I’ve worn the color navy for as long as I can remember. It’s my ‘black’, the basic color that my wardrobe is built around. If I tell my family or friends that I just bought a new shirt or dress, they’ll ask ‘don’t tell me, it’s navy, right?’ The answer is invariably yes!
Navy just looks better on my coloring (I’m a Fall) – and, there must be something appealing about the color from my childhood obsession with all things blue. In any case, I am attracted to navy clothing like fire is to air. My Little Black Dress is really a Little Navy Dress! So, I recently sat down with Toronto stylist Penny Blais to talk about navy and fashion.
We started out talking about whether navy is a trend. Navy was seen as a trend some years back, but is now season-less. In fact, I keep hearing about how navy is strong, season after season, so it’s safe to say that navy is here to stay! Navy is a legitimate, softer option to black and a way for both men and women to step outside of their comfort zone while sticking to dark colors. For fall, the designer runways certainly showed a lot of navy.
We talked about what colors go with navy and how to build a wardrobe around this color. Invest in navy basics like tops, bottoms, and outerwear, and match them with pieces in colors like camel, luggage, toffee, port, grey, golden yellows, orange, and white (summer) or winter white. Accents of navy, fuchsia, and emerald are okay, too. Think of navy as a classic neutral color to work around.
We also talked about ‘too much navy’ and how it can be obsessive. One needs to be creative and use textures, accessories, and complementary colors to mix things up. Most of my coats are navy, so I make sure to carry a brown or light-colored purse (not navy) as much as possible to get a nice contrast.
In the feature image of this post, I took a navy shift dress with subtle cutout details on the shoulder and added a statement necklace. The scarf was added because I wore this to a conservative wedding. Because it was summer, it was fine to wear navy sling backs without the panty hose. The clutch is small and subtle to keep the outfit looking slim and clean.
Do you wear a lot of navy? I’d love to hear all about it!
(Dress: Sarah Pacini; Shoes: Gadea Wellness; Clutch: Jacky & Celine; Necklace: Living2)
[Email_Link]
You look great in navy!
Thank you so much!!