Just for fun: cumin with burgundy (ETA more photos down thread!) - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Dressing

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Just for fun: cumin with burgundy (ETA more photos down thread!)

CarolS

Veteran

So, the suggestion that the ochre/cumin/brass (just thought of that now) coloured top with lilac got me thinking. I do actually have a pair of lilac pants, but the top seemed just t touch strong for them without the right accompaniments to tone it down. SO - I paired it with an old pair of brownish Gap pants you've seen before. Usually I try to pass them off as a shade of toffee, but it turns out they tone pretty darned well with the funny coloured top.

And I have this very old burgundy scarf with orange and a wonderful chartreuse-y green in the pattern that actually picks up the green-ness of the top. And burgundy shoes.

So, here we are -- Not particularly well styled, a bit oversized, and maybe too rumpled for going out, but just fine for Saturday night playing in the closet...

Suggestions for improvement always welcome. Thanks for looking!

This post has 1 photo. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

Dressing

42 replies

Latest reply was from CarolS

rachylou

Veteran

Oh wow. Amazing colour harmony!!

rachylou

Veteran

Also: brass is a good word for this colour…

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I love the mix of the mystery color with burgundy. Although the pants are oversized on you the juxtaposition with the oxfords works for me. Great outfit!

CarolS

Veteran

Thanks Rachy and Shevia. I think this colour really shines with burgundy. (I was trying above to make the leap from the lilac pants to the burgundy scarf, but I think I faded out somewhere there.... oh well.)

Sloper

Veteran

Works really well with burgundy! Nice scarf!

Brooklyn

Veteran

Thumbs up!

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

Well, whatever they are, those toffee brown/ beige pants (or 'khakis' lol) look lovely on you - along with the cosy olive & burgundy! You could probably get away with a little lilac added to the mix too.

slim cat

Veteran

Looks like a nice outfit all together- scarf is perfect for it!

Star

Veteran

Oh wow, this works!

Mirjana

Veteran

Oh, wow, wonderful colors! You really look stunning. You look better and better .

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Thumbs up from me too! Nice tonal harmony. What are you wearing over the top?

CarolS

Veteran

Zaeobi, yes, a little lilac would probably fit in somewhere. Lilac socks, perhaps? (yet another thing to add to a long shopping list of wardrobe holes to fill...)

Thanks Sloper, Brooklyn, slim cat and Star.

awww - thank you Mirjana

Thanks, Angie -- that's just a big scarf I threw over it. (Or do you mean what would I throw over top if I was actually wearing this out?)

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

That scarf is gorgeous with the sweater. Can we pretty please see the lilac pants swapped in for the safer color, just once?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I mean in terms of a topper, yes

CarolS

Veteran

LOL -- I will try to give it a shot with the lilac pants a bit later today.

CarolS

Veteran

Angie, I don't know that I have a topper for this right now. The wardrobe is woefully short on variety. This was "playing around with a colour combo" more than full outfit creation.

I have a dark long cardigan that is a dark purple-brown. It's not exactly a style I would ordinarily pair with these pants, but it might be an option.

I will play around to see if there is anything else that could work. Thanks for the prompt to think about it anyway.

Because of my "wear what I have for now" plan for this winter, I expect that as the weather cools down, I will ens up in a LOT of black pants and big sweaters whenever I leave the house.

Tanya

Veteran

The colors work together very nicely for me. Love the oxfords and the scarf.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Yay!! I’m looking forward to it. Also wondering how those pants would play with “dark purple-brown”.

Black pants and too-big sweaters all winter? *sob*. What does fit you right now and for the next month or so? Even stuff from the back of the closet, if it’s remotely seasonally-appropriate.

Katerina

Veteran

This is such a wonderful sophisticated colour palette - LOVE it. It suits you beautifully. Now, I want that scarf

CarolS

Veteran

Now this has turned into a full-blown workshop with this top!

"the top" with pale lilac pants. Although we have established that the cognac sneakers are a different colour, at a distance I think they pass reasonably well. This scarf doesn't really contain the exact colour of the top, but it is one of the few things I have that might help tie in with the pants, so gave it a shot.
Same base with a different scarf. There's no lavender in the scarf, but there is blush in small enough quantities that I think it could pass with the lavender.
Yet another scarf (I have SO many), with the deep purple cardigan overtop.
Switching the cognac shoes for burgundy made me happier.
Let's try pattern mixing...
Pattern mixing with the scarf from the original post
Another pattern mix. This time the scarf has blue/gold/brown/black in it. Switched to black Blundstones. We had a wee snow flurry a few minutes ago, so trips out of the house will probably all involve boots of some sort quite soon! I could easily wear black pants with this, too. (In fact, I meant to put them on so SF wouldn't feel so badly about my "black pants all winter" comment, but, I'm not going back into try on mode again today!!)
Original outfit from this post with the dark cardigan as topper.
A bit of time travel. A beloved old Alfani blazer that ALMOST fits again (still a bit snug across the back and at the waist). I wore this to death back in the day -- to work, with jeans, you name it.
Green utility jacket subbed in as a topper in the original outfit. Not entirely sure about this one. There is green in the scarf, but it might be more fun if the topper was a more acidic shade of green.
Taking the original base and black booties with the olive jacket as a topper. This scarf is one of my favourites -- I'd love to find a top in that arsenic shade. I love love love the mix of blue greens and acidic yellow greens. I could probably wear this out and about IRL right now with the black puffer over top for warmth.

