I keep thinking about Rae's post where I said I don't like black with brights either. And I pretty much don't. But I wore black with cobalt this morning--I think Joy and maybe others mentioned this as an exception and I agree. Because cobalt, though intense, doesn't pack the zing of bright red or yellow say.

But then I took off my cobalt sweater and popped on a red sweatshirt to walk the dog. Same black skinnies. Was I breaking the rule? (Self-imposed, made-up rule let me make clear.) No, this felt right. Why?

1. The red isn't actually bright. It's a darker, muted red. And I feel better in dark or muted colors with black than with brights.
2. The shoes are gray and not black. They blend with black but reduce the matchiness.
3. There's a line of black surrounding the letters. This unifies the top with the pants and to me makes everything seem less colorblocky.
4. There is WHITE! I mentioned this in Rae's post. White helps everything, as I have learned from Angie. The white letters and white toecaps lighten up the look, and through repetition, unify it.

Well, if you're thinking that this is a lot of words about a sweatshirt and jeans, I can't blame you. But I'm still learning how to use color in outfits and it makes me happy when colors feel right. So if you've gotten this far thanks for listening!

skinnies: H&M // sweatshirt: via stanford.bkstr.com // sneakers: Converse // canine: Baby waiting patiently for me to finish so we can take a walk