How do you wear earth tones, particularly brown? - YouLookFab Forum

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How do you wear earth tones, particularly brown?

jussie

Veteran

Hello all, I would be so grateful if people could share their thoughts, tips and tricks for carrying off earth tones generally, brown in particular.
I know brown goes with cream..... that’s about the extent of my experience :).
I recently purchased a cozy cardigan in a very warm brown. I’ve no idea how to style it.... it is quite similar to this one below....

The only interesting idea I have for it is putting a navy and white stripe breton tee under it.
Thanks to any who reply

Nili Lotan Nili Lotan Lane Cashmere Cardigan | Nordstrom

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48 replies

Latest reply was from louterrence

April

Veteran

I actually like brown mixed with black (as long as the brown is not an almost-black) though that may be an acquired taste.

jussie

Veteran

April: thank you. I was thinking black could work... I'm more confident now that you say it too though.

Adriana

Veteran

Black and off-white would be my choice. But there must be more possibilities. Soft orange, beige. Denim.

bella

(website)

Veteran

The very little brown in my closet is worn in Burberry color combo: black, red, brown, white

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Bijou

Veteran

Jussi, please have a look at StyleFan's posts because she wears these earthy colour better than anyone. Denim, black, burgundy, pumpkin, gold, mustard and olive with cognac leather all work beautifully with this colour which is perfect for Autumn. Personally I find these tones harder to wear because I prefer wearing clear cooler tones, but this colour is gorgeous with the right support act.

LaPed

Veteran

I added a brown cardi this winter too. It's easy to wear with an all-black outfit, as it has black polka dots. White top and denim, dark or light, is my other go-to.

I bet yours would look great with navy-white Breton stripes (I sometimes pattern mix mine with a black-white Breton).

Leopard Dot Cardigan Sweater

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jussie

Veteran

Adriana: yes, I agree with you that there must be more possibilities. I think a small amount of forest green could be nice, but large chunks might be too tree-like?
Bijou: yes, great idea to have a look at stylefans posts. Bergundy is a possibility.... as is olive. I’ve challenged myself here because I knew full well brown is a tricky colour for me. But sometimes I can’t resist a challenge :).
Bella: oh my goodness I like that Burberry combo! My brown is a lot darker than the Burberry tan but I think it might still work pretty well

jussie

Veteran

La Ped: that’s a gorgeous cardi, and would be so cute with your dark hair. I’m sure I ought to simply try mine with a white tee and blue jeans. I don’t know why I always feel the need to reinvent the wheel!

nemosmom

Veteran

Ooooh I love that cardigan! It looks really versatile. Pair it with denim, navy, black, grey, olive, cream, white, rich yellows, warm red (from tomato to brick), blush pink...

RobinF

Veteran

That looks like a great color for a cardigan! I think it would be nice with a navy striped tee. And love it as shown with black. What about with pink for something different?

Lucy

Veteran

I am not too adventurous with brown, but I love it with white, cream and blush. Also the caramel kind of colours?

ChristelJ

Veteran

My first thoughts were pale blue, or pink or coral with it. I think white would also allow the rich brown to sing on its own. How fun!

carter

Veteran

I'm a sucker for all shades of brown with black. Great also with cream, white, all shades of blue denim. Love it with pink. I also really like it with gray. So unexpected. My Winter wardrobe is black-heavy, so that's how I've been wearing brown lately. I'm looking forward to lightening it up for Spring. The cream pants outfit was from yesterday.

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smittie

Veteran

Lovely colour.
I like medleys, so ivory t-shirt and khaki pants would be my suggestion.

Nice, Carter!

cjh

(website)

Veteran

I think pink, black or ice blue would all look right on you with this chestnut brown. I believe pure white would be better than ivory or cream. I haven’t perceived that you lean towards autumn colors, and there isn’t a law that anyone has to combine brown with other fall colors like orange, gold and olive, or even cream. I challenge you to do an outfit lab and pair the sweater with all your different color tops and dresses. You might be surprised.

My personal single, unbreakable rule for brown has always been to NOT combine with green. I have very few brown items now, just a couple of mushroom/taupe layering tops, and I’m not sure they qualify as brown. I usually pair them with navy cords, blue or burgundy jeans, or black pants.

The nice thing about chestnut brown is the clarity. This color rarely looks murky or muddy, the biggest risk in browns.

SarahD8

Veteran

On my screen the cardi looks almost a cognac color. And one way of thinking of cognac is as a stealth version of orange. So I would milk the complementary pairing and wear it with any and all blues.

I also think it would look good with light/grass green, and saturated pinks.

Try it with your liberty print skirt!!!

Joy

Veteran

I like browns with pink and peach, any shade of blue or turquoise, red, or lavender or purple. A scarf with the colors you are wearing can pull everything together or footwear and begin a third color like red with a brown and purple outfit.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

Light blue, some other blues, pink/peach/coral, and of course white, black, maybe lighter grays and certain greens could all go with this.

Roxanna

Veteran

I actually love this shade with heathered dove grey and white. Or go optic with grey, white and black. I wear a similar cardigan with white jeans to add some crispness and a dove grey top. or I wear a scarf this colour with a dove grey top, white jeans, black vest and cognac boots to tie to the scarf. Lots of possibilities!

Column

Veteran

What Bijou said. Brown is the equivalent neutral to black for us warm-toned gals. Pair it with any other autumn tone. Like Joy, I also love pink and red with brown.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I think of olive, burgundy and mustard as earth tones too. I'll be back!

Alicewonderland

Veteran

I have a similar cardigan, and usually wear with navy/cream checked shirt or or similar top and denim, and maybe complementary scarf. I really don’t try too hard to get to creative with it, as I think it’s soothing when it’s simple. Brown and earth tones look really nice with gold accents, so I like to wear them with gold shoes, bags or jewelry. So for your brown cardigan I might do column of cream, brown cardigan, gold jewelry and bag, any warm toned shoes.
For some reason, I don’t like to have too many earth tones in one outfit, so I usually pick one color and do a tonal or monochromatic outfit.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

This is a fun place to look at various color palettes:

https://www.canva.com/colors/brown/

Burnt sienna might also help:

https://www.canva.com/colors/burnt-sienna/

Style Fan

Veteran

Thanks, Bijou for mentioning me. I was just looking at a blogger who mixed brown and black together very successfully. (Style Bee) I usually wear brown with cream and denim or brown with olive and denim. Of course, I wear a lot of denim.

I don't wear turquoise or light blue but I do think both brown and turquoise and brown and light blue are lovely combinations.

rachylou

Veteran

I love it with pastels.

Anonymous

I like brown with red, lavender, turquoise, teal & hot pink.

Anonymous

I'm not a good example as I use cognac as a nude to me and brown bookends my hair, but...
For me, I like browns most with turquoise-teal, berries, purple, denim, to warm them up. I don't like wearing them with other earth tones as it seems too 70s for my style. I also love wearing olive with turquoise.
You on the other hand, would be glorious in a lighter cooler version....
The taupy tree bark plus the rose of the blossoms would be so good! Or a robins egg blue or lavendar.
Your brown sweater would be nice with peaches and warm pinks, rose gold, and light denim with your coloring.

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Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I like earth tones like tan, toffee and caramel with tomato red and shades of white. Or white and dark blue.

Cee

Veteran

I used to wear a lightweight pepper brown turtleneck until it wore out a year ago and consigned to the RIP list that I wore mostly with blue denim jeans and under jackets or heavier sweaters.

My wardrobe is now brown clothes free !

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