Help - I've got the navy blues ... - YouLookFab Forum

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Help - I've got the navy blues ...

Helena

Veteran

Hi all, well, if any of you recall my previous posts I have a bit of an obsessive issue with the black vs. navy debate in my closet.

I have grudgingly concluded that navy is much kinder to my coloring, although I love black and believe I can pull it off, but as my eye has gotten used to seeing the effect of color, black is a bit ruined in that I know navy is much nicer, esp. in that it clarifies my skin quite miraculously.

That said, I am also starting to run into some problems with navy:

- unlike black, I find navy can look more like a color than a neutral, and thus sometimes mixing in another color looks weird to me - for example, if I add my fave. rose pink scarf to my basic navy v-neck, it looks weird to me vs. black it pops and looks great.
- I live very much a jeans-lifestyle, and jeans with a navy t or v-neck sweater (my uniform) looks pretty blah, whereas black contrasts nicely with denim and looks sharp imo.

In summer, it's no prob. since I live in white short/pants and no added accessories, but the rest of the year something is not working with lovely navy.

What do you think - any navy-lovers have any solutions? I know I can have both but my main style goal is paring down my closet as much as possible, so I really want to figure out which one to focus on as my "dark neutral". Thanks!!!!!

Dressing

16 replies

Latest reply was from Helena

E

Veteran

I actually love wearing pink and navy together! But I do hear you on navy suddenly becoming a colour: I don't pair burgundy with navy although I love it with greys and cool browns and taupes and soft whites (my other neutrals; clearly I don't subscribe to the less-is-more approach).

Have you looked at a dark grey? Perhaps that could be your cold weather black replacement instead of navy. I can wear quite a dark charcoal grey, whereas true black overwhelms me immediately.

MuseumGal

Veteran

Pinks and navies play wonderfully together. I think your eye just needs some time to adjust. I wear navy with blue jeans all the time, and consider it a column of color to be accessorized with whatever scarf or jewelry tickles my fancy that day.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

E makes a great point about charcoal grey. It's a useful alternative or additional neutral.

As for me, I wear them all -- navy, ink, charcoal, lighter greys, taupe, cream, white. And, yes, a bit of black. It's not my best, but it's not my worst, either.

I guess what I'm saying is that both neutrals can comfortably co-exist in your closet.

I live a jeans lifestyle too. And I agree with you that denim and black can be a brilliant combo, especially a faded denim and black.

But I really love navy with denim, too! It all depends on the wash on the denim, I've found. It's admittedly difficult with some. And of course not all navies are the same, either -- some being much brighter than others.

Then again, I'm veering so minimal these days that my preferred outfits are nothing but a column of colour so if I am wearing jeans I actively want to wear navy or ink or some shade of blue or grey to tone in with them. I hope it doesn't come across as "blah." I tell myself that the shoes and accessories (often the belt) make all the difference.

Helena

Veteran

You ladies rock! Thanks for your replies.

E., at some point a few years ago I hit gray-overload and stacked it all away in the closet - I will pull some out and give it another go; after a break it may feel fresh and right again!

MuseumGal - I will keep navy in the rotation and keep an open mind!

Suz - Good point about the belt and shoes - perhaps I need to pay more attention here when I pull out the navies and jeans.

Thanks all!!

Elizabeth P

Veteran

Funny, the things you are struggling with, are things I love. Navy and pink together, is gorgeous to me. But I guess it does need to be the RIGHT navy with the RIGHT pink. I also have NO issues whatsoever with navy and jeans. I can see that it may be a bit blah, but that's what accessories are for... statement belt, big silver necklace, scarf...

I'm just so thrilled that navy is available again. Hard. To. Stop. Buying. It.

Helena

Veteran

Ok ladies - just added a basic wide belt, a semi-tuck and a pink-and-navy scarf and look and feel 100 times better. You guys are AMAZING.

