Friday, 15 January 2010

Bringing back blue and brown

As a teenager one of my most rebellious moments was mixing brown and blue to gasps of amazement (read horror) from my friends. It was akin to mixing blue and green or black and navy. My friends were all about Ralph Lauren and I was patted on the head and called quirky.

Yet I seem to recall a phase when everyone wore brown and often with the blue of denim, except me as for years I've found brown a rather risible colour for fabrics other than leather, maybe even velvet.

In short brown has been consigned to a non feature. However, it is making something of a return thanks in part to some clever teaming and less block colour that was a feature of its height in the 90s. The trick is to work brown with other colours to stop it absorbing the light and flattening the look of the garment.

I think this look from PPQ's S/S 10 runway shows that brown has merit again and most definitely when worn with blue.
image: style.com

21 comments:

  1. I did have a thing for brown in the early '90s. Black and brown. Now I try to avoid brown at all costs - don't think it really suits my pale complexion. xx

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  2. I love brown only discovered it after having my colours "done " and now wear a lot of brown .... also a lot of jeans so as you say suede and jeans look Fab !

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  3. Hi there-I think its a great colour mix, I particularly like turquoise and brown!!

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  4. I love chocolate brown on blondes, but it doesn't suit me at all - or any shade of brown really! and I mix blue and green all the time, right now I'm wearing an electric blue skirt and grass green top!

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  5. Ooh I'm quite a fan of brown - though that might be because black makes me look like a corpse!

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  6. Hmm... I mix brown and blue all the time. Not to mention blue and green - they are my favorite colors so how could I ever stay away? :)

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  7. Those fashion rules about colours are all such nonsense!

    If you do it right you can wear anything with anything!

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  8. Brown does not get enough credit but its kind of like egg, it holda a lot together.
    happy friday darling!
    xx
    marian

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  9. I agree with SR, turquoise and brown are great, and I love brown and pink too. Navy & black I love too after shunning (if that's the word) for years x

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  10. everybodysaysdont - yes brown and pink is a winner!

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  11. I agree with brown and pink mix is a winner, but I love turquoise with brown...Hmmmmm?

    P.S.: ♥Please don't forget to join the Three Birds Designs giveaway!♥

    Good luck!


    X♥X♥

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  12. great model. interesting use of colors.

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  13. Your right, brown is always seen as such a non-colour but it is fabulous!!

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  14. I always thought cornflower blue and lemon went well together!

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  15. I approach brown with extreme caution.

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  16. I worked in fashion in the 90's

    to this day I still shudder at the re-runs of Friends

    WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

    so no, keep your brown xx

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  17. Hammie - LOL I know what you mean but I see merit in it but only mixed in with other colours on the garment. Yeah gods let them preserve us from the brown cult of the 90s x

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  18. I like brown mixed with blue. I once had a terrific DKNY suit from my NYC publishing days that was brown with a thin turquoise pinstripe.

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  19. I was called 'kooky' *shudder*

    I was also taken aside in Church one night when I was about 17 and asked to remedy my style of dressing as I was "frightening the older people"

    Ah me! some things never change.

    Queen Marie
    x

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  20. Cool pants! I love chocolate brown and fuschia pink or chocolate brown and duck egg blue as colour combinations for design, but I've never worn those combos. Come to think of it I don't think I have a brown item in my wardrobe!

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