How to Create More Neutral Variety in Your Wardrobe

By Bridgetteraes @BridgetteRaes

For many women, wearing black is an auto-pilot choice. After all, nothing is as versatile as black, right? Well...

Yes, black has its merits. It's easy and slimming. For quite a few women, black makes sense. When black gets boring and monotonous it's time to look beyond the shade to see how you can get just as much variety with other neutral colors. If you are someone who wants a versatile wardrobe and is seeking alternative neutral options beyond just black, I put together a few examples below to illustrate how black isn't the only option when choosing neutrals.

How to Create More Neutral Variety in Your Wardrobe

Below I chose three similar silhouettes in three different neutral colors and styled them with the same components, showing that you don't have to abandon your current wardrobe or buy new clothes when you purchase other neutral shades. Take a look at the examples.

Outfits #1


These first looks I styled with a grey dress from J. Crew, navy dress and black dress from BOSS as the bases. Further to these colors, I could have also added a navy sheath as well as a camel or brown dress. These shades don't matter.

To each dress I added the exact same styling components, a berry colored melange blazer from Rag & Bone, Kate Spade block heel pumps in tobacco, cognac bag from Lauren Ralph Lauren and tortoise earrings from Kendra Scott.

A little black dress doesn't necessarily need to be black to be versatile. Let's change the 'B' in LBD to basic.

Outfits #2

Here again I used three different neutral pants shades, a black pair from Theory, grey pair from J. Crew and olive pair from Nordstrom. In these cases, just like the last looks, the colors don't matter as much. I could add navy or camel to the mix too.

In all three looks, I added this soft pink sweater from Reiss and finished the looks with burgundy accessories, burgundy booties from Sudini and bag from Treasure & Bond. I finished the looks with blush pink stud earrings from Kate Spade.

Outfits #3


In these last looks I used fit and flare dresses to show how easy it can be to swap out black for other neutral shades. The black dress is from BA&SH, the navy dress is from Eliza J and the olive dress is from Lafayette 148.

In all the looks, I added this yellow wrap cardigan from J. Crew, a pair of leopard pumps from Cole Haan and the same Treasure & Bond burgundy bag that I used in the last looks. I added a simple gold necklace from Karine Sultan to all the outfits.

I could easily go on and on with more more outfits to show how other neutral shades can be just as versatile as black, but I think the point has been made. If black is working for you, go for it. But if you have been looking for more variety, try styling your favorite pieces with other neutrals to see how much more you can get from your wardrobe.