Max Mara made their statement known at Milan Fashion Week at the end of February. Brown may very well be the new Black. With models taking to the catwalk showcasing a variety of designs and patterns the use of the colour brown was evident.
There's a lot more to a brand using the brown shade than you may think. Whilst it seems to be the younger, less known sister of the Black palette it is making its reappearance as we look ahead to Autumn/Fall of 2022.
Verywellmind.com shares how often the colour brown is "solid, much like the earth, and it's a colour often associated with resilience, dependability, security, and safety." Along with the surroundings of autumn offering shades from the brown and orange palette, having clothing to match can have a positive effect - just like how you may feel compelled to wear bright yellow shades in summer.
The Continued Love for Teddy Fabric
With the use of their beloved Teddy fabric in a cosy brown shade, it's not hard to see why brands like New Look, ASOS and Next have rolled out the much-loved fabric on items ranging from jumpers to handbags and hair accessories. If brown isn’t your chosen shade, then there are plenty of other colours to try out.
All Shades of Brown
With brown making its statement, lighter brown shade beige also made an appearance in full-autumn-cosy-wear.
The Colour Psychology of Brown
The colour brown is said to be a steady, grounded shade. With the colour being the shade of earth, of nature, it's understandable to see it less desirable than brighter colours like pink or blue. However, the power psychology of brown is more than you may think. Wearing the colour brown can aid in representing reliability and stability.
Additionally, Brown is believed to be a relaxing colour. With the shade linking to an increase of tryptophan (related to sleep and our immune systems) and serotonin (linked to mood.) Also, in an article by Brightside, they share how "...people who like to wear the colour brown are slightly conservative, respect their elders and always look for peace, stability, and strength in everything".
Incorporating Brown into Your Look
Whilst wearing brown is not the hardest shade to wear, compared to bright yellows and neon greens, it can take some getting used to if you’re used to opting for black.
Adding small amounts to your outfit can ease the doom of introducing any new colour to your palette. We took to Pinterest to find out favourite outfits that feature small introductions of brown without being overpowering.
Here, for Max Mara again in Milan for Fashion Week we can see the much loved teddy fabric. In the chosen shade of brown, which they’ve used as an accompanying item instead of using it all over. Additionally, to the right, we have Vogue Williams showing how to perfectly pair the likes of a brown sweater with casual skinny jeans for a simple walk around town.
Adding brown to your palette doesn’t have to be only in your clothing. Instead, you could incorporate the Autumn/Fall 2022 shade in with your accessories and footwear. To the right, model Emily Ratajkowski is pictured with her dog, wearing a light brown coat combined with a white top, blue jeans and stunning brown boots.
Clothing, tick. Footwear, tick. Accessories, tick. Next? Makeup. You can calm the power of the standard smoky eye by using lighter shades. Shades like brown and cream, compared to the harshness of black which can be difficult to incorporate into daytime looks.
Adding Brown to Nails
Adding the colour brown to anything can be difficult at times, but more so with nails. With brown comes the instant thought of earth and dirt/soil. So, we suggest going for a mixture of shades like these below.
Our Brown Dress Collection
Adding brown to your wardrobe can start with small accessories or by adding the likes of a dress or skirt. In the video below we flip through all of our stunning products, in brown shades. You can get a hold of each of these items on our website.
Can you wear black with brown?
In short, absolutely. It may be though that with both brown and black being strong, independent shades, you should choose one as your outfit shade. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
You can combine black with brown in various ways, whether it is brown shoes and black tops or a brown coat with black boots. Here we go through a few of our favourite brown/black combo outfits that we’re sure you’ll get some inspo from.
Long Sleeved Brown Dresses
Wearing long sleeved dresses isn’t exclusive to winter.
Our Marsala Brown Athalia dress is available in an additional four shades, including beet red, cobalt blue, scarlet red and navy blue. Perfect to take you from the office to the weekend wedding guest dress. Our Athalia dress pairs perfectly with these Page Chain Stiletto Court shoes.
Our Elodie pencil dress shouts all kinds of power. The dress features a rounded neckline with a side button detail, as well as pleating going across the body in a tailored flattering fit. We think that these passion stiletto court shoes would work perfectly with this power dress.
You can wear our next favourite (the peppercorn brown Padstow Midi Swing dress) either casual or formal. As well as our peppercorn brown shade, it is also available in black, navy blue, passion red, hunter green, spectrum indigo and dark mauve. We suggest that when wearing this dress for a casual feel that you pair them with these adorable London Rebel double buckle sandals.
Sleeveless Brown Dresses
One of our favourites is the Seed Fitzrovia Sleeveless dress. This dress comes in a variety of shades, including pacific green, navy blue, sandy cream, crimson pink, garnet red and daffodil yellow. With a total of 16 complete shades to try out you have the option to wear a new colour each day for the fortnight ahead!
Our sleeveless SEED Fitzrovia is perfect to go from office to event, to bar. We love the fitting on this dress (as well as the short and long sleeve versions) and how versatile it is to wear. You can take this cute dress from daytime coffee straight to the office and out for dinner. Like all of our dresses we design and make each in England. What’s more, we create each Fitzrovia using a couture stretch fabric tailored for a flattering fit and, essentially, it comes with a concealed zip and vent (within centre back) to allow ease of movement.
Wearing Gilets
With it being March the sun may be shining but it is not without a slight nip in the air! Wearing a coat can feel heavy, weighing you down. So, we suggest you opt for a gilet which can come in various designs (whether casual or formal) and shades.
A few our of favourite brown gilets include:
Brown Coats All Year Round
The perfect coat is one you can wear all year round, whether it’s cool spring or heatwave summer. Our SEED Raquella long coat is a firm favourite.
The A-line acorn brown Raquella coat comes in an additional 9 stunning shades, to flatter any body shape. What’s more, each of the shades come with a collar and pockets, adding to the beautiful hourglass shape of the coat. See also, our Silverstone Long Sleeve Coat!
