Monochromatic dressing, or dressing in colors and hues that are very similar, keeps cropping up on the runways. Both InStyle magazine and The Globe and Mail have covered this trend for fall.
It’s pretty easy to pull off this trend by choosing a color that you like and that looks good on you, then finding items in the same hue or tone. Of course, you can break up the look with a color very close to the one you have chosen, or a neutral, like I did in the feature image.
I like monochromatic dressing for a few reasons. It’s relatively easy to find items that are the same color, especially if you purchase them from the same store or designer or go through your closet looking for that one color. Also, wearing one color palette gives an outfit a look of elegance and style. The outfit feels simple because the color flows from one part of the outfit to the other. It is also sophisticated because it can indicate a certain effort has gone into putting together the outfit to make a statement. People notice when you are wearing one color!
In the photos below, I am wearing a khaki blazer, with a tank top in the same color. When you choose pieces from the same designer, monochromatic dressing is that much easier. The blazer has two textures, a smooth twill in the body of the jacket, and a ribbed t-shirt fabric in the sleeves. The tank top is made of the same fine ribbed cotton as the jacket sleeves. You give interest to your look when you mix textures within the same color. The statement necklace, another way to add interest to mono-color dressing, is brushed nickel and is in the same tone as the rest of the outfit. To tie it all together, even though there are white pants featured, the shoes are khaki/taupe toned and the bag is in the same color family.
So, I thought I would sneak in this one last summer-styled post, even though Fall officially arrived early this morning. When you live in Toronto and the weather is still summer-like in late September, you just go with it!
Let me know if you have a favorite monochromatic look, and…stay tuned for a fall/winter post as well.
(Blazer and tank: Marc Cain; necklace: H&M; jeans: Jessica Simpson; bag: Massimo Dutti; shoes: AGL)
Email This Post
This week I was lucky enough to get rush tickets to see Brooklyn, based on Colm Toibin’s 2009 best-selling novel, with screenplay by Nick Hornby (An Education, Wild) and direction by John Crowley (Intermission). John Crowley was at the screening for a couple of minutes to introduce the movie, already screened at Sundance, as one about ‘family, memory, and making a new life’.
