Neutral Colors Clothing

There is no denying that I wear a lot of color; however, I also really appreciate neutral colored clothing. This is clearly evident from yesterday’s blog post… my guide to white spring blouses! When you build a wardrobe, I think it’s most important to stay true to yourself but then to also have a few pieces that you might not always gravitate toward because you’d be surprised at how well they fit certain occasions. For neutral color lovers, that means having some pops of color in your closet (even if they are soft colors like blush or light blue).

For color crushers, that means having some nice neutral colors in your closet (even if that means rich neutral colors like chocolate brown). I tend to be the latter as I gravitate toward color but there are certain neutrals I wear pretty frequently including black, white, cream, and gray, even in the springtime. Case in point: this outfit that is perfect for neutral lovers and this all white outfit! When Edwin gifted me this cream and camel striped dress for my birthday, I immediately flipped for it because it felt a bit out of my comfort zone but a great neutral piece I knew I could wear over and over again.

P.S. This is a post from last year that I updated. 🙂

Dress (also available here) / Sandals (also come in gold) / Purse

Neutral Colors Clothing

As I mentioned above, when I’m wearing neutral, I’m most often wearing black, white, cream, or gray. However, there are so many other beautiful neutral colors to consider including champagne, ivory, beige, khaki, sand, tan, camel, brown, and charcoal… aka a lot of earth tones or hues that aren’t oversaturated with color. I also love metallic neutral colors like gold, silver, bronze, and copper. Some people will add navy and olive to the list of neutral colors but I don’t tend to do so. As you can see, neutral colors in clothing can actually be quite diverse!

Neutral Colors Clothes Wardrobe Staples

The best part of building a wardrobe full of neutral colors is that there are tons of neutral colored wardrobe staples that are timeless in every closet, year after year. I’m talking about pieces like white jeans, a little black dress, white button-downs, cream sweaters, tan sandals, white tees, and other items that are often best done in basic neutrals.

I’m currently in love with the white jeans from Everlane. I particularly love this pair of high-rise skinny white jeans and this pair of cheeky straight leg white jeans. You simply can’t beat Everlane’s prices either!

I wear tons of black in the fall and the winter but I also love a chic, streamlined black and white neutral look in the summer. Enter the little black dress. Here are six I adore: one // two // three // four // five // six.

Grayson is my current favorite source for button-downs. Based on your fabric of choice, I honestly can’t recommend their cozy cotton, washed cotton, or linen white button-downs enough.

A cream sweater is one of my absolute ultimate neutral wardrobe staples. I wear them during the summer over my shoulders and slip them on when the sun goes down. I love these four: one // two // three // four.

tan sandals are a wardrobe staple for spring and summer. My favorites include these six sandals (some flat, some heeled): one // two // three // four // five // six.

For classic white tees, I always turn to James Perse, Splendid, Monrow, and Rag & Bone. There is nothing better than slipping into a brand new fresh white tee.

How to Wear All Neutral Colors

So, what’s really behind a neutral color wardrobe? Well, there are tons of benefits to having neutrals handy… neutrals go with everything, they are the foundation of a wardrobe, you can repeat wear them frequently without people noticing, and they make dressing easier because wearing neutrals requires less advanced thinking when putting an outfit together.

Repeat Wear Neutrals

When thinking about how to wear all neutral colors, think about the beauty in the fact that they aren’t statement makers. There are so many instances when it is best to dress not to make a statement – at work for instance – so neutrals will be your best friend. Since neutrals aren’t statement makers, you can repeat wear neutrals time and time again without worrying about people noticing.

Do you have a bright colorful or printed dress that you love but recently wore to a highly attended or photographed event like a wedding? Do you also feel like you can’t wear that dress again for awhile? If you’re thinking yes, then consider a neutral dress. I whole heartedly believe that you can repeatedly wear neutral colored dresses and not have the same feeling. The same goes for pieces like tops and sweaters. You can wear a cream top or sweater over and over again and style it so many different ways whereas you probably feel like you can’t do the same with a bright or pattered top or sweater (i.e. florals, argyle etc). Neutrals are outfit multipliers!

Wear Contrasting Neutrals

Yes, neutrals are colors that aren’t oversaturated with color so it’s hard to find a ton of contrasting neutrals. But when this look is done well it looks so smart. The most common and easy way to wear contrasting neutrals is to wear black and white together! High contrast white and black look fantastic together because they have a crisp, sharp, and refined look together. Wearing white and black together in the spring and summer is a very appropriate way to wear black throughout the year! The same can really be said for wearing white with navy or chocolate brown.

Wear Complementing Neutrals

Wearing contrasting neutrals can create a very smart, sharp look. But you can also flip this rule around and wear complementing neutrals for a very warm, inviting look. In this case, great color combinations are white with tan, khaki, or camel. The dress I’m wearing in this post fits the bill here. When wearing it, I feel very cozy, content, and peaceful because the colors are quite soothing and because they compliment each other so well!

Give Earth Tones a Try

When I embrace earth tones, I love to play up shades of brown like beige, khaki, wheat, tan, camel, chocolate, chestnut, or charcoal and then pair that color with a complementing earth tone like olive, moss, burgundy, rust, redwood, or goldenrod. This fall outfit from Vermont accomplishes this perfectly! My outfit pairs chocolate brown with beige and pops of blush and goldenrod yellow. This easy color palette works well all year long! For the spring, I’m swap the chocolate brown for a lighter khaki and pair it with muted moss or soft yellow.

My All Neutral Outfit

When I saw this dress in neutral colors, I knew it would be super wearable even though the camel color isn’t my go-to. It isn’t a punchy statement piece so I knew I could wear it time and time again without feeling like I’d already worn it out and about too many times (see above for more of my thoughts on this!). I don’t think camel or beige are usually the best colors for my skin tone. But I love the way the cream stripe breaks up the camel color, making it perfect for me against my skin!

Dress (also available here) / Sandals (also come in gold) / Purse

Get my Neutral Colors Clothing look:

Photography by Edwin Eversole