A Helpful Black and Brown Style Note

Is Black and brown an acceptable color combination for the 1920s to 1950s fashion-conscious young girl about town? Our roving reporter, Armgard Freytag, considers the question.....

Today, when my colleague Miss B. and I were waiting for the elevator, I noticed we matched. That is, the colors of our clothes matched. We were both wearing black/brown combinations.

She wore brown trousers, a brown blouse and a black sweater. I was wearing a black skirt, a black blouse and a brown cardigan.

Wearing a combination of black with brown is always a bit tricky. Opinions on whether they match vary. I try not to combine the two, but today was an accident...honestly it was!

So there I was, at work wearing black and feeling a bit chilly. And nothing to warm me up besides the BROWN cardigan I had so carelessly picked from the pile of freshly ironed clothes.

What’s a pette to do?

Well, to be honest...in the office I work at no one is going to notice my brown cardigan. They wouldn’t notice if someone wore pink elephant ear muffs in midsummer.

Besides, I don’t think there is a rule on whether brown and black match. Many opinions, but no firm rule that I know of. So I decided to fight the chill and be comfortable in brown.

But the question kept nagging at me. Do black and brown match?

I did what every sensible 1920s to 1950s fashion-conscious young girl about town would have done. I picked up the telephone and called my grandmother.

She was a young pette in the 40s and a perfect housewife in the 50s. Oma would know what to do.

I asked her if she wore blacks and browns together when she was young. She said that when she was young everyone wore dark colours and she was sure she would have worn black and brown together.

“But in those days a girl would wear what she could get.”

She remembered a black, brown and white plaited skirt that was actually very nice. But it was the white that made it nice.

I asked her for some general tips on wearing black and brown. So here they are:

• Don’t wear a dark brown with black. If you want to wear the two colours together make sure the brown is distinctly lighter than the black.
• It is always a good idea to wear some white with black and brown.
• If you look into the mirror and are not sure if it is right. Don’t wear it.
• If you wear it with enough confidence it’ll match.

Thank you Oma.

I think I did all right today with my black outfit and brown cardigan. But even though Oma says you can wear the two colours together, it will never be my favourite combination.

~Armgard Freytag