Thank you for your posts – I really enjoy them and find them useful.
I have a question about mixing the color navy. I tend to wear a lot of (brighter) navy to work (can’t do black) but wonder about mixing different navy pieces, particularly plain navy pants and a jacket/cardigan not from the same set and so the shade is slightly different. All of my pieces were bought separately and I have read somewhere “never to mix navy” because the different shades don’t look right. But if wearing different shades of navy together looks strange what to do? Most of the time I wear it anyway. It’s usually when I wear a navy jacket with navy pants that I wonder, so I usually opt for a different color jacket but then have to think of a top to wear with it and then I’m mixing 3 colours instead of two and it gets too complicated for me! I have got a couple of multi-coloured tops I love which have some navy in them so I tend to wear them to try and tie in the pants and jacket. In Brisbane for 8 months of the year I only carry the jacket around and don’t put it on because it’s too warm so I don’t want too many jackets/cardigans etc. I tend to invest in tops that stand alone with pants for work. Anyway to cut a long story short the weather here has cooled down enough that I actually need to put on a jacket at some stage (although tank tops underneath don’t work because at some stage I will need to take the jacket off when it gets too warm – perhaps a topic for another post).
Also, what color shoes with navy pants? – I usually wear black. Brown doesn’t work and nude seems to stand out and is really hard to find anyway. I work in an industry where red shoes would probably not work.
I hope you can make sense of this hotch-potch of stuff!
Many thanks
Kira
How to Mix Navies
The key to mixing different shades of navy is to find ones that have some similarity particularly in undertone and also intensity. Some are brighter and more intense, others are softer and more greyed down. Some are warmer marine navies, others are cooler more violet navies.
You can mix some different navies, but the do need to relate to each other. Similar intensity and undertone will help to make them work together.
Different textures also helps, so a knit with a woven fabric we know they are not supposed to be a ‘suit’, but jacket and pants that are not a suit are harder to mix. Above I’ve mixed the navy denim, with navy pinstripe jacket and sheer navy top – all different navies but they work together as there is enough similarity, yet we know they are not supposed to be exactly the same as they are not part of a suit.
Using patterns can also make it easier to mix them, a linking piece with a pattern that includes navy will help you mix them more easily (and it will make it less noticeable)
Both navy pieces here are blue and white which creates the harmony.
Which Shoes to Match with Your Navy Pants
As far as shoes to go with your navy pants
Black, deep brown and of course navy are all great if you want leg elongation and a column of color.
If you want to make more of a statement try oxblood or came (camel is great if you are a blonde as it creates lovely visual grouping too)
