Black and Brown: Embracing the Taboo

Black and Brown Scarf: Nordstrom BP | Jeans: Mott and Bow c/o | Tee: Madewell | Booties: The Frye Company c/o | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff (on sale!) c/o

I’ve talked about this before, but y’all know I really have a hard time mixing certain colors. It’s not just black and brown, the whole grey with brown and navy with black also trips me up. It’s like, I know it’s totally fine to do it, there aren’t rules about that anymore, but I just have a hard time feeling good about it. However, I have discovered one easy way to do neutral color mixing that will always feel good.

This whole outfit would kill me if it weren’t for one piece, the scarf. Why? Because it has BOTH black and brown in it! I know, I’m talking like I just discovered something monumental, but maybe it hadn’t occurred to you just like it took me years to figure it out. You can wear any color combo when you add one piece that ties it all together. Below are some of my favorite scarves (all under $40) that have two or more neutral colors together.

Another essential way to do the black and brown thing it to have your shoes match your bag. I don’t mean exactly the same shade, but if you’re going to wear brown shoes, I wouldn’t do a black bag. Again, this might be a personal thing, but I just have to have my shoes match my bag if I’m going to mix black and brown. That’s what I did in this look. If I didn’t have the scarf to tie it together, I wouldn’t love it, but I guesss I would still feel okay about wearing black jeans with brown shoes because my bag matched. Speaking of these jeans, I need to just tell you how obsessed I am with them! They’re Mott and Bow, a company who makes high-quality denim for a more affordable price because they control their manufacturing process closely and eliminate waste. They’re ethically hand-made by talented artisans, so each pair is perfect, and I am in love with my pair. If you buy cheap jeans, you should definitely reconsider (the jean-making industry is awful!) and try out a company you can trust. Check out this blog I wrote about shopping for ethically made clothing.

Keeping this short because this has been a crazy busy week and this weekend will be no different! Check out my Instagram stories for a fun project I’ll be doing with some other Austin bloggers on Saturday afternoon! I’m so excited about it, I can hardly wait!

Photos by: Carlos Barrón Photography