3 Tips to Wear Black with Brown

One of the top questions I am getting from my clients this Fall, “Can I wear black and brown together?” 

The answer is , “Of course you can!”  For years, we all felt that this “Fashion rule” of not wearing brown and black together was set in stone.  You either wore black or you wore brown, never the 2 together.  Let’s chat about how you can use my 3 easy tips to create great outfits with this combo.

Both brown and black are considered neutrals and they are usually dark neutrals so that is where the tricky part can come into play when trying to wear these two colors together.  However, there are lots of ways to make these two classic colors look harmonious!

Tip 1- Pick a Hero Piece

Starting your outfit with your one piece that is going to anchor your look will make creating the overall look a bit easier.  Pick a great camel hair coat, or a perfect LBD to start the look and then layer from there.  Wearing a black maxi dress?  Perfect!  Add a brown belt, a leopard clutch and a nude shoe.  The anchor piece, the black maxi, now has browns sprinkled throughout to create balance.  In this example, the hero piece is the Moto jacket – which is one of the must have pieces this fall. The Moto jacket , paired with a skinny black pant and continuing the sleek line with black bootie makes this look chic, now to add some brown into the mix I have used my Stylist Tip of using an animal print to make mixing black & brown together.

**Stylist Tip**Leopard print is a great secret to doing this!

Tip 2- Create balance with both colors

Balance out your look when wearing black & brown together. That is the key to making the outfit work.  What it means to balance your outfit is the right amount of both colors.  This is where taking a selfie is a huge help. 

**Stylist Tip**Take a selfie of your outfit everyday.  This can really help you understand if you have balance, need more accessories or if one of the colors you picked is overpowering the other. This tip works with all colors not just black and brown.

Now back to balance.  If we think of wearing a monochromatic look of all black having a brown shoe would throw the balance off.  It would stop your eye and make the shoe , not you, the focal point. Balancing your outfit so one color sings and the other supports is key to harmony when it comes to wearing these neutrals together. Ways to do that?  Add some black accessories, a belt, scarf or a great Moto jacket to balance out the brown. Thrown on a camel or cognac color to balance out black.

Fashion Hint: Create a column of color in either black or brown – head to toe and use the other color as your “pop” in accessories. 

Tip 3-Mix tones, prints and textures

Mixing the tones in your black and brown look will create a more elevated look as well.  Instead of pairing a dark chocolate brown with black try incorporating black with camel or a reddish, cognac color.  This is super sophisticated and helps to create an effortless, chic outfit.

Don’t forget to add the grays ( lightness of black) or cream (lightness of brown) as well. For example, if you’re wearing black jeans and a brown coat, you can add in cream accessories or textures like a scarf or bag, a graphic tee that has a few tones of browns and blacks in it, to bring it all together.

When it comes to prints, this is a great way to blend the solid black and brown pieces together. A plaid that has both colors in it, a graphic tee that incorporates a mix of browns and blacks, or leopard, etc. Using a print to allow your solids to coordinate more easily is a great way to style this color combo. In this outfit, the black jean and the camel coat mix beautifully with this grey sweater.

Really, the only “rule” against having brown and black work like magic is adding in bright colors- then you will take away from the harmony that these gorgeous neutrals can create. 

Want more inspiration? 

Sign up HERE to have access to my newsletter.  As a gift for signing up, you will receive a downloadable Ultimate Selfie Guide. I mentioned how taking a selfie of your outfit is a great way to understand balance and if an outfit is working for you. Using the Ultimate Selfie Guide will help you get that perfect outfit selfie!

Can’t wait to see how you pair black and brown together. Feel free to post a selfie of you in a black/brown look on my Social Media, @lifestyledbyjennclements on Instagram or Facebook I’d love to see you!