What I Wore to Work: Color

This is the second week of the little February challenge I set for myself to incorporate texture, color, pattern, sparkle and shine to my wardrobe (one at a time, not all at once, let's not go crazy!). For my "color" week, I banned black clothing. This was tough for a few reasons. The first was the obvious one: my wardrobe is full of black, so avoiding it was tough. The second was meteorological: it snowed every damned day last week. This seriously limited my shoe choices and even forced me to turn to my black rubber chelsea boots a few times. They looked pretty dreadful, but I was trying not to ruin all my shoes... plus I made up this challenge myself, so who cares, really.

Monday

 shirt and cardigan: both Target | skirt: J.Crew (altered) | tights: Gap | boots: Ecco

I played it safe on Monday with an outfit I've worn many time before that happens not to have any black in it. I like the color combo -- I like most iterations of red and green combos -- and think it worked well.

Tuesday

 shirt: LOFT | trousers: J.Crew (altered) | necklace: Dina Varano (her website) | earrings: gift | watch: Timex | belt: Banana Republic | rubber chelsea boots: Ralph Lauren via DSW

 My boldest outfit -- monochromatic bright red. I was emboldened by some of Jessica's looks from What I Wore (I initially wanted to wear my leopard-print heels but snow). I'm glad I tried it, but it's probably not something I'll wear again.

Wednesday

 cardigan: Target | shirt: Banana Republic | trousers: LOFT | necklace: Anthropologie | watch: Timex (same one as above but with a blue band) belt: Old Navy | wedge booties: Nine West Outlet

Not a super-colorful outfit, but (1) it fit my rules because even though its mostly neutrals, there's no black and (2) I tried my best to incorporate color in the pink necklace, yellow belt, and blue booties. Had I not been doing this little challenge, I probably would have worn a silver necklace and a tan belt, but this is a little more fun without looking clownish (unlike the outfit above). 

Thursday

 sweater: Halogen via Nordstrom | trousers: JCP (yes, I have two pairs of tomato-red pants) | earrings: gift | brooch: thrifted | watch: Timex (third band!) | boots: Ecco

Probably my favorite outfit. I love the red with the tan, but I also loved throwing in a bit of pale pink in the earrings and brooch in a nod to color. Rose quartz/blush/light pink is trending right now, and I think it makes a nice accent to poppy red.

Friday

 blouse: Target | blazer: Banana Republic (thrifted) | jeans: Land's End | belt: American Eagle | boots: Ralph Lauren via DSW

Another red and tan combo that I felt pretty good about. I think that's going to be a go-to combo more and more for me.

This week I learned...

that I really like black. I've been shaping my core wardrobe out of black, white, camel, and red... removing the black from the mix was tough, especially in winter since many of my heavier, warmer, and more snow-ready items are black. This was an illuminating experiment, but I think it's OK that I rely heavily on black as long as I don't let my outfits become dreary or drab.

On the other hand, this challenge reminded me that I don't need to be a slave to my a core color palate of black, white, camel, and red. There's absolutely no reason why I can't wear a yellow belt instead of a tan one or a pink brooch instead of a gold one. While black, white, camel, and red might be my four core colors, a bit of pink or green or yellow can make my outfits fun and keep me from looking too severe. My plan going forward is to stick to my core palate for wardrobe staples -- trousers, sweaters, blazers -- but to keep my eye on accessories that can enliven my basics and keep them from being severe, boring, or dreary.

Up next... pattern!