Nautical Neutral

OUTFIT DEETS: Navy Skirt || Striped Shirt || Belt || Leather Jacket || Boots || Bag
You know those pieces in your closet that you LOVE but never know what to wear with? Every find yourself starring at a piece for twenty min or (even worse) trying on twenty different outfits but NONE of them look great with it? Yeah me too! Well don’t worry – you’re not alone! We all have those stubborn styles and today I’m talking all about mine and how I tackle this once and for all!

Until two years ago, I hated navy … and even more, I hated brown (gasp). I know, don’t write me off just yet – I had good reasons! I was a black and whit girl through and through, I thought it was cleaner, chicer and just classic! I was SO LOYAL to black & white, everything I owned became black and white with no room for any other conflicting colors in wardrobe – enter my despise for Navy and Brown.

Well, I’m a big girl now (kind of), I’ve grown up a bit (lol not) and learned to love both of these colors and start to build spots for them in my wardrobe! Last fall, I made my first brown splurge, this gorgeous, soft leather jacket in a color called “whiskey” #bottomsup. I love it SO MUCH and wanted to wear it daily – but couldn’t find a way to make it work with my crazy colorful and very black wardrobe. I couldn’t get past the idea of wearing a brown jacket with an LBD (even though now I would totally rock that) and would struggle to find a wear to make it into an OOTD. I finally made something work by pairing with a grey sweater, black midi skirt and leopard pumps – and just like that I struck gold #lightbulb – the answer was neutrals!

Get the Look – Camel Leather Jacket:

So neutrals aren’t something I have a lot of (come on guys, I’m called Color Me Courtney after all) but I do have a few – grey, ivories, beige, black, navy these will be your friends when rocking a camel brown coat! The trick is to play on the opposite ends of the color wheel and mix your hues – since the brown jacket is really warm, I go with a cooler color grey but pick it in a warmer tone like a stone or charcoal instead of a more blue-grey. Pairing warm with warm makes this pairing look effortless and intentional, in the chicest way possible.

Today I paired with with blue, a generally cool color but instead of jumping straight into the deep end, I transitioned my blues with a bright blue and a navy skirt. Playing with opposite ends of the spectrum gives an offset ombre effect and pulls everything together ! I did the same thing with my browns, pairing a more chestnut brown belt with my camel jacket once again, played on the opposing ends of this hue making it more cohesive! I did the same thing with my maroons, having a brighter bag and a more muddy lip, and finished with grey boots to kind of serve as a neutral zone that balanced everything out.
OUTFIT DEETS: