How to Style Black and Brown Outfits

While some color pairings make perfect style sense, others can be a bit trickier to figure out. The duo that sits at the top of most people’s color wheel conundrum list is black and brown. Can a black and brown outfit clash? Sure. However, much like black and blue looks, black and brown outfits can look incredibly sophisticated if you keep a bit of color theory in mind.

Related: 12 Complementary Brown Clothing Outfits

To break down how to master the art of this elusive color combination, we tapped fashion experts Samantha Brown and Audree Kate López—and we've rounded up the best black and brown street style looks to offer you endless fashion inspiration.

Meet Our Expert

• Samantha Brown is a professional and celebrity stylist based in New York City.

• Audree Kate López is a fashion stylist and editor based in New York City.

Pick a Main Character Color

Creating a balanced black and brown outfit can be as simple as assigning one color main character energy and allowing the other color to act as a supporting cast member. "I love using one of the colors as the outfit base and the other as a complementary color," says López. One easy way to apply this theory to a look is to stick to one shade for your clothing and the other for your accessories. "For example, if I’m wearing a black outfit, I like to offset the black with a tan or lighter brown belt, shoe, or bag," López shares.

Use Light Shades as Starting Points

If you're still finding your footing when it comes to styling black and brown, López recommends starting things out lightly. "A good entry to wearing point brown and black together is pairing black with a contrasting camel, tan, or khaki," she explains. The contrast between a lighter shade of brown and black simplifies the styling process since "it feels like mixing opposites colors, almost like [styling] black and white, so it’s easier to add dimension to the outfit."

Let Your Accessories Do the Work

If you find yourself struggling to connect black clothing with brown accessories or vice versa, save yourself the struggle and incorporate accessories that combine both shades. "Adding a black and brown printed accessory is a nice way to marry the colors together," says Brown of this no-fuss method of bringing a brown and black outfit to life.

Don't Sleep on Separates

If you'd rather not spend time curating and color-matching accessories, you can still use López's base and complementary approach with classic separates like dresses, long coats, trousers, and boots. In cold weather, you can easily separate a black and brown outfit into two layers: outerwear and underwear. Choose one color for your shoes and coat, and the other for whatever you're rocking underneath.

Fake a Monochromatic 'Fit

Conversely, you can create the illusion of a head-to-toe monochromatic look by choosing browns on the opposite end of the color spectrum. "If you want your outfit to feel super cohesive, pair black with a darker, chocolate brown. This gives the same feel as mixing navy and black," says López. "They’re different, but the colors blend easily and create a more seamless 'monochrome' outfit."

Aim for Animal Print

One of the boldest ways to bring black and brown together is with print. "I love a classic leopard or cheetah print in an outfit," says López, who calls this print-forward approach "a great entry point to wearing black and brown together." As Brown points out, animal prints "do the work for you," making it a breeze to wear these shades together and even helping you identify what color accessories to work into your look. Don't feel limited to a single sector of the animal kingdom. Black and brown also look gorgeous in other animal-inspired patterns, from zebra to snakeskin.

Related: Go Bold in These 12 Animal Print Outfit Ideas

Pick a Power Pattern

If animal print isn't your thing, you can still make a print or pattern the focal point of your black and brown look. "Try a color block, plaid, geometric, floral, or abstract print," suggests López who also points out that patterns don't necessarily need to feature true brown to give the illusion of this color pairing. "You still get the same feel with brown bronze or yellow gold," she says of alternative shades to seek out when sourcing a brown and black pattern or print.

Consider Pops of Color Carefully

Styling a black and brown outfit gets much easier when you think of these two colors as neutrals. As such, a key to making a brown and black look feel cohesive is to stick to an overall neutral palette with, according to López, "one or two pops of color, max." Any more than that and you run the risk of creating color chaos.

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