Elizabeth, this whole dilemma started because Gap has such a cute navy shirt-dress out right now that is currently in my shopping basket online ... and then a navy t ... and then a navy and white striped sweater ...

always trying

Veteran

Problem with navy is there are lots of different "navies". Black is black and nearly all the time black goes with black..but with navy not. This is why some things go with the navy and some don't -and it is not a neutral at all. If your jeans are faded or a more greyish navy then a dark navy t can work. I am looking for some navy for spring like tops and a navy blazer. I will make sure I try the blazer with different tops under it. But I have always found that yellow, and most lite colors like pastels will always work. Pinks come in purplish pinks, redish pinks, etc. so that is why some do not look right with the navies. I have always been told I have a really good eye for color, and this seems to be true and one of the first things people say about my home décor.

Catnip

Veteran

Navy is one of my main neutrals and also one of my favorite colors. I also wear black, but rarely next to my face.

The problem with navy is it comes in so many different shades. Some are so dark they can be confused with black, and others look much more like blue. I find the darker shades to be much more neutral and easier to mix with other colors. When I am buying a coat, jacket or pants, I look for a navy that is clearly navy and not black, but also quite dark. This kind of navy looks great with pink, and that's one of my favorite color combinations.

It's really difficult to find navy pieces that match exactly. That's why I like to buy a matching navy jacket and pants together. Sometimes, however, it's possible to combine different navy pieces if the textures are really different. DIfferent textures seem to make slight color differences less noticeable.

Elizabeth P

Veteran

LOL torontogirl. And then Angie posts a huge freaking post about navy pieces.... Two of them I'm truly not sure I can pass up. Gad. This place is expensive.

E

Veteran

I'm trying to imagine grey overload, but it just doesn't compute. I think I wear something grey almost every single day. lol

I agree with Catnip & Always Trying that navy comes in a surprising range of colours. That's not a problem for me, because I prefer breaking up my outfits vs wearing a column of colour, but matching the navies in my closet to each other would definitely take some work. They wouldn't all go with each other.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Sympathies My fantasy is to not have black in my wardrobe but so far it hasn't worked for me. So I've made peace with black for now.

I agree that black is black though - there are many different blacks too - some cheap fabrics are brown black then there is deep black velvet. The value of black is it is always available.

rabbit

Veteran

I agree with what others have said about 'different navies' and have had difficulty finding navy tights/leggings that work with navy skirts or shoes, especially in different lights, even when mixing textures. It looks great against certain skin tones on it's own though as a top or bottom. Dark navy tends to bring out red highlights in brown hair I've noticed.

Anonymous

I also adore pinks with navy, much more so than black, which I associate with a naughty nighty. How about pairing navy tops with black jeans or skirts so that the complimentary navy is closest to your face?

Anonymous

Just chiming in to say that navy has been trickier for me than I thought it would be. It is not black, and it can't take the place of black (nor is it interchangeable with black) in my wardrobe. I'm not so sure it looks that much better next to my complexion than black either. The texture seems to be really important too. To much plain navy suiting starts to feel like my old airline uniform (or private school uniform, lol). And you are so right about all the different shades of navy out there. My husband has the ubiquitous navy sport coat, and we bought him a pair of (what we thought were) dark charcoal trousers to wear with it for an event. After I hemmed them and we were dressed to go, he donned the sport coat and we discovered that the trousers weren't charcoal at all, but a super dark, almost black navy! That clashed royally with his blazer. Oh well, at least the sun was going down at that moment.

You're lucky that navy is so "skin perfecting" on you. I think navy looks super fresh and fashion forward right now, and you're sure to figure out a way to wear it with aplomb. I think the eye does need to adjust to seeing it with another color, and that just takes a little time and exposure. Maybe there are some boards featuring navy on Pinterest that could help things along.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

Just wanted to say that I simply LOVE navy too - I have found some challenges like you though, and found that inky-blue works nicer with more things (including pink) than a true navy-navy. Black-navy is also quite a pretty colour, but I find it harsh against my skin tone.

Helena

Veteran

Thanks to all again!

ClearyClaire, I appreciate your honesty - perhaps trying to make it "my black" is the wrong approach? Maybe gray is a better black alternative, with navy being, say a base color (not sure the difference ... thinking as I type ha!)

It's entirely possible I'm trying to oversimplify my wardrobe altogether too much ...

Re: the skin-clearing effect - my skin is far from perfected, but as it tends to go quite pink/red - almost a bit of rosacea I guess ... any blue really, not just navy, seems to suck the red right out of it! It's handy!