Parisian Winter Styling: Warm Toned Accessories

When shopping my own closet recently, I realized I hadn’t worn a previous favorite silk/cashmere blend large scarf in quite awhile. It is an Hermès by one of my favorite artists, Kermit Oliver. As I tend to always favor cooler jewel tones sometimes this one gets shoved to the back of the drawer. I wanted to style it that week in several ways to show the versatility of these colors in the winter and how it can compliment or stand out in different ensembles.

Parisian women are always an inspiration, especially in the winter when things tend to be covered up, buttoned up, and layered. When they invest in quality accessories, they will wear them no matter what time of year it is and not just wear black boots, etc. I love seeing different shades of tanned leather, browns, and even beige suede they somehow manage to never get dirty on the streets!

I mixed black, grey and my tanned leather with several shades of sweaters to give you inspiration to wear warmer colors in the winter and how they can look more subdued or stand out. Maximum versatility is always the goal, especially with color!

A littles snow isn’t going to stop me! Had the Palais Galliera to myself.

Above is a mustard option that blends with the scarf and I paired it with my Sezane dark patterned leather snake Artemis, black throughout, and my electric blue Kelly bag adds a sharp but complimentary contrast.

I wore black jeans and I happened to have a thin sock that matched my sweater to pair with my loafers. It was below freezing when I took these and Parisian women do not do bare ankles once it gets under 45 degrees or so I have noticed. They really embrace the patterned or colored socks, tights or knee-highs under their pants, etc. It really adds visual interest as well when so many elements of your outfit are covered by a coat!

See how all these things can work together? Play with your accessories and make the look your own! Warm doesn’t always need to go with warm, cool with cool.

Here is a Sunday park look with the same scarf and overcoat - I used an electric blue sweater as the pop and dark denim. It is a bit less dressed up than the above outfit but in the same color story.

Additionally, look how balanced this dark teal color is with the warm scarf and tan accessories. It brings out the bit of grey in the scarf and compliments the olive/mustard.

Posing with art isn’t really my thing, but as no one was in this room one morning, I took advantage and I do adore this Renoir….

The tan accessories are also prevalent here in Paris and while black is still obviously super common, I really see these tones worn quite a bit in the winter. So, my point is - if you have great accessories in chocolate, tan, or greys - bring them to Paris!! It is not always black and navy around here (although that is a frequent combo in my rotation!)

This combo is really about making the scarf blend in and grounding it with black accessories to in turn compliment my black/cream houndstooth coat. These warm colors help break up dark denim and black accessories in order to mix it up and feel fresh in the cold, grey winter months here.

I hope all of you are inspired to try new color combinations and experiment this winter á la Française!