It’s clear that I am in my brown era. While we all tend to fall for the color black, brown can feel a little less harsh against our skin, especially during those winter months when we’re lacking a little glow.
Lately, I have been a bit obsessed with all things brown. I am finding myself reaching for brown more and more. And feeling the need to add more of this neutral shade to my closet to help round out all the new colors I’ve been loving.
From my red Adidas, and my baby blue Sezane bag, something I’ve noticed is that brown looks best with all of these things!
So if you love brown, or want to expand your color combinations with this neutral hue, this post is for you. Today is all about what colors go with brown clothing so you can get even more use out of your closet.
What Colors Go With Brown Clothing
Brown With Light Blues
This may be the combination I have been wearing the most. Brown and soft blues work so nicely together. Whether it’s a baby blue sweater, or a dusty blue bag, it’s a really nice contrast against chocolate brown.
And it makes sense to me since all of my light blue denim works nicely with brown too. It’s a no brainer! So just lean into adding more shades of browns and blues when wearing your favorite brown and denim outfits.
Pair Brown With Burgundy
Try pairing brown with another earthy color, burgundy. I love the deep rich hues of these together. Add in a few more neutrals like creams or tan, and even lighter shades of burgundy on the color wheel like soft dusty pinks to round out the outfit. This is a favorite brown color combination to wear in the fall and winter months.
Brown With Soft Pinks And Peaches
To follow up with the burgundy, try the lighter shades of soft pinks and peaches when thinking of what colors go with brown clothing. These may feel more spring focused, but you can definitely wear them in the fall and winter with the right fabrics and pieces.
Try a soft pink blazer like I did with faux leather brown shorts and boots. And try a soft pink sweater with brown trousers. I love this combination as it feels really soft and feminine. And I think these contrast really nicely versus black and pink.
Brown With Tan
When in doubt, go with more neutrals when styling brown. Bring in shades of browns, tans and even white. These are always a safe bet and create a tonal outfit that feels timeless.
A few go to combinations is to pair a brown bottom with a white tee and then add in tan accessories and layers. Or if you’re doing denim, try a brown shirt and shoes and a cream sweater over your shoulders. If you need to add in another color to mix things up, choose any from today’s blog post!
Brown With White And Off-White
Brown and white is such a good contrast in my book. I love this for spring and summer. And when paired with the right accessories, it can feel like a vacation!
Take these medium brown wide leg pants styled with a cotton tee. Adding a woven bag for spring and summer is the perfect addition. I think this is also why a white cotton summer dress with brown accessories is a favorite for me. It just feels so summery and effortless.
Brown With Lilac And Purples
Pairing brown with lilac for an outfit is one of my favorite combinations when I want to wear brown. It’s great in any season too it just depends on the pieces you’re wearing. In the fall and winter try brown leather with lilac knits.
And in the spring and summer, try brown cotton tees or dresses or denim, with lilac eyelet pieces. And even lilac accessories like a pretty lilac sandal or handbag. I adore this color combination and it’s one of my favorites in this list!
Brown With Red
I really didn’t think to pair brown with red until I bought these red Adidas. I tried to style the red with black and it instantly felt too harsh for me. Anytime I feel that way about black, I try swapping it for brown and it usually works. And voila, it did.
Red and brown are such a great contrast and an alternative to black and red. And since cherry red is having a huge trend moment right now, why not wear it with all the brown in your closet? For more ideas on what to wear with red, check out this post.
Brown With Sage Green
Going back to more earthy tones, brown with a soft sage green is a really nice color combination. I love sage green and it’s a color you can usually find all year round. For fall and winter, I love to style brown pieces with my sage green leather jacket or sage green sweaters.
And in the spring and summer, sage green cotton tees or dresses paired with brown clothing, sandals or accessories. I love this color combination since sage green is one of my favorite colors to wear.
Brown With Kelly Green
If you’re more into the brighter and bolder colors, try kelly green with brown. This is a really fun combination that is bright and punchy.
Brown With Black
I know wearing brown and black together was a fashion rule we were taught NOT to wear together, I say throw that rule out. I love to pair black and brown together for an interesting outfit. There are just a few rules I have when you do try to wear brown and black together. And the big one is to just sandwich it all.
If you’re wearing black shorts, put brown on top and bottom of your outfit. If you’re wearing mostly black, encompass the whole outfit in a brown coat. You can read more tips on how to wear black and brown together here.
Brown With More Brown – Go Monochromatic
When in doubt, just wear all brown. You really can’t go wrong here. And while brown and tan is I suppose sort of brown and more brown, I really do like a full outfit in one shade of brown. All dark chocolate brown pieces.
To make this work, just mix your textures to create some interest. This look would be quite boring if I wore a brown smooth leather boot, with a smooth non-textured dress. But instead, I have a snakeskin boot that has some varying brown hues and lots of texture in it, and the knit dress adds movement and more texture that feels different.
For an accessory, you can 100% go monochromatic in an all brown look and add a brown bag. But for this particular outfit, I did add a contrasting brown in a cream bag.
When putting your brown outfits together, you can use this blog post as a guide on what colors to add. So for this all brown outfit, when thinking of an accessory to add like a bag or purse, any color that we’ve included in this blog post of what to wear with brown, will work!
Red, burgundy, tan, soft blues, you name it! And yes, even black. But if you add a black bag, I’d also swap the shoe for black or add a black belt so there’s black and brown balance!
Brown With Navy
I’m a big fan of navy and brown, I mean most of my house are these two colors! So it’s no surprise that pairing your brown pieces with something navy would be a good idea I 100% approve of.
This outfit in my brown trousers and a navy suede jacket is a personal favorite. And you know I’m going to add in more color options here! If you wanted to add another color to this look you can go lighter in your blue and add a soft blue sweater or bag. Or try a sage sweater too.
Brown With Mustard Yellow
Brown and really any shade of yellow, are such a good pairing when coming up with outfits with your brown pieces. Try a soft pale yellow, or go deeper and richer in a more mustard or gold hue. Sure the mustard and gold can feel a bit 70’s. But it’s all about styling!
Find a brown and mustard yellow print like this striped set to wear your brown and yellow together. And when you need to add a third color to this look, I do love shades of blue with these two! And when in doubt, just add the brown neutrals like tans and creams.
What Colors Go With Brown Clothing
Now that you have tons of great color pairings with brown, it’s time to start to switch things up and play with color. You can mix and match so many of these colors to create color palettes that feel like you. I love to play with varying saturation of the color to add more colors to the look. Think navy with soft blues, or burgundy with soft pinks.
And don’t be afraid to wear black and brown together. You got this! Have fun styling your brown pieces all year long now that you know what colors go with brown clothing.
