BEAUTY MUST-HAVES

Workwear: Monochrome Monday, Two Ways

Wearing the same color from head to toe is one of my favorite looks, especially with dark blue. It’s such an eye-catching (and slimming) neutral that you can pair with complementary accessories, shoes, lip colors and hair styles.

Photo Credit, Close-ups and Outfit Two: Joni Kat Anderson Photographics

WHAT I WORE:

WHY I WORE IT:

  • The main blue pieces of the outfit itself are quite straightforward. I bought this top and belt together at a resale shop in LA knowing I would pair them with this blue skirt I already had.
  • The blues are not a perfect match, but I think that is A-Okay when you are going monochrome – as long as they have the same under-tone. These are all in the navy/royal/cobalt family (v. the turquoise/teal/peacock family, for example)
  • For the first version of this outfit: 
    • I chose the floral shoes that had a deep blue in the pattern as a nod to the rest of the pieces I was wearing.
    • I wanted your eye to go to the shoe, so in this case, the clothes were more of a backdrop for the shoe.
    • The purple lipstick was a pick me up for my face but also blended in with the monochrome look so that all eyes were on those shoes.
    • The same went for the hair – I put it up not only to create length but in order not to draw attention away from the shoes.
    • Did I mention it was all about the shoes?!
  • However, on the second outfit:
    • The deep gray pumps have a blue-ish undertone, so they blended in nicely without calling unnecessary attention to my footwear. I wanted all eyes on the top, belt and skirt on that day.
    • Lipstick choice was more about my mood – I wanted bright red against the dark navy and gray to set it off.
    • Since pumps feel professional and polished, I put my hair down to edge it up a bit, but I would probably put it up next time to create length as I mentioned above.
  • Jewelry was more of an afterthought for both looks, but I stuck with a gray, silver and blue color palette for my accessories.
  • When my hair is up, I’ll generally put the focus on earrings. When it’s down, I’ll focus on necklaces and bracelets, as you can see in each of the two looks.

HOW TO WEAR IT YOURSELF: