When it comes to fashion (well, actually mostly anything) I usually gravitate to bright, bold colors and prints.   It’s true that colors affect our brains and evoke different emotions and senses when we see them.  If your skeptical, think about it next time you are at the nail salon.  What colors do you find yourself drawn to?  I always find myself heading toward the turquoise sea blues and bright magenta polishes and suddenly my mind flashes back to memories of white sandy beaches lined with palm trees and tropical flowers…and then I snap myself out of it and remind myself that painting Mykonos blue on my fingernails in the middle of January is just tacky and not going to magically teleport me back to Greece!

Anyways, while I still love my bright colors, this winter I have been surprisingly ALL about the neutrals.  I didn’t even realize it until I had begun scrolling through my Instagram profile and realized that almost all of my recent outfits have been head-to-toe neutral tones.  

I think my neutral love affair began this fall, when brown took over fashion as the color of the season.  Seriously brown was, and is still, everywhere and I am ALL about it. It has basically replaced black as the closet color staple.   The best thing about “brown” is that it comes in so many hues – beige, khaki, tan, etc. that really forms a color spectrum all of its own.  Pairing these different neutral shades and textures together can take an outfit from boring to BOLD in zero to sixty.  Add in white and cream hues to the mix, and you got yourself a real sophisticated look!

Here are some of my favorite neutral pieces and looks I’ve been wearing this season:

Monochromatic Neutral

As I mentioned in previous posts, being petite, the first place I usually look for jackets and coats is in the kid’s department.   I was shopping online during the Zara sale after Christmas and came across this girl’s tan moto jacket for only $29 and grabbed it.  Even though I shop in the girl’s section all the time with no qualms, I still sometimes have visions of pulling a toddler-sized coat out of the box, but I was pleasantly surprised when it fit like a glove.  I had also been a little nervous because it had faux fur lining.  A lot of the time less expensive items are lined with cheap, uncomfortable material.  This lining was so soft and heavier than I expected which was perfect for my trip to NY – Zara for the win!  In this look I decided to pair it with this tan petite turtleneck sweater I got from Loft that I absolutely love.  The material is so soft and it’s just a great staple piece that was a much needed addition to my winter wardrobe.  The sweater plus the jacket were enough to keep a SoCal girl like me warm during the brutal East Coast winter.  For the rest of the outfit, I decided to go bold and wear white jeans for a more monochromatic neutral look.  Individually, these pieces are definitely not exciting colors that capture your attention, but when paired together, makes for an unexpected, neutral winter look that will get you noticed.  I definitely stood out among the sea of black and grey on those New York streets- hopefully in a good way!

50 Shades of Neutral

This is another fun neutral look I wore in New York.  Again, they aren’t colors you may typically think to pair together, but work because they are all neutral.  The cable knit sweater and blue teddy coat are also both Zara Kids finds I purchased online during their sale.  I got the same sweater in a cream color and I am so glad that I did because they are both my new go-to pieces.  I often avoid chunky turtleneck sweaters because they can look too bulky on my small frame, but these girl’s sizes are the perfect fit and cut for petites.  I especially like this brown one because it’s such a unique shade that goes really well with any color!  I decided to wear it with the navy teddy coat because I like the juxtaposition of layering the different textures.  For pants, I went with my favorite pair of go-to high waisted jeans from American Eagle that I have been living in lately.  Seriously, American Eagle has the best selection of trendy jean styles in petite sizing.  I’ve tried every pair of petite high waisted jeans under the sun and these by far fit the best. I highly recommend them to any petite.  Lastly, I topped (or I guess I should say bottomed) off the look with my white booties to give the neutral look a pop of color – without the color!  I really love how all the different neutral shades together capture your attention in almost the same way a bright, bold color would. 

Who knew that a bold-color girl like could feel so neutral?  I am definitely going to be rocking the monochromatic look into Spring.  What are your thoughts on neutrals shades?   Let me know in the comments below!