Denim is Navy

…or indigo or midnight blue or whatever.

Black and navy swing jacket, Forever 21. Black sweater, Ann Taylor Loft. Trouser jeans, Express. Yellow pumps, Victoria Spencer. Yellow brooch, Accessorize (or some other cheesy brand). Navy beaded bracelet, Bitten. Gold bracelet, from swap.

With all the hesitation people have over pairing black and navy, they often forget that we do it all the time when we wear a pair of dark jeans and a black top. Somehow, dark blue translates as a neutral when it’s denim. True, the blue of denim is usually multihued, but the overall effect is essentially navy. I think one of the easiest ways to start pairing black and navy is to start with a pair of dark jeans, add a black top, and then add one more dark blue item, as I’ve done here. (If you want to dicker over the color of dark denim being navy vs. indigo, take a look at the blue entry on Wikipedia. There, indigo looks rather purple. In fact Midnight blue and Sapphire look closest to the shade of the jeans I’m wearing. It’s all dark blue, though.)

I ordered this jacket after seeing it in a reader submitted outfit on The Fashion Police. From the photo, the brooch closure seemed to be some sort of fabulous, vintage-esque piece. I was horrified to open the package and find a Holly Hobby-esque brooch instead. It is COVERED IN BUTTONS. Except that it isn’t really covered in buttons…the coverage is so sparse that the cheap black fabric of the brooch’s base is exposed. Obviously, ratty button chic is not my thing so I began hunting for a replacement. Ideally, I would have liked something in black or clear stones, but after a few weeks of searching, settled for this yellow “jeweled” brooch for $5 at the Burlington Coat Factory. I think it’s quite an improvement over the button piece!