For today’s blog post, I wanted to experiment with putting together a monochrome outfit. I’m usually not a huge fan of monochrome looks—I think they can appear cheap if done improperly—but I figured I should try it out again for myself. One of my favorite inspirations for all-over color and just super funky outfits altogether is Blaire Eadie of Atlantic Pacific. Her outfits may be the very definition of impractical, but I can’t help but love her whimsical pairings and color combos. I was inspired by her to create a more wearable monochrome look for the wintertime!
Something I’ve noticed in Blair’s monochrome outfits is that they always have a wide range of textures. I think one of the reasons I have been unsuccessful with uniformly colored looks in the past is because I tried to pair like fabric with like fabric, making me look like a walking cotton crayon. (It’s hard to explain why I think some monochrome outfits look cheap, but the best mental image that is coming to mind is a denim jacket paired with jeans of the same wash.)
For today’s look, I tried to pick items with various interesting textures—I’m not sure I did a great job achieving my goal, though. I started with this felt-like olive green jacket with black pleather sleeves. I love this jacket, but I’ve stopped wearing it in recent years because of a hole in the armpit area (I stitched it back together myself, but as is the case whenever I try to hand-sew, the stitch quickly broke open again). I thought the black of the sleeves would pair nicely with my tall black knee boots and add a touch of edge to the overall look.
For the base of the outfit, I wore this cotton green bodysuit and an olive green midi skirt made out of a sponge-like fabric. While the skirt does have a texture to it, it doesn’t really show up on camera, making my top and skirt appear as one fabric. My dad even commented, “I haven’t seen that dress before.” I think a better use of texture would have been to wear an olive green sweater instead of the bodysuit, to add a chunky knit to the look. Olive green sequins or lace would have been interesting, too! Of course, I don’t own any such pieces, so the bodysuit had to do.
When I think of a true monochrome outfit, I think of pulling off a look using nearly identical shades of the same color. Several different iterations of this outfit could have been created by using a lighter green top in lieu of the olive green bodysuit, or by using a different shade of green for the skirt. But for today’s challenge, I wanted to stick to using almost the same shade of olive green throughout the outfit. The only areas I deviated in the shade were with the lighter green clutch and the hair scarf, which I wove into my braid for a more interesting look. I think those hints of a different hue were necessary to add interest to this outfit, since the textures weren’t as visually stimulating as I had hoped.
Overall, I like how this outfit came together, and I felt very pretty in it. I think it almost looks like a female version of an old-fashioned military uniform, with the olive green, the pockets on the jacket, and the tall boots. The green clip-on earrings and maroon lipstick were the perfect touches to make my face pop.
Did I love this monochrome outfit, though? I really liked it and would wear it again, but I’m not convinced I was totally successful in my monochrome pursuits. I still need to get better at mixing textures because without that visual interest, wearing the same color all over can be quite boring. I’m looking forward to experimenting with single-colored outfits more in the future!
What about you, do you ever wear monochrome outfits? Do you like the look or prefer super colorful (or conversely, neutral) outfits? I was thinking of trying a maroon monochrome outfit next, with a lace maroon shell, my burgundy pleather jacket, and a maroon/purple plaid skirt… But now I’m thinking I should try an all-over grey outfit instead. Or is grey too easy? I do think neutral monochrome outfits are a lot easier to achieve than choosing a bolder color.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by the blog today, and I hope your week is off to a great start!
Miles of smiles,
Grace
Olive Green Bodysuit: Francesca’s, $20, last worn here | Green and Pleather Jacket: Dillard’s, $50, last worn here | Olive Green Midi Skirt: Nordstrom Rack, $25, last worn here | Black Knee Boots: Clarks via DSW, $100, last worn here | Hair Scarf: Hand-me-down, last worn here | Green Clutch: Hand-me-down, last worn here