Whew. That was a lot of work -- I mean play!

Many of these looks would easily be appropriate for our business casual office -- if I was there -- but the reality is most won't see the light of day outside the house. BUT, not to worry -- I am not fussed by things not fitting me perfectly -- their looseness reminds me that the positive steps I have taken are showing results. My feet and knees thank me every day.

Playing around now with what I do have will satisfy my creative urges and help me identify what I want to gradually add to my closet in the months ahead.

If you made it this far, thanks for looking, and for any comments or suggestions you care to make about how these could be improved, or which are stronger to your eye.

This post has 11 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

rachylou

Veteran

They all win. You have options!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Oh my goodness, so much fun!

That weird color (olive oil?) is super cool for how it works with everything. I’m not a scarves person, so I’ll leave that for other people to comment on.

The cognac shoes pick up the color of the sweater in a tidy little bookend, but I agree with you that the burgundy is better, at least with the lilac pants because they’re a tonal or monochrome match.

Predictably, I do like the lilac pants outfits best. The pants are great, btw. It seems like they fit you well (but I’m on my phone, so can’t tell for sure). Are they winter thickness?

Understood that you’ve reached the limits of try-ons, (even for me ) But I bet the black pants and Blundstones would be great together.

I can’t decide what I think of 5. It’s clearly my favorite of that subgroup, and the pattern and color mixes are great, but somehow, to my maximalist eye, it lacks “umph”. I might even like to see the black pants in there. Do you have any that fit? Then is the question of shoes—extend the leg length with the Blundstones, bookend the top with cognac, or burgundy? I like the idea of burgundy best, but have no explanation. Maybe it’s just because I like black & burgundy together? Being dark, they wouldn’t chop your leg line, but the color shift would bring some interest, drawing the eye down.

The Alfani blazer is a great color for you. Thanksgiving day outfit, or is that too soon?

10 is really nice. 11 too. The colors you mention sound like great directions to go in your rebuild. You could even use the scarf as centerpiece; if everything goes with it, it should all work together, even without the scarf.

Thanks for letting us play along. If you’re happy staying in your cocoon all winter, then far be it from me to insist you throw off the dark, loose layers, but it’s nice to see you have options whenever that mood strikes you.

Star

Veteran

So who would have thought that this top of the unusual colour is actually so versatile?! Well done.

CarolS

Veteran

Thanks Star and Rachy. This one top alone could keep me busy all winter.

SF -- thank you for your comments! I'll reply as much as I can now but might have to come back again after work!!

I have rarely owned patterned tops (beyond the odd stripe or animal print), but have always loved colourful scarves. Might have to do with climate -- they are often needed to bring life and warmth to outerwear. And are easy to buy when weight fluctuates. Sadly, harder to wear them indoors since menopause as they can suddenly become WAAAY too warm.

To my eye, the pants may be at the root of the lack of oomph in #5 and others with the printed sweater. Too much of the same... Black would have been more grounding. I'd love to find a pant that was closer in colour to the top, or a bit darker. (PS, the olive oil description is also a good one for the colour of the top.)

The lilac pants are jeans weight. They are a wee bit loose in the waist now, meaning they get baggy in the seat and hips pretty quickly. But I can wear them this winter if/when needed. Lilac is probably one of my least favourite colours (sorry to all who love it) -- I bought these because they sort of fit at the time and I thought they might work with an orphaned dusky purple top. Now I know I have some other options for them so they might come out if opportunity presents.

Being Canadian, we have finished with Thanksgiving already, but I'm hopeful that at some point the Alfani jacket will fit again. No rush, as I don't have any immediate needs for it.

Once the snow flies, there will be very few outings where what I wear will matter all that much, as all anyone will see is my outerwear and scarf. It is what it is.

PS -- I think 4 and 6 are my faves from the above workshop...

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

My bad—sorry it slipped my mind that you’re in Canada! And I didn’t mean you shouldn’t wear scarves—you look great in them, and seem very comfortable—just that I’m not up on tricks of tying them, and matching them to an outfit sometimes seems like it involves a step i don’t know about. I do like the one in 5 with the leopard and The Top.

And I hear you on nothing but outerwear being seen anyway.

CarolS

Veteran

No worries. We're from so many places that it is hard to keep track of it all! And I didn't take it at all that I shouldn't wear them -- just that they're not your area of expertise. So no worries there.

RobinF

Veteran

Ooh fun closet experiments! I love those light

(they look cream to me but fab regardless)

pants on you and with that ochre sweater they look so good. Especially with the matching shoes.

Katerina

Veteran

Wow, these are all very good! I LOVE no 4 - perfect with the burgundy boots and the fabulous scarf, love the subtle contrast in colours. And LOVE 11 - what a beautiful scarf and gorgeous colour palette! I also adore this mix of colours in the scarf - no wonder it is your favorite. You look gorgeous in all these outfits.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

All very good! You had a fun and fab outfit creation session

I like the versions with the lilac pants best.

Do you have outerwear in this palette?

12