Friday, August 28, 2009

Mail Bag: Purple Cardigan

Hello,

I read your wonderful blog and although I'm actually quite a shy little thing, I have actually started to comment!

So, when I had a dilemma regarding a purple cardigan you were the natural expert to ask. ;)

I have a very cute short sleeved purple cardigan, not lilac or maroon but proper bluey dark purple. I adore this little cardie but I never know how to wear it. Today I have it on with a black tee, navy jeans and blue earrings (these)...but I'm not satisfied. Any suggestions oh great one? Tee hee.

Tuesday smiles (from the UK),

Rachel x

I’m somewhat newly a fan of purple, myself. I’m glad I came around to the purple side because it’s a hot color again this fall and winter. You’re sure to be on trend in your purple cardigan.

Let’s Pretend
It sounds as if the color is new to you, too, and you’re a little unsure as to what it goes with. When I’ve got an item in a funny color, sometimes I just pretend it’s black. So, if the cardigan were black, what would you pair it with? Once you’ve freed your mind from the “oh God it’s purple and matches nothing” dilemma, you can create some unexpected and interesting looks. You could be that girl who always wears the purple sweater.

Reality
Of course, all the pretending in the world isn’t going to turn your cardigan black (but, really, who needs another black sweater?)

So, what looks good with purple? In a prior mailbag post (Purple Shoes), I suggested the following purple pairings:

Gray
Black
Dark brown
Kelly (leaf) green
Mustard yellow
Metallics

I cautioned against wearing orange, bright yellow, red, or blue with purple, but I take that all back. I’ve had way too much fun with the Red Hat Society Experiments to ban red and purple. Blue (like your earrings) with purple sounds wonderfully subtle. And orange or bright yellow could be paired with purple and the right attitude.

Inspiration
Usually, I’d just post a bunch of pictures of myself, but I thought ahead to get permission to publish some photos of Wardrobe Remixers rocking the purple cardi instead.


(Clicking on any of these photos will bring you to the individual’s blog or flickr photstream.)

9 comments:

Kathryn from Schoolmarm Style said...

Yesterday I received numerous compliments for my little purple cardi over a kelly green tank. I felt amazing!

Kathryn
http://schoolmarmstyle.blogspot.com/

maryeb said...

Very helpful post. I love purple too and it's fun to see so many different takes on how to wear it.

Moon to Moon said...

Awesome idea for a post, really made me smile.
Cheers
:)

The Magpie's Daughter said...

Yay! I feel inspired to try purple with brown and it looks amazing with green too. :D Thank you. *blush*

Joanna said...

Now why didn't I think of that? I have a few items I can never fit into an outfit, but never thought to do a flickr search for outfit ideas! Genius!

Beatrice said...

Another good source for outfit ideas is the addicting www.polyvore.com, where you can type a search (like a particular color, product, brand, etc). Try typing "purple sweater" and see what you come up with. I have spent so much time having fun with that website! :)

emily said...

i have a cardi like that too and i've found it works best with grey, white, any manner of pastels, and gree. good luck remixing yours!

Eyeliah said...

Thanks so much for including my picture! :-) My purple cardigan can be worn so many ways, its a great anchor for a look and helps me to avoid wearing too much black.

Unknown said...

I love purple, its one of the most versatile colours that can look fun, hip and sophisticated all at once. Lovely post!

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