I've attempted those trendy "stick-of-butter" looks (so not me), I absolutely had to switch out from lighter shoes to darker, just to feel like my hair/features were tied in somehow instead floating on top of a sea of light neutrals.

I'm totally with you. I actually started doing more column of color dressing when Fabbers suggested it as a way to deal with a short waist. But I TOTALLY agree - you need texture, and quite a lot of it. And truthfully, interesting texture isn't all that comfortable (leather pants or skirts, lace, silk etc.) Also, I like columns of colour that aren't NECC basic colours - but then it take a lot of money and time to collect pieces in other colors that match. So column of colour dressing, though it sounds easy, is actually quite hard.

Well, I really like this outfit, and get a kick out of how the ‘casual’ sneakers actually have some of the same sheen as the ‘dressy’ top.

Roxanna - I totally agree it's hard! And this exercise proved that to me. It's easier with black for some reason - maybe because there is so much black at retail and therefore a lot of texture, silhouette options.

I appreciate that you've shared your thoughts and analysis. CoC - only time I've ever done it is with grey - does that count? I agree that texture is key to making the look work, as well as shapes and proportions.

Team olive in any case!

A beautiful outfit. I think a CoC is easier to achieve with non-neutrals, as then it looks less like a uniform.

I’m so late to this, but 100% agree that CoC is harder than it seems.

I think you’ve done it really well here and agree that your instinct for more refined footwear with this may make it feel closer to what you’re striving for. I’m always working on that balance too — if I’m wearing sneakers, something else in the outfit needs to be more refined, or vice versa — a refined bootie needs an element to dress the look down.

You wear olive shades so well! I am always drawn to them but need to stick with cooler tones, or mix them with other colors that work better for me.

Olive is a great color on you. Columns of color are hard for me. I've tried green, white, and blue but couldn't get them right. I think black is the easiest.

I sympathize about the dearth of different coloured footwear options around these parts. It's annoying as all heck to see they are available across the border but here we have basic black and maybe a dull tan. Ugh.

Anyway, I think you look great in the camo jacket and great in the blouse and the sneakers look fun, too, but I understand the irritation when an outfit doesn't work out as you had hoped.

I am trying to think if I wear a navy column of colour and in fact I do -- quite a lot in winter. One version is with my two piece dress from Comrags and navy tights or sheer navy hose. Sometimes I wear the skirt with a different sweater (also navy print). But I usually wear footwear that's silver, dark red plaid, or black and more "stompy" than the dress itself (for juxtaposition) or else black suede pumps for dress up. This year I guess I can try it with the navy patent loafers. There's not much variation in texture unless I wear the sweater, but they are both prints (very dark prints) so there is that, i guess. Oh, and I also wear my navy puffer with all of that. Hmmm. To tell the truth, I'm not sure this counts as a good outfit! But it's comfortable and easy to wear. And it travels brilliantly.

I also wear a column of navy with jeans and a velvet shirt. That's easier because there is textural difference and juxtaposition.

I’m not so sure about one neutral being the easy one for a CoC and one being the hard one. I think it mostly depends on what colors work for you. We could put olive pieces on me all day long and it would never sing the way olive does on you. Leaving out pattern is rough for me (so I might sneak in a belt), but like Suz, I wear navy and other blues easily. Starting from our strength puts us in abetted position to achieve whatever we’re looking for.