When style becomes complicated, turn to black and white: clean, simple and effortlessly stylish

You may remember, from my Fashion Week Style Post, monochrome featured heavily on the catwalk which means it will be hugely popular for Spring/Summer. The advantage of black and white is that each piece is a wardrobe staple that will work well with all other outfits. As you know I’m a great fan staples – it’s how the clothing line came to be. A great white shirt, a fabulous black jacket, a sleek wide-leg trouser will work hard for you and give you numerous combinations which makes them great investment pieces.

Despite being the perfect combination there is a danger of looking very ‘uniform-like’ if you don’t give it some thought: you’re aiming for chic and cool as opposed to waitress or nun! The key is to choose the right monochrome for you, and style it up (but not too much). Here are a few simple guidelines to make the look work for you:

• Avoid primary colour accessories with black & white (eg. red patent, colbalt blue, etc), they can give you a very 80’s look!
• Remember it doesn’t need to be solid black and solid white – stripes and patterns can look amazing. The trick is to keep the rest of the outfit simple.

• Wearing all one colour (ie. all black with white shoes and bag) can look very chic and stylish.

• Adding a black statement shoe to a pretty white summer dress can give you a cool and edgy look.

• Wearing a great pair of monochrome shoes with jeans can give them a fresh spring feel.

Here is a further selection of monochrome looks to inspire you. Why not think about what black and white staples you need to make your wardrobe work for you? They will certainly be worth the investment.

Have a great week-end and feel free to share this post.