How to: Gem Colors to Wear with Brown

How to: Gem Colors to Wear with Brown & Ageless Style Link Up

Finding colors to wear with brown is a great exercise for the fall months. So we tied it in with the suggestion for our Ageless Style group as Mireille suggested gem colors. As for the gem colors we picked, I had us go by this online “gem” photo and we all styled different ones.

Quote of the day: “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” John A Shedd

I do love this quote as I bet most of us would rather stay safe. Safe always feels easier, especially in our looks and what we wear. But you know how I love to swim upstream and challenge myself to try something new every once in a while.
And the colors to wear with brown is not something I see often. Yet I would consider brown an underappreciated neutral.
So here are the three of us styling it with the gem colors: topaz, blue zircon, and peridot.

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If you’re looking for more options of colors to wear with brown, I rounded up 10 more ideas.

Colors to wear with brown to lighten up a fall look

Topaz Colors to Wear with Brown

Charlotte chose the gem color topaz to wear with brown. Now if this doesn’t remind you of the fall leaves and trees, I don’t know what would. As colors to wear with brown, the topaz lightens up the look wonderfully.
She also sprinkled in 2 owl accessories and the rearview makes the outfit so modern and fun.

The brown culottes that my mom is wearing are ones that she made. In fact, the length of these culottes is not much different than a midi skirt, yet Charlotte is wearing a long, flowy, tunic with them instead of the fitted top she wore with the midi skirt.
For those of you who prefer non-fitted longer tops, then this is right up your alley. I realize the “rules” say if one piece is loose then the other should be fitted, however, sometimes breaking the rules makes an outfit memorable.

What I love about this topaz-colored tunic is the asymmetrical detail of the hem PLUS the keyhole in the back.

Details

The long, metallic gold necklace is actually attached to the tunic and it can be detached too. My mom layered 2 other necklaces with it to bring in some darker colors to go with the brown culottes.

These shoes were a fabulous find at DSW a while back and I love how the owl purse brings in some other colors to the overall look.

Lesley and Blue Zircon

For Lesley’s choice of gem colors to wear with brown, she opted for blue zircon (which we all would call turquoise).
In fact, this turquoise cardigan she purchased the first time we ever met her at the Chico’s event (you can read more about it here and even see how we showed how to wear the cardigan…because it’s so versatile due to the slits on the side). My mom shows the ways to style this cardigan in our video from Chico’s event.

I love this idea of bright colors to wear with brown. It’s still colorful, yet has more of a fall vibe and actually mirrors the colors in her purse.

The cherry on top for me is how Lesley styled this scarf with the cardigan. You might even think it’s part of the trim of the sweater. What is even better about the scarf is how many different colors it brings into the outfit.

Insider tip: The scarf is just a long rectangle one. Lesley let it hand down on the sides of the cardigan and then grabbed it with the front panels of the sweater as she tied them in a knot.
Want to see another example like this? Lesley did the same trick with a berry cardigan and scarf here.

Turquoise or Blue Zircon

Call it what you will, but I’ve heard from many stylists (both clothing and home decor) that turquoise is one of those universal colors that go with everything. Maybe you don’t believe it, but you have to admit that it is wonderful with brown.

Have You Heard of Peridot?

I have to admit that I’d never heard of the gem peridot until researching gem colors. It caught my eye as another bright contrast to brown for this theme. Lime green and brown isn’t one I think about often, yet I think it works.

My brown item is this shirt dress that I’ve styled 5 different ways in the past. Styling a dress like this over a pair of pants was something that took my boat out of the harbor (see the quote of the day above, haha). Sure, we’ve experimented with dresses over pants in the past, but it doesn’t come easy to me.

However, I loved how this outfit came together, mainly because I could unbutton the dress and add my super cool belt.

Details

Much of this outfit is thrifted or preloved. The lime green, linen pants were a hand-me-down from a friend. You can see how they look with a white top in Saturday’s look from this Daily Outfit post.
The same with the belt (which has a matching necklace that I really should wear more often).
I recently bought the shoes at a consignment store (and for this outing, I added my soul insoles to make them more comfortable for walking. If you look closely you can see the clear indole sticking out under the arch of my foot).

And that purse?? It’s actually a wine carrier bought at Goodwill. How did I know it’s a wine carrier? Because it came with a tiny wine opener.

Insider tip: There are many “containers” that could be converted into a purse. My mom has used a jewelry box before. Or how about when I used a lunch box?

While you may not think of these gem colors to wear for fall, I think the addition of brown gives off a wonderful autumn vibe. Which is your favorite?

Ageless Style

These are the other women in my Ageless Style group. I hope you pop over to see how they styled their gem color looks! I always find so much inspiration from each and every one of them.

Photo credit: Rob Filogomo

My Goal

Thank you for visiting my space on the internet. I like to showcase how it’s never too late to look great for women of any age, size, or working with any budget.
I feel I’m here to help move beyond the fashion rules of yesterday and evolve. Style and clothes are made to give you joy. Not cause us stress because we are worried about what others think.

My hope is that you get ideas and inspiration from Charlotte, Lesley, and myself. It’s not about copying what we wear, but about using what you already have and updating items along the way.
Most of all it’s getting us to think differently and dare I say, have fun?

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