Purp By The Pound

Greetings Gentle Readers,

We've decided to try a little something new (after all, fashion and style are constantly evolving, so, why shouldn't the way that information about fashion and style is presented evolve also?!). So, this time around, We're taking a particular color, instead of an ensemble as a whole (think: John Legend's double breasted suit), or concept (think menswear inspired ensembles) and show you how to make it work for your wardrobe. We're also trying something new in that this is one of our 1st truly coed pieces. Hopefully, at the end of this, you'll see how to utilize this spectacular shade for yourself. Alright, let's get it poppin'...

Purple is one of those colors that we've never really understood why people were intimidated to utilize in their wardrobes. It's one of those "new neutral" tones, meaning, it goes with almost any other color in your wardrobe, but an added benefit is that it's much more striking and unexpected than a grey, black, navy or brown; thus rendering it an often more stylish option. Which, to us, means there's added incentive rock it. So, we've decided (at least for the purposes of this post) to make it our personal mission to dispel the myths about purple...

Purple isn't just a great casual option either. As a matter of fact, we like our purple most in rich evening tones, like a velvet tuxedo jacket for the fellas or, the ladies like the stunning cocktail dress from the S/S 2011 Gucci collection pictured on Chanel Iman. Of course, purple is also a great option for work, it's all about tone. The sweaters that Swizz Beatz and we are rocking would work perfectly for the office, however, if you're going to layer a purple sweater for the office, we'd recommend choosing a lighter dress shirt and complimentary tie. The darker the shirt, the more evening and casual the look becomes. That being said, we're gonna flip the script a little and break down purple for the well dressed gentleman first... Ladies, stick around and find out how to incorporate purple into your fella's wardrobe (or tell him how) or fast forward down to your section, either way, worry not, we've got you...

:Gents:

Your best bet when rocking purple is to focus up top. Meaning, sweaters, shirts, ties, etc. There are very few of us who can pull off purple chinos and jeans. To those who can... kudos, we tip our hat to you (a notable exception here is shorting, but, we'll save that for more weather appropriate times, as it's a bit brisk here on the Eastern Seaboard of the US). We'd recommend a look much like the one we pulled for a day in the city; purple sweater and dress shirt, grey slacks, and complimentary tie and belt. As we said, if this were for the office, we'd have switched out the darker dress shirt for a lighter shade of purple, like lavender, or even a heather grey. But, this was for a much more casual occasion, so, we opted for the dark. We finished the look off with coordinating sneakers; also not something we'd do for the office. This ensemble would also work for a night out on the town, sub out the sneakers for loafers or lace-ups and you'd be well dressed and good to go. We like purple and grey as a color combination. It's quite sleek and sophisticated, and while we've chosen slacks here, jeans work just as well. And this would serve as an excellent opportunity to try grey jeans.

We've taken some snapshots of some other purple options for your wardrobe, these are timeless classics, that will remain stylish forever. Wearing them in a hue such as purple should alleviate any doubt as to whether or not you can rock purple. Having such staples as these in purple plays it safe, while keeping it cool, so don't be afraid to utilize these at all. Garments such as polos (long and short sleeve), cardigans, v-necks and cable knit crew neck sweaters (ok, we know this is like the 3000th time we've talked about a cable knit crew neck sweater, but they're great, and we love them, and they're classic and timeless, and you should have one by now) are items you likely already have in your wardrobe, and if something works for you in one color, chances are it will work for you in others. So fellas, stack your closet, play to what you know! We're not saying you have to go out looking like Grimace, or a giant grape. But adding a dash to two of purple is a great way to infuse a bit of color into your closet.

