Brown: Think Golden, not Gordon.

Brown doesn’t really feature in my list of good colours. It’s always seemed to me like you’d never actually transform something to make it brown, like you would pink or yellow. Some things just are brown and stay brown. Then again, some of life’s most luxurious items are brown- wooden floors and tables, furs, even gold is brownish (I’ve said brown too many times now, it looks weird on the page). Perhaps because brown has always had an association with all things natural, it has been mostly jettisoned by fashion in favour of the man-made.

Whatever the reason, it has clearly been forgotten as this Autumn brands are back to brown (not quite as catchy as back to black). Why this change of heart? Probably because we all suddenly love suede, and unfortunately suede is brown. Poor suede.

But I do love suede. So much so that I bought myself a pair of suede flares. And oh my, they’re such a joy to wear, it’s like wearing trousers made of baby rabbits. Later on though, I realised I had willingly bought something brown- two things in fact, I got a wood necklace to match. Perhaps I could finally learn to live with brown?

In the interests of research I dug out the only other two brown items I own, to take a look at how the most boring colour can be made the most fabulous….

Shirt, necklace & trousers- H&M, trainers- Converse, bag- made by me

When I had these gorgeous flares in my hands in the store, I was at a bit of a loss when it came to what to wear them with. I chose a patterned shirt in the end so the outfit wasn’t so block-coloured, and as the blue and white tones are relatively natural it works quite well. The necklace reinforces the natural vibes too. Honestly I wouldn’t go anywhere else but H&M for a statement necklace, all their jewellery is so unusual but so cheap! Also let’s all just take a moment to look at my bag, I finally learned to crochet something useful, go me!

Top- Ebay, trousers- H&M, shoes- New Look

Next up are my Famous Five trousers. They fit more casually than the flares, so I wanted a top to match that. I chose plaid because that’s a classic lumberjack combination, right? And if that’s good enough for Wolverine before all the trouble started, it’s good enough for me. I managed to keep the same necklace for all three outfits, because no matter what, brown will always go with brown. If that’s not reassuring I don;t know what is. The high waist and slightly cropped top make it a little more feminine than your standard lumberjack ensemble.

Cardi- Topshop, crop- New Look, dungarees- Pull & Bear at ASOS, boots- Zara

Finally it’s my brown cardigan. I bought this to go with a pair of patterned trousers, channeling a sort of boho thing. This time though I thought the dungarees were a good call. The trick with brown is keeping things simple- all over denim is a good move. I added the leopard print shoes as a fun detail- they’re still natural-ish but being patent and animal printed gives a bit of a twist.

So it turns out that brown isn’t the devil’s own colour, whaddya know? If you too want to get in on the brown, remember my top brown tips:

• Start with suede- it’s the comfiest material ever!
• Keep it simple- muted shades make the brown stand out
• Experiment with accessories- you’ll be amazed what wooden jewellery is out there!

Right, I’m off to H&M again to buy up the rest of their suede stock…. So long!