The Europeans have been doing it for years; wearing neutral colours from head to toe and looking mighty fabulous! Tonal dressing is nothing new, but it’s taken us quite a while to catch on to a look that is both super stylish and super flattering.
Think lovely camels, soft beiges, winter white, tones of oatmeal, chocolate brown and taupe. As a fashion stylist, I think anyone can easily recreate this look and you probably already have all the pieces to do it in your own wardrobe. Rather than thinking, “oh that’s too much,” start saying “this looks great!”
The key to wearing a tonal outfit is to mix up the fabrics, textures and tones. The colours may be the same or slightly different, but it’s the textural differences that will make it work. Below are some looks I styled from Witchery’s AW19 collection focusing on this trend. Not all pieces are still available, but I’ve linked to similar styles.
LOOK 1: This outfit incorporates some tonal elements mixed with some beautiful rich autumnal colours. The cream roll neck jumper (similar here) works perfectly under the houndstooth blazer (similar here) Roll up the jacket sleeves to show the silky lining in contrast to the ribbed knit.
The rich golden colour of the skirt compliments the neutral tones perfectly. Finished off with darker accessories in the chocolate brown boots and khaki waist belt. Even though this is not a matchy-matchy outfit, nor not the same colour from head to toe, its the neutral colour palette that still creates the tonal look.
Similar coloured satin skirts from Seed and Veronika Maine and similar houndstooth blazer at Trenery
LOOK 2: I’ve teamed the same cream roll neck under a nude silk shirt, once again combining the textures of silk and wool. The turtle neck worn under a collared shirt (similar here) is a trend I’ve been noticing on Instagram, and I think I’m going to be wearing a lot of it this winter!
The trousers have a light fawn based check, which continue the neutral feel of the outfit. Then I decided to have some fun by adding another neutral ~ the leopard print shoe! Yes, I do consider this a neutral. Throw on a bum-bag around the waist to compliment the brown tones in the shoes, and outfit is complete.
Similar trousers and knit beige skivvy from Viktoria and Woods. More similar trousers from Cue and leopard print shoes from Nine West
LOOK 3: This camel coat (similar here) is a beautiful shade that will not only work styled with other neutrals, but will also pare back with your blacks and navy. Here I’ve styled it over the Witchery print georgette puff blouse that also features the camel tones as well as beautiful rich tones of burgundy and brown.
A little trick when belting a jacket like this; tie it just off centre. This will create the illusion of more shape at the waist. Also, don’t be afraid to mix up your prints, like I’ve done here with the floral blouse, soft check pant and animal print shoe. As long as the tones are all the same (in this case, all undertones of beige) it works!
Similar camel coat from Cue and Veronika Maine, and blouse from Veronika Maine
Similar skirt Veronika Maine
SOME MORE TONAL STYLE INSPO (P.S. you can achieve this look in top to toe colour also!) *all below images from Pinterest
