There’s Nothing Chicer In This World Than Wearing These 2 Basic Colors Together
But you must adhere to the formula.
by Audie Metcalf
I won’t draw it out.
The colors are black and white.
BUT!
You can’t just fling on anything. There is a specific combination of these colors that will make you, scientifically, look 87% more chic. It’s the tiniest little trick, and yet, it is foolproof, failproof, and regardless of your sartorial gifts, you literally cannot make a mistake. No matter how you slice it, you will simply look stylish and gorgeous. Sorry.
And here it is:
Wearing black on top and white on bottom is the simplest outfit formula of all space and time, and yet, I don’t see a lot of people doing it. It’s so easy! It’s so mindless! It means you can care/know/think exactly zero about style and still look like the chicest person in every room you enter.
Here’s another example:
Ok, it does help that this soft, cotton poplin skirt is the find of the summer. You’ve seen it surely because we wrote about it 387 times a week. But it’s only because it’s perfect. Why is it perfect? First, because poplin is the single greatest material to wear when it’s hot as Hades. Single. Second, because it nips you in at the waist and billows out to create an hourglass on everyone no matter your body type. Third, the genius of the waist band; it’s flat in front and elasticated in back. So it’s sort of a sleek in the front/profound comfort in the back situation. We were checking if the skirt is still in stock and, to our delight, discovered it’s now available in a delicious new panoply of colors.
SHOP THE OUTFIT
And because I am nothing if not committed, I actually realized I own the exact same skirt in black and the exact same tank top in white, and wore them in the conventional way—to see how inverting these classic colors back to their expected black-on-bottom-white-on-top combination makes them mindless and boring and waiter-y and utterly bereft of ideas.
I know what you’re thinking. YOU LIKE IT. And listen, these are my clothes. I like them, too. And, sidebar, that is the perfect tank top if you have a larger boob and a thicker arm. I threw away all other white and black tanks I own and just wear these now. They also come in THIS color which I own and love, but I’m spamming the brand’s inbox to beg for more colors; feel free to do the same.
But back to the issue at hand.
It’s a great skirt. A perfect skirt. We already established this with my earlier diatribe about the white version and this one is identical except that it’s black so, of course, it is also perfect. But I never, ever, ever wear black on the bottom with white on the top because it just is waiter. So I invert it. I even wore extra interesting shoes in the photo above to give it more oomph and fun and still it doesn’t hold a candle to the previous black-on-top combo.
Ok, I still know what you’re thinking.
You’re scared of white on the bottom.
It makes us look fat! It stains! It’s just scary! Allow me to dismantle all three arguments.
1. It does not make us look fat. It makes us look confident. But would I wear skintight white clothes on the bottom? Hell no. You’ll notice a theme in the gauzy, floaty quality of all white bottoms featured in this article. But white making us look larger is just one of those stupid things our moms said that simply isn’t accurate. Let it go.
2. I find white the least stainy because I can throw it on hot in the washer with bleach. Yes, even the white linen pants—I just let them air dry or tumble with no heat. And I have a dog and a kid, both riddled with dirt. So don’t come for me.
3. White just is not scary. It’s all very off-duty model. Just try it. You’ll see. Fine, that’s not a terrific rebuttal but I’m using tough love with this one.
And because I know you’re baaaaarely even reading my painstakingly chosen words and just skimming for more photos and outfits, here you go. This is my House-Clothes™ ensemble that I wear if I’m having a guest or a meeting or a zoom or basically anyone other than my dog staring at me all day.
Another superb tank top with wispy little straps that help to balance a chunky arm like mine, though this one is quite sheer so it’s not apprope for the post office. And those softer-than-air wide-leg pants have THE comfiest waist band, and you can essentially feel like the house-pig that you are while looking impossibly chic. Aka, my entire raison d’être.
SHOP THE LOOK
And finally, I leave you with the most beautiful pair of pants in my closet. The single item of clothing that I’m most asked about when out in public. The most flattering, classic, wear-forever thing I own:
The fit, the flow, the fabric. They’re floaty, linen heaven. And while they are available in black I, of course, got them in white. I wear them with THIS black 3/4 lightweight tee (which is a must in your life if you’re not wild about your upper arms) but I also wear them with my many striped marinières in the fall, jean jackets, cropped sweaters. They’re simply the most beautiful and versatile pants I own, and I feel very passionately that you should try them. I won’t be mad if you try them in the black. But if you’re brave enough to dip a toe into the white-on-bottom-black-on-top waters, allow it to be with these pants. And send me a photo.
SHOP THE OUTFIT
Audie Metcalf is the Editor-in-chief of The Candidly, and lives in LA with her family. You can find more of her articles here.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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