Dressing in the Nude

There seems to be quite the juxtaposition happening in fashion and the world of color. While I am focusing on more subtle hues this week you will see me doing just the opposite next week while discussing the vibrant shades that are brightening up clothing racks everywhere. But for now, we will focus on the nudes and leave the bold bright talk for next week.

In this stylist’s opinion, one of the chicest looks going is an all neutral look, especially one revolving around whites and creams. Mixing these pale shades together creates such a beautiful look. And it also looks expensive even if it isn’t.

Another thing I love about mixing neutrals is how easy it is to do with what you already have in your closet. We may not have a ton of fuchsia, violet, or cobalt blue hanging in our wardrobes but heather gray, white, beige, blush…. now, these are colors we all have on hand. Now before I go much further into this blog I do want to stop and say that when I say neutrals, I am not telling you to dress in head-to-toe black. Now ladies, I love black just as much as you do and if I could wear only one shade the rest of my life it may very possibly be black however that is not the chic neutral look I am referring to. An all-black look has its time and place but that can look very lazy. And let me also pause and say I am not suggesting to simply throw on a black pant with a gray or white top and nude shoes and call it a day! You can use black in these neutral looks of course, but what I want you to do is to stretch beyond the typical and go outside of your usual four squares. If you are going to use black to create a chic look then think about how you are going to implement that and add a variety of light shades to the outfit to give you the updated beautiful look you are trying to create.

The third element to the neutral look is that there really isn’t a wrong way to do this which makes it effortless. When pulling your neutrals together know that you really can’t go wrong. Feel free to mix your whites, creams, beiges, and so on. Hear me say you do not have to keep true white with white and off white with off white etc.…. mix them all! When I am trying to pair colors and prints together, I like to lay them out on the floor or bed or wherever and look at them all together. If you don’t like it there, I can promise you it won’t change things when you have it on your body (I am talking STRICTLY with COLOR/PRINTS for this rule and this has NOTHING to do with STYLES or SILHOUETTE). Once you have pulled a look together that seems cohesive, get dressed and then work on accessorizing. I am usually quick at putting an ensemble together and don’t often change once I am dressed... but I do play with my accessories! I like to see the pieces forming the outfit on my body and then work on shoes and jewelry.

To give these neutrals a bit more depth add prints and texture through fabrics. An example would be fabrications like lace, ‘faux’ fur, leather, velvet and so on. Adding a richness to your pieces will elevate your outfit to the next level. Additionally, taking prints like the always on trend animal print or the back in trend snake print and mixing them with solids will make the look more playful. But any neutral prints no matter what they are…. plaid, floral, polka-dots all of them work just stay in the neutral hues and they will be perfect. You can also add depth by adding in pastel neutral colors. examples of this are blush tones of pink, an almost grey-blue shade or even a lavender that feels earthy.

Start wearing this trend today, I love wearing nudes in winter, and carry it through spring. It is chic, beautiful, and effortless! And best of all you can work with what you already own in your closet. Winter can feel like a drab time to get dressed, we are past the holidays and not yet to spring... but this is the time to try something new! Post your neutral looks to stories or on your feed and tag me in them; I would love to see what looks you guys come up with!

XO

Tamara