Forget “no brown in town” or “nope to taupe” (OK, I made that one up). In Paris for the couture shows last month, there were brown shirts on every corner. Not of the 1940s variety but among the fashion crowd, many of whom were wearing their summer linen in a rich, chocolatey hue that paired perfectly with the front row’s habitual tan-plus-gold-jewellery base notes.
When Daisy Edgar-Jones showed up to her latest film premiere this week wearing a Vivienne Westwood gown in a similar earthy tone, my suspicions were confirmed: brown is very much the new black. In fact, it’s the new glam.
Sabrina Carpenter’s hit song of the summer Espresso sums it up even better than the sheer Norma Kamali swimsuit of the same shade she wears in the video (now sold out). In May, Bella Hadid’s almost entirely see-through Saint Laurent gown at Cannes came in café au lait, while JLo and Reese Witherspoon have both skewed Java on the red carpet recently. At Vogue’s Wimbledon party last weekend, the model Alva Claire arrived in a brown Ralph Lauren tank dress that looked both street cool and SW19 smart. Ryan Gosling has long been a fan of tobacco tailoring too.
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What does all this mean in real life? After a few seasons’ parade through rich-person-infused colour crazes — cycling from head-to-toe one per cent white via buttery beige into “quiet luxury” camel, caramel and toffee — we now find ourselves heading towards the sort of palette our new government has pledged to clean up. A colour so much in the ick camp that even saying its name aloud forces a grimace: brown. I know, I’m sorry.
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Yet there’s something chic about cappuccino clothes, even more so for everyday than as eveningwear. Just ask the Italians and the elite tier of Americans. Jackie Kennedy knew this; so did the queen of Nineties minimalism Carolyn Bessette, whose ephemeral presence on the moodboard at every fashion editor’s favourite label The Row is perhaps the reason for brown’s sudden ubiquity. It’s a bit intellectual — see Arket’s rather ascetic but fabulous long linen shift dress (£119, arket.com) — as well as a bit Nineties, which is to say perfect for now.
“It’s hard not to think of those Sainsbury’s uniforms or Brownie Guides, but brown now has this simple and luxurious groundedness to it,” says Natalie Hasseck, the creative director at Rise & Fall, whose knitwear in what they call “bitter chocolate” is a perennial bestseller. The brand’s gathered waist silk dress in the same shade is also flying out (£215, riseandfall.co). “A few years ago, buyers were warning that the UK market wasn’t ready for brown but our customers love it,” Hasseck says. “It’s great for layering, great with different textures, and with denim.”
Cindy Crawford et al in stretch brown jersey and jeans live on in the British brand Tove’s cult Joni bodysuit and cinnamon tanks (tove-studio.com). Klayd has a good selection of choccy layering all-in-ones too (from £55, klayd.uk). Having dipped a toe last summer with one of the new breed of LBDs (yes, that’s little brown dress now) I found it to be softer on my perma-pale skin than black, and less sallowing than tan. This summer, I like Jigsaw’s twist-front jersey style (£145, jigsaw-online.com).
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Then, after a Zoom interview in which the LA stylist and former Goop fashion director Ali Pew logged on in a similarly Cadbury shade of buttondown, I tried a poplin boyfriend-style shirt (£95, withnothingunderneath.com). It’s perfect with both indigo and white denim — the latter in homage to the ex-French Vogue editor Emmanuelle Alt, who I spotted at a Victoria Beckham show wearing a toffee-hued suede Prada jacket with a pair of gleaming jeans. Before you dismiss the slightest possibility of a brown donkey jacket looking glamorous, Hailey Bieber has worn one; so has Beckham herself.
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Now it has spread, Nutella-like, across the high street too. Brown has caught on because it manages to sit between statement shade and background neutral; versatile and classic, but a fashion-update nonetheless.
If swathing yourself in it feels too much, do accessories instead. A chocolate leather handbag won’t reinvent the wheel, but I bought Cos’s brown nylon crossbody a few months back (think Uniqlo pouch but chocolate satin) and it goes with everything (£40, cos.com). Nor is brown for best either: Varley’s funnelneck Betsy sweatshirt has served me so well in ivory, I am considering it in golden bronze (aka brown) too (£102, uk.varley.com).
There are a few things to bear in mind: for “brown” read “dark brown” — more Bourneville than Dairy Milk — and steer clear of Caramac altogether. Wearing your browns with anything in the chino bracket of beige risks looking too Seventies drab. Likewise, quality fabrics — not that era’s polyester or crimplene — are important for maintaining the sumptuousness that is key to brown shades looking good rather than grim. Note also that I haven’t recommended any trousers; they’re fine for men, but not for women if the desired outcome is glam. As ever, you do you, but I think my new rule will be “no brown too far down”.
