A cream and gray outfit works because the neutrals sit warm against cool, and one extra texture keeps it from looking flat. I put together five, with cream cashmere, silk, cotton and leather beside gray wool and cashmere.
Cream and Gray Outfits to Try This Fall
Janie Bryant, the costume designer on Mad Men, told Vanity Fair in 2009 that Betty Draper was a combination of her grandmother and Grace Kelly, and that in the first season Betty's palette was very pale: the grays and the cool blues and pale yellows and all the creams and the whites. It is still the best description I know of how to look calm and finished.
Cream and gray is the softest pairing in this series. Gray is cool and cream is warm, so together they balance out into something that looks the way a cashmere sweater feels. It is a neutral outfit with more depth than all beige or all gray.
A quick test: wear a cream knit with gray trousers and add one more texture, like suede or satin. If it looks considered rather than plain, you are there.
Cream Cashmere, Gray Alpaca
Loro Piana's cable-knit scarf is cream cashmere, long and thick, and Savette's Slim Symmetry Pochette is a narrow top-handle bag in pale sand suede with a silver clasp. For gray, Déhanche's Colette belt is gray suede with a big cream buckle, and Toteme's beanie is fuzzy brushed alpaca in a soft heather. Wear any of them with jeans and a navy coat and the neutrals already look smarter.
A Cream Cardigan and Gray Wool Trousers
Loulou de Saison's Edie cardigan is cream cashmere in a bubbly textured stitch with small buttons, and McQueen's straight trousers are mid-gray wool with a sharp crease. It is a cashmere sweater and good trousers, which is my favorite outfit in any color. Jimmy Choo's Isa slingbacks are ivory patent on a high heel, and Khaite's Lamb clutch is a slim cream leather pouch. How to wear it: button the cardigan all the way and tuck it in.
A Gray Cardigan, a Cream Silk Skirt
Dolce&Gabbana's cardigan is light gray cashmere, fitted, with small pearly buttons, and Anine