:Ladies:

Alright, now, ladies, your purple options are far less limited than that of the gentleman's. But this is generally the case in wardrobing. You can rock purple on top in knits, tops, sweaters, and blouses, on the bottom in slacks, chinos, jeans, shorts, and skirts, or all over in the form of a dress. This makes your options seemingly limitless. However, whenever there are limitless options, there is often limitless confusion. To avoid the confusion and looking like the aforementioned McDonald's character (shout outs to Grimace) or a giant grape, here's how we suggest you rock your purple:

Pick a focal piece: Sure you could wear purple from head to toe, but, that would once again bring up those pesky Grimace and grape comparisons. And by head to toe, we mean; purple top, purple skirt, purple shoes, purple hosiery, purple bag, purple jewelry etc. A purple dress, shoes, and bag is fine. But they should be different shades of purple. This adds depth and complexity to the ensemble. But back to the matter at hand: Your best bet is to pick a focal piece; Where your purple will pop in your ensemble, or how purple will play into the overall color scheme (Sidenote: You can rock more than two different colors at once, but they should be cohesive, complementary and play into the overall color story.). Take for example the 1st look we pulled here for our model the lovely Ms. Womack: The purple pops, yet plays perfectly in the color story and into the overall theme of the outfit. We chose the purple shorts for specifically that purpose; everything else is an accent. We went for a touch of texture with the checkered pattern on the tights (here's how to mix patterns: when one is pronounced, the shorts, the other is subtle, the tights) but otherwise kept the rest of the look subdued but still chic and sophisticated. As we earlier said, purple is one of those "new neutrals," meaning it pairs well with most other colors. So, while we chose black here, this look would have worked if the blazer or camisole were another color, or even two different shades of the same color. Keep this in mind in your purple pairings.

For the 2nd look, we chose a purple tunic sweater and dark grey skinny jeans. Accessorized with strands of long pearls, black suede chunky heeled pumps, and a crock embossed clutch. Again keeping it fairly simple, but always sophisticated and chic and letting the purple be the focal point of the ensemble. As a converse to the 1st look, this serves as an example of doing purple on top. This look would have worked with tights or leggings, but we liked the idea of jeans as a more stylish alternative. Though all the pieces flow seamlessly, the tunic is obviously the focal point of this ensemble. The feminine detailing on the sleeve and the rhinestones on the back add ladylike details and drawing points for the eye. The remaining garments and accessories are accentual and add polish and finishing touches. This is important to keep in mind whenever you have a focal piece in any ensemble, be it an accessory, shoe, or garment: everything else is accentual, complimentary and cohesive. We like purple as a focal point color because it serves a dual purpose; As many find purple a difficult tone to pull off, it will likely serve as an unexpected choice, and because it automatically stands out, it will become the default focal point of your ensembles (which means you should always make wise choices in purple since it draws in the eye).

:Shoes&Accessories:

So fellas, pretty much the accessories in purple that you should be concerned with are ties and pocket squares. Mixing tone and pattern are surefire ways to achieve an elevated level of style. Simple and easy, no? Bet. Now, ladies, for you, as it usually is, it's a bit more complicated.... It's more of that, so-many-options-leading-to-mass-confusion-thing. But that's to be expected. Ladies when accessorizing with purple, you should still follow the Focal Point rule, however, it's a little different because shoes and accessories are usually on a smaller scale (size wise) than garments. This means that you let them stand out as the focal point of the ensemble, and build your look around them OR you can build your look and accent with purple shoes and accessories. It's all a matter of mood, taste, and occasion. If you choose to have the shoes and accessories be the focal point, then coordinating ensemble should be subdued. Try muted tones (greys, browns, tans, blacks and navies make excellent options), or a monochromatic theme. If you do choose pattern, then it should have a hint of purple in it, just to play back into the overall look and statement you're making. Should you choose the converse, and opt to go in the opposite direction, make sure you choose purples that easily pair with the other garments you elect for that ensemble. For example, the purple python platform pumps pictured left (try saying that 5 times fast!!) would work excellently with a pair of jeans, a pencil skirt and black tights, trousers, or cropped chinos. The obvious choice is to coordinate with the black in the shoe, but you could go another route with dark denim, khaki, brown tones, grey and navy. And on top a lighter pastel like a custard yellow would work well. In terms of bags, ladies, a purple bag works in the same capacity as your favorite brown and black go-tos; use it as such.

Well, that about does it... We know that was a lot of information, but hopefully the pictures helped convey the points we were making. A special shout out to our lovely model Ms. Brandi Womack (proof that it pays to have life-long gorgeous friends), check her amazing blog "Keeping Up with the Huxtables" up at http://imkeepingup.com. Until next time, we remain...

Stylishly yours,
Sartorially Savvy
"Fashion fades, style is eternal" ~Yves Saint Laurent

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