BREAKING THE RULES WEEK: TABOO COLOR COMBINATIONS

I'm glad Day One went so well, so now we can buzz right on into the second installment of Breaking the Rules Week. Today's broken rule? Never mix navy and black or brown and black.

Per usual, here is my flagrant shunning of that old sartorial commandment:

Navy and black together forever. And if you count the brown in the belt, then that's two illegal color combinations being attempted here. I think the main issue with black and navy blue is that the shades can look really similar -- so much so that the wearer runs the risk of looking like she just didn't realize that her slacks were navy blue and not black.

The trick then is to make it obvious that you are perfectly aware of the hues you're donning by keeping the contrast apparent and mixing in some navy blue accessories. You can't tell from the pictures, but my belt has a navy blue and white pattern on the band, which signals, "Yes, I realize my skirt is not black."

And some wonderful taboo color combinations from you guys --

Here's Lisa's (Respect the Shoes) take on color palette audacity -- which, as you can see, is not very audacious at all! Brown and black look amazing together, and maybe those who oppose this pairing have only ever seen it where the brown color is a deep brown, which looks too close to black. To avoid this and make brown + black work, do as Lisa does and make sure your brown accessories are lighter and brighter. The green cardigan is such a refreshing touch, too!

Next up, we have JG (Stuff Jewish Girls Like) and her take on close-hued ensembles. I know I said earlier that having things too close in color can make an outfit disaster, but JG shows that it can be done! Her look works because even though the cardigan is navy and the cords are a deep purple, it's obvious that the two choices were deliberately put together. Also, wearing navy blue pants with this outfit might make it too blueberry-ish, so this works in my book! I'm also kind of (really) obsessed with the blouse JG's sporting too...

Here we have Sara's (You, Me, & Anthropologie) take on blue + black, and isn't it a lovely look for sure? Again, reiterating that a surefire way to make these taboo combinations work is to make one color obviously different from the other, Sara has paired her black pieces with a bright blue dress. No one will ever think she didn't realize her dress wasn't black, haha! This look is simple and absolutely lovely.

And now, we have Elena (Caffeinerd) with her rebellious color rule-breaking ensembles. Both of these outfits prove that having a black dress with brown accessories is anything but wrong. In fact, I think the brown accessories vs black accessories makes both outfits much more fun and youthful, and when are those two adjectives ever a bad thing? (okay, well maybe "youthful" is bad when you're trying to buy liquor with a fake ID, which I DO NOT RECOMMEND, KIDS)

And last (but not least!), we have the ever-adorable Susan (Little Miss Fancie Pants) rocking a double whammy: black + brown and pattern mixing! The black acts as a nice neutral against her tan and brown pieces, which are the obvious stars of the show, so this color combination works. And who doesn't love a good plaid? Susan's also been feeling under the weather lately, so be sure to do your Get Well Soon dances for her! You know I'm doing one right now for ya, haha!

So here's what I learned from my foray into taboo color combinations: Keep it contrasted and keep it deliberate.

Thanks again to the ladies who sent in their outfits, and I'll see you all tomorrow with Day 3: spring florals and hues in the wintertime. If you've got an outfit for tomorrow or for any other upcoming day (check the schedule at the bottom of this post), email me at: amy.kelinda@gmail.com to be featured!