BREAKING THE RULES WEEK: MONOCHROMATIC

It's the second to the last installment of Breaking the Rules Week, but we're not slowing down just yet! Today, we are breaking the old adage to never wear one color head to toe.

And here is my flagrant defiance of the anti-monochromatic fashion law:

Yeah, the shoddily drawn heart is there because I am ashamed of how pudgy I've gotten and I was committing some serious muffin-top crime in that photo. I changed into better fitting pants afterwards (still black) that solved the problem, but I didn't have enough time to snap new photos.

I didn't realize beforehand that I don't actually own any tops and bottoms in the same color, especially since I had already put my only navy blue skirt in the hamper. Thus, my only real option was to do a highly predictable all-black outfit. My apologies for a lack of creativity on my part, but I'm sure the following ladies more than make up for me!

First up, we have Sarah (That Damn Green Dress) wearing an awesome cinnamon-y outfit. All of the main pieces are J.Crew and she mentioned that dressing monochromatically with J.Crew is pretty easy -- as she said on her latest blog post (which features more amazing monochrome ensembles), "Emma Pillsbury's secret is revealed!" I really love what Sarah did with breaking up the single-color look with interesting details, like the ruffles on the cardigan, the jewelry, the shiny belt, and the shiny shoes.


Next, we have Heather (commonwealth girl) doing another take on the "wearing one color head to toe" rule -- wearing essentially the same color, but in different shades, which is a great way to pull any outfit together. She's donning one of my favorite shades from J.Crew, too: burnished olive! It doesn't surprise me that J.Crew is so prominent in this particular challenge, as one of the best things about J.Crew is their amazing color selection.


Finally, we have JG (Stuff Jewish Girls Like), sporting her very own blueberry-inspired outfit. But rather than looking like Violet from Willy Wonka-dom, she looks cute and polished! Different materials and textures break up JG's monochrome look, such as her skirt with button details and the wonderful seams on her shoes. In fact, I could hardly even tell that she was wearing all the same color when I first saw this!

[UPDATE]

Eeek! I accidentally left out a lovely blogger who sent in a monochrome outfit too. So here's AppGal (Musings on the Mountain) with a beautiful blue-hued look! I absolutely love how sleek she looks, and the top, cardigan, and skirt make this look like a great dress. In fact, if there were a dress out there that looked like this, I'd be all over it. Take note, retailers!


All in all, to make your monochromatic outfit work without looking like a Power Ranger, take a lesson from these gals: wear varying shades of the same color or break up the ensemble with interesting textures and details on the pieces you choose.

Join me tomorrow for the very last installment of Breaking the Rules Week -- wearing tights with sandals. Got a submission? Send it on over to amy.kelinda@gmail.com. See you all then!