Monochromatic Dressing 101
Have you ever walked down a street noticing an effortlessly chic-looking person dressed head to toe in the same colour and thought, “Wow, I wish I could pull that look off”? Achieving a monochromatic look isn’t as intimidating as it might sound. Not only is it achievable, but it can be done with any kind of colour pallet. Today I’m sharing with you my top tips for creating a monochromatic look no matter your comfort level with colour.
Texture, texture, texure
Beginning with neutrals is a great way to start your monochromatic journey because we often have more of them than other, bolder hues. I recommend starting with a neutral that gives you some variety, like my personal favourite, grey, which has a standing reservation in my wardrobe. Often times I’ve heard clients complain that dressing in a monochromatic way feels visually boring. One of my favourite ways to keep this kind of look exciting is by embracing texture. In this first look, I combine two different textures, both in the shrug and turtleneck and finish the look with rigid denim, bringing an unexpected combination of finishes to create visual interest to a neutral monochromatic look.
Colour Families
One of the things you want to keep in mind when building a monochromatic look is that not every piece has to be the same depth of colour. The goal here is not to match every piece perfectly, instead, they should offer variety while still fitting nicely into the same colour family. In this look I stayed within the teal colour family, going with a darker teal skirt and boots on the bottom, complementing the pastel teal tones on top, creating a unified look with plenty of colour variation while still keeping monochromatic.
Embrace Print
Oftentimes we think monochromatic can only translate to solid colours, but I am here to debunk that myth! If you are someone who doesn’t shy away from colour or print, know that you can still achieve a monochromatic look in a way that is aligned with your personal style. Bringing in patterns should also create more monochromatic possibilities, for me, this was a game-changer! it opens up the possibility of focusing on a pattern’s primary colour and highlighting it with other complimentary pieces. I took an old dress that is in the same colour way as one of my favourite knits and simply paired the two together. While they’re different tones, they complement each other beautifully. We get visual interest with the texture of the knit and skirt, as well as through the print. This isn’t your average, boring monochrome honey!
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