When I start building my travel capsule wardrobes, I usually start with a colour scheme in mind. This helps narrow my choices and build thoughtful, versatile combinations. While my principal goal is to pack things that mix-and-match endlessly, my very favourite types of pairings are head-to-toe monochrome looks.
That’s right, I love pairing colour with more colour! Take a look at some of these lovely ladies for inspiration.
As a pre-teen, I used to watch a lot of What Not To Wear
Like anyone, I usually have fall-back outfits and lately, it’s been black denim with just about everything, so I can’t say I employ this trick religiously. However, when I do, I instantly feel so put together.
Why Monochromatic Looks Work
Colour-on-colour outfits are great because:
- They look intentional. You didn’t accidentally pair them, you crafted this outfit.
- They make you look thinner and taller because there is nothing to cut your body in half.
- Make your whole outfit seem more expensive and like the pieces are part of the same collection and you could afford the whole look.
You don’t have to be super strict, even just hues of the same colour can work. This also doesn’t rule out mixing patterns. For example, I paired a striped blouse with denim and topped it off with a coat that matched the blue in the top.
You can also pair textures as well as colours for a fun play on matchy-matchy sets. In this case, all three of these green items are close to the same hue, and the ribbing on the hat is very similar to the pants.
You can also go nuts with layering. Here, I break up a beige-on-beige-on-beige look with a crisp white shirt over the turtleneck. White is still neutral and close to beige, so it provides a breather from too much neutral without injecting a brand new colour into the mix.
This trend is great for packing because it takes away the stress of finding the perfect colours to mix-and-match. Simply match the same hues together!
Happy Travels xox
