Blues and Greens, Worn Together

Blues and Greens, Worn Together

The old rhyme said blue and green should never be seen together, and it was wrong. Here is how I pair them, from emerald knits and bottle-green dresses to pale blue cashmere and navy tailoring. Twenty-four pieces from Khaite, Valentino, Tibi, Cult Gaia, DÔEN and more, with notes on what to skip.

There is an old English rhyme that says blue and green should never be seen, and a lot of mothers took it very seriously. Go stand in front of Monet's water lilies at the Musée de l'Orangerie and try to agree with it. The two colors sit side by side everywhere in nature, water and leaves, sea and pine, and together they look calm rather than loud. Inspired by those water lilies, by a cold swim in a dark lake, and by the painting on this page, all cobalt running into moss, this is my case for wearing them in one outfit. Start with green, since it is the harder of the two. Emerald and bottle green are the shades I trust: dark enough to wear like a neutral, saturated enough to feel like a decision. Valentino's wool minidress is the strongest single piece here. DÔEN's Amari dress and Anine Bing's June sweater, both in a deep emerald, are the easier way in. Acne Studios' layered wool sweater and Tibi's Serviette crewneck are the everyday versions, and the Tom Ford clutch in bottle-green snake-effect leather is the one for evenings.

Flat lay of a cobalt cardigan, an emerald satin bomber, green suede knee boots, an emerald satin bag, a pale blue sweater, a malachite necklace, blue suede bags, olive loafers and navy suede ankle boots on white.
Cobalt, emerald, powder blue and malachite, laid out together.

Emerald and bottle green

Blue does the calming. Green brings the drama, and blue is what makes the pairing wearable on an ordinary Tuesday. I think of the blues as a gradient, from powder to a navy so deep it passes for black at night, and I like to pick one shade from each end. La Ligne's Dominick sweater and Isabel Marant's Dolie denim jacket sit on the pale side. Khaite's Jackson sweater in midnight navy and Tibi's tropical wool shirtdress sit on the dark side. Chloé's cropped barrel-leg pants and Miu Miu's navy flared trousers cover the bottom half, and Extreme Cashmere's cardigan is the brightest blue here, closer to cobalt than powder. The simplest formula I know is a pale blue knit, navy trousers and one green thing, whether that is a bag, a shoe or a pair of earrings. Cult Gaia's Cala knit dress, in a deep lake blue, is the one piece here I would wear on its own, with nothing but a green bag.

Blue, from pale to navy

If you are not ready to wear both colors head to toe, let the accessories do it. A green bag with a navy coat, or a blue suede boot under a bottle-green dress, gets you most of the way there with none of the commitment. Khaite's Donna bag comes in a soft blue suede, Erdem's Bloom Mini in a deep green satin, and Aeyde's Yana boots in a forest green suede that reads nearly black until the light catches it. Jennifer Behr's Sidonie necklace uses malachite, banded in every green from moss to pine, and it looks right against a navy sweater. Manolo Blahnik's Zufavis boots in navy suede, Bottega Veneta's green Astaire loafers and Savette's small teal pochette fill in the rest. What I would skip: pastel versions of both colors together. Mint with baby blue looks like a nursery, not a lake. Pick one clear blue and one clear green and let the gap between them do the work.

Blue and green bags, shoes and jewelry

Our honest take

We like this pairing because it asks for very little shopping. Most closets already hold something navy and something green, even if they have never been worn on the same day. Try that combination tonight, before you buy anything. If you take one thing away, let it be this: one color does the heavy lifting and the other plays the accent. A navy outfit with a green bag works. An emerald dress with blue suede boots works. Two equally loud pieces fighting for attention is where it goes wrong. If you do want to add something, make it a green piece in a shade dark enough to wear three days a week, like Anine Bing's June sweater or the Tom Ford clutch. Skip anything neon, anything sold as seafoam, and anything you would only wear to one party.