Don’t quote me on this, but the last time I had a proper think about my wardrobe palette was back in 2018 or thereabouts. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and all that. And yet … here I am, fixing to change things up. In truth, the change has been a-coming for some time. It started when I ‘discovered’ brown (sometime in 2022, I think?). Since then, slowly but surely, brown has been replacing black as the core dark neutral in my closet. It’s not simply a question of my falling in love with it; I’ve also come to realize that it’s more flattering for my complexion than black, especially when worn near the face. I love black, but it does tend to wash me out – and I already look rather Corpse Bride-ish on my best days.
The introduction of brown into my wardrobe palette opened the door for a few other colours to sneak in and, at the end of the summer this year, I suddenly found myself thinking about my wardrobe palette again. Then I stumbled across some Reels discussing ‘hot’ colour combos for Fall 2024, and I sat up and started to take notes. Which I then took with me to the thrift stores – as one does, naturally. Long story short, I assembled an updated playbook for my fall wardrobe, incorporating some new (and new-ish) colours: the aforementioned brown (camel, whiskey, mahogany, and chocolate), white and cream, navy, dark green, and deep red. Along with blue – in various shades – these colours now form the backbone of my closet. Accent colours include poppy red, magenta, teal/turquoise, Kelly green, and yellow. And, of course, black.
There will always be black in my closet, though I prefer to use it in small doses, as a ‘grounding’ neutral when combining two or more bold colours. If I’m going for a more subdued colour scheme, I now tend to use either brown or navy as the core neutral, rather than black. While I still adore the drama of black-and-white outfits, it’s a vibe to which I’ve been feeling less drawn lately. This might change as we head into winter, which is usually the time when I’ve tended to wear those kinds of outfits in the past.
Meanwhile, here are some of the colour combos I’ve been loving this fall.
Navy and White
Monochromatic Brown and/or White
Navy and Dark Green
Brown and Blue
Navy and Red
Overall, this is a much more subdued palette than what I had been wearing around, say, 2020-2021. I do still enjoy wearing brightly coloured outfits from time to time – I love colour too much to ever tire of wearing it – but this palette aligns better with my current aesthetic, which is heavily leaning in a classic/preppy direction. The pendulum will swing again, I’m sure, because that’s what pendulums personal style does, but I am very much enjoying this moment. And, as always, thanking my thrifting lucky stars for the opportunity to follow my inspiration and my budget.
This was so helpful. My complexion is pale and reddish-brown, and I have been contemplating how to move away from black as a core neutral. Your outfit examples are really helpful. Thank you for bringing such intelligence to fashion.
Thanks, Anna! Embracing brown has opened my eyes to lots of different possibilities. There is a world of neutrals out there, apart from black — have fun exploring!
I had my colors done in the 1980s as a teenager, and I am a Summer…or in today’s speak, light-cool-soft. Pale blonde, pale skin, green eyes. We look best in muted colors: pastels and grayed everything. My late mother was a Winter, and for a long time, I preferred her colors…especially her black. You see, Color Me Beautiful was firm that only one season could wear black and look good in it, and that was Winter. The rest of us are supposed to wear gray, navy, or brown as our neutral.
I am also a Scorpio, and our colors are black and dark red. I consider black to be my birthright, thankyouverymuch. But like Adina, I have found that black is not the best color near my face. After trying brown–and I am supposed to wear ash or rose brown, which is really hard to find–I have settled on gray. Gray, to me, is light black. Gray looks better with my pastels. I do not seek brown anymore. I do wear navy, which is supposed to work for each season. Navy will never be my love, but it has a crispness that gray just does not. Navy + red and/or white = chef’s kiss.
So I still have a lot of black, but I find myself coveting gray more. Navy and dark green are my secondary neutrals and also rock together. I also consider red/burgundy a neutral and have a bag, coats, and shoes in red.
From an old prep, welcome to the dark side, Adina. Les.
Thank you! I still love the crispness of black, but have been in a slow process of moving away from it for nearly 4 years now, and I feel like I’ve arrived at a good equilibrium. And this year, it’s been fun to explore my palette some more.
I think I’m a bright spring but I don’t put much stock in colour analysis, tbh. It’s fun to read up on it every now and then, but I hate sticking to rules so I always end up just doing my own thing, lol!