How to Add Small Touches of Color to Suited Looks

It can be tricky to wear a lot of color in work environments that require suits because these workplaces are typically very conservative. However, how many times can a woman wear bland suited looks before she becomes bored to tears? In today's post I am going to show you an easy way to add some color to the suits you wear to work while still keeping it professional.

Color Tripleplay Formula

The Color Tripleplay is a formula I have used many times on this blog to create stylish and colorful outfits. The three parts of this formula consist of a neutral base, a pop color, and an accent shade.

The Base: The base is the foundation of an outfit and in a neutral color, like navy, black, grey, olive, camel, brown, and so on. These neutral colors can typically be mixed with any pop and accent colors.

The Accent: Accent colors are the second colors used in suited looks, like blouses and tops. Typically these colors are flattering face colors and shades that work back to the neutral base that it being worn. Seeing that many colors work with neutrals these options are pretty limitless.

The Pop: The pop color is the part of a suited outfit that most women forget about. It's that subtle finishing color that just rounds out the look. This color is usually found in accessories, like shoes, jewelry and scarves and complements the accent colors used in outfits.

Below are three outfits to show three different ways you can use this approach to add subtle pops of color to keep your looks professional while also making them a bit more interesting.

How to Add Small Touches of Color to Suited Looks

Outfit #1
Using this suit consisting of this jacket and pants from Theory, here is the first very easy way to enhance the look of the outfit. It may be common for you to layer a colorful tank or blouse underneath your suits, like I did here with this Nic + Zoe tank in cobalt. To take this outfit one step further and make it even more interesting, adding these pink Nine West slingbacks enhances the look without taking away its professionalism. Using the Color Tripleplay approach, the black suit is the base, the cobalt tank is the accent and the pop is in the pink shoes. What is important is that the accent and pop shades complement each other, like the pink and cobalt does here. The outfit is finished with a simple Alex and Ani pendant.
Outfit #2
In the summer, you may branch out with more color in your suited looks. You can still keep these outfits professional with this subtle color approach. In this ensemble, for example, I used a bright blue skirt and jacket from J. Crew, and layered a navy tank from Reiss under the jacket. To add a third color, I used this gold Jasper necklace from Max & Chloe and, using the accent blush tone found in the necklace, I added these pumps from Calvin Klein. It's this subtle pop of blush that makes this outfit more well rounded and interesting.
Outfit #3
In this last outfit, I created a suited look using a white blazer and crosshatch sheath dress from Karen Millen. This neutral base is the foundation and I added a subtle pop and accent of colors using a soft blue Nine West pumps as the accent and yellow earrings from Nordstrom as the pop. The blue and the yellow complement each other and that small touch of yellow is what adds an unexpected splash of color to this professional look.

When putting on a suit, think of these three parts to building a professional, yet colorful, suited look: your base neutral shade, your accent color and that last small pop shade that finishes your look without a ton of color.