Summer's New Neutrals

Building your uniform by incorporating muted subtle colors.

I’ve talked a lot about chocolate brown. Integrating it slowly into my everyday looks has evolved my wardrobe this year - feeling less boring but still keeping to my authentic style. I’ve found that it’s worked its way into my summer wardrobe too, and unexpectedly paired with olive green.

I launched an edit of my favorite pieces over at At Present - a really great jewelry site with carefully curated brands with a great mix of styles and prices. Once I was 10 pieces into my edit I realized how much green I was pulling. I like it with gold, it felt unexpected and new with silver, and I liked it stacked on its own. The combination of chocolate brown and olive green felt like a very subtle but still fun way to incorporate newness and a summer feeling into my wardrobe. The colors act as neutrals, look good on almost anyone, and are soft enough for summer. Here are a few looks I pulled, along with the jewelry that inspired this new color palette.

Hinge Gold Hoops, Chain Link Necklaces, all At Present, Mfpen Button Down

The Key Pieces

These are the hard-working, key pieces to work from within this palette. They can easily be styled with any other neutral and add a really nice accent to your summer outfits. Sharing below how I’d style them to elevate your summer wardrobe.

Jade Ear Cuffs, At Present. A Emery Sandals, Gypset Signet Ring, At Present, Hinge Hoops, At Present, Rue De Verneuil Tote, Mfpen button down

A few notes on these key pieces: I love the earcuffs, great for stacking. I have been living in these A Emery sandals, which are a really good grounding piece (more on that later). The green tourmaline signet ring by Akalia Reid is so pretty and such a nice way to play with masculine/feminine with your jewelry. My favorite tote brand in my favorite new color—and I love the height of it. And finally, these gold-plated hoops from Annika Inez. I’m so picky about gold tones with gold-plated jewelry, but these are really perfect. They’re also a great price and super easy to put in with a hinge to open up.

Chocolate Brown + Olive Green Accents

Gypset Signet Ring, Stacking Rings -coming soon, Chain Link Bracelet, all At Present

If you’re wearing a neutral, chocolate brown shirt, adding in these olive green rings is a really fun and unexpected touch for summer. I love stacking them with something polished and elevated like my wedding band and the 14k gold chain link bracelet, brings it back to my everyday jewelry uniform.

Olive Green and Gold

Chain Link Bracelet, Sitting Diamond Hoop Earrings, Emerald Baguette Signet ring, Gypset Green Tourmaline ring, all At Present

This is a pretty, more polished take on this color palette. The olive green shirt from Chava Studio (coming soon) is a such pretty green tone to base my outfit around. I like the balance of the chain links and signet rings mixed with dainty details of the diamonds in the earrings and the emerald and tourmaline stones in rings.

The Shoe that Grounds the Look

A Emery Chocolate Brown Sandals

This is the shoe I tell all my friends to buy. The leather insole is soft and pillowy, so they’re super comfortable. I’m pushing 9 months pregnant, as swollen as I’ll ever be, and I’m still wearing these shoes. Styling-wise, they’ll ground any look. If you’re wearing a all black, choc brown + black, the colors above, cream, or any of the green touches here, it gives it a good base that isn’t just black. With brown sandals, I think we often reach for that lighter tan color, but I think this darker chocolate color is a little more sophisticated and fresh.

How to Wear It

Rue de Verneuil Tote, Cos Black Pant, Mfpen Shirt, Cesta Collective Pouch, Lou Lou Studio tank, A Emery sandal

Here’s how I put it all together. These pants I picked up when I saw in-person at COS, and they are a really good, somewhere between straight and wide leg linen shape.

The knit on this tank is a finer more elevated take- not cotton. The price is great. I wear it under the chocolate brown button-down, cuff the sleeves, throw this very practical suede Cesta collective pouch in the bigger tote, and ground it all with the A.Emery shoe.

The Jewelry Details

Jade Earcuffs, Hinge Hoops, both At Present

I wanted to call out some of the smaller jewelry pieces I’d use to style this palette. I actually love these little green ear cuffs. They remind me of a glass sculpture- they are made of jadeite (a tough, dense mineral- I had to google!). I’d even stack up to three of these. Cuffs are such an easy way to add to your earrings without committing to the extra piercings.

Green Stacking rings- coming soon At Present, Diamond Orb Hoops, Emerald Baguette Signet Ring, Chain Link Bracelet, all At Present

And the rest of the jewelry: Again, the green stacking rings are so unexpected and fresh for summer. The earrings are the same as I’m wearing above in the photo from the back, just a closer look—they have a tiny diamond in them, .75 carats of them and made of 14k gold. The chain link bracelet is my go-to everyday that I love to pair with my watch. It’s 14k gold and handmade in LA. And lastly, the emerald signet ring. I think this would make such a great gift for a birthday or anniversary. All of these pieces are really great for an everyday jewelry uniform (more on that here), but just one step more special with the green tones for summer.

See you next week,

xo

ali