Yesterday while shopping with my client for boots he picked up a pair I selected for him, which only came in brown, and said “It’s too bad that I like these so much, I don’t have a lot of brown clothes, and it’s not okay to wear brown and black together.”

Insert cartoon character coming to a screeching halt noise here.  The old fashion rule that you can’t wear black and brown has been overthrown, probably around the same time people started wearing white after Labor day (which is completely okay to do in case you were not aware).

Not sure how to incoporate the look yourself?  Try a nice mix of black, brown, and grey. When worn together, rather than having to be matched, the three colors coordinate and compliment each other.  The gent enjoying his metro paper in the photo above is a great example.  He’s wearing a grey plaid newspaper cap, black cable knit sweater, pants, and trench coat, finished off with brown suede shoes.  It’s a refreshing option to donning black from head to toe.

I was walking my dogs when I spotted these merry gents savoring a cigar in style in the park. They were celebrating their graduation from BU’s school of management. In the center is a great example of how to mix black and brown, our graduate is wearing a black suit, white shirt, and his wide silk tie is a deep rich cocoa brown. The brass belt buckle complements the warm tone of the tie. It looks very elegant without an ounce of stuffiness.