Taking your wardrobe from autumn/winter to spring/summer can sometimes be tough. If you're looking for a particular colour to push you through the transition, consider the camel spectrum. Think sandy beige tones; neutral, but still pigmented, ever so slightly.
It’s “the colour that makes everything look more expensive”, claims the title of a Who What Wear article. I couldn’t have said it any better myself, because that’s exactly the vibe that camel colours connote. Luxury, not to mention the chic and effortless, are adjectives often used to describe an outfit that flaunts a significant amount of this shade. There’s a variety of ways to incorporate the colour into your outfit, especially during this “in-between” season, where it’s sometimes chilly, sometimes warm; neither very cold, nor excruciatingly hot.
I’ll start off with the easy looks, and get more glamorous as I go on. The simplest combination to pull off is a pair of black leggings or skinny jeans, paired with a white blouse and a camel knit on top. This can be a light cardigan or chunky cable-knit sweater. Or trade the black trousers for a pair of boyfriend jeans. Stay aware: if the look gets too boxy, opt for slimmer denims. Also, don’t go too outlandish with your accessories. Keep it classy with a pair of heels and a sleek handbag, or stay street-chic in white trainers.
If you feel like adding a pattern, go for leopard prints. This is one of the few times I actually condone them, since they really work well with camel-coloured bases, not to mention they’re a cute ode to the current safari-style trend. If you’re headed somewhere cold, perhaps on holiday, a camel-coloured coat is a great investment. If you see a trench in the same tone, or even a light duster jacket or long tuxedo-style vest, buy it – it will be well worth your money. For an edgier piece of outwear, look into purchasing a suede fringed jacket in a tan colour – while its trend value may be short-lived, it’s a killer look for this season.
If you have tried and tested camel casualwear, and are happy with the result, raise the sophistication a notch, and use the shade for your next brunch or dinner look. Think about wearing a simple beige top with dramatic white flares or culottes, and throw on a chunky gold necklace as a finishing touch. If you can find a cute sweater dress or pleated skirt in camel, give it a try.
After I have gushed about the trend appeal of camel colours, I must include a warning. There’s a tendency for some women – and some teenaged girls (ahem, Kylie Jenner) to take the lushness of camel colours to an extreme that’s not very commendable.
I’m referring to the “hoochie” look propagated by the Kardashian clan – figure-hugging body-con dresses, in neutral, beige tones, worn two sizes too small, thus leaving nothing to the imagination. Sometimes, it’s simply underwear that these women are clad in, with the addition of a longer mesh dress or skirt worn on top.
My descriptions don’t do justice to the fashion atrocities often committed with skin-coloured shades, so if you’d like a visual back-up, just look at Olivier Rousteing’s spring/summer collection for Balmain. Or worse, take another glance at that family photograph from Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 presentation at New York Fashion Week last month to see a picture of beige-shaded fashion faux pas after faux pas, complete with countless plastic surgeries, and a certain infant with fur-covered wings.
hlodi@thenational.ae
