I love the color olive. I love it any time of the year. I love how versatile it is and how pretty it is against my skin tone and hair color. It's just such an appealing color for so many reasons. Therefore, I was quite surprised when color Pantone's color 448C, which is an olive shade, was voted the ugliest color in the world. Although, we must put this finding into context. It was voted ugly for packaging, specifically for cigarette packaging. For fashion, however, when I presented the findings to my Facebook Page, everyone balked at the idea of this being the ugliest shade ever. Pantone's 448C in a stunning leather handbag, a cashmere sweater, a pair of pants? Yes, please!
Despite its murky and dark tones, olive is a wonderful neutral for summer. In lightweight fabrics, like khaki, cotton and linen, it's quite stunning and versatile. If you are looking for tips on how to wear olive in the summer, check out these outfits below.
How to Wear Olive in the Summertime
Outfit #1
Look at olive as being just as versatile as black, navy or any other neutral. A color that you can wear with these shades you can wear with olive too. Olive can even replace light tan shades frequently found in khaki colors while a lot more appealing to wear on the bottom. Take, for example, how I styled these olive cropped pants from Boden. In the outfit above, I used this red sleeveless blouse from Vince Camuto. Normally green and red looks very Christmasy. However, olive and red looks quite stylish and is a favorite color combination of mine. Finishing the look, I added these wedges from Stuart Weitzman, an olive bag, layered necklace from LOFT and watch from Michael Kors.
Outfit #2
Next, olive with pastels. I love the combination. Olive and pink is beautiful and I love purple and olive. If you are someone who looks good in softer shades, don't discount olive as a neutral complement. In the outfit above, I styled this olive cotton shirt from J. Crew with white jeans and finished the look with shades of purple, including these printed sandals from Cole Haan, mauve tote and earrings from Lord & Taylor. for an extra finish I used these bangles from Banana Republic.
Outfit #3
Lastly, I love olive and yellow together. Yellow isn't for everyone, but in a pair of shoes they can be very flattering without being worn anywhere near the face. I styled this Banana Republic maxi with yellow sandals from Via Spiga to show how pretty the combination can be. I finished the outfit with a Patricia Nash tote and hoops from Stella & Dot.
Try adding some olive to your wardrobe this summer and find out just how versatile and flattering it can be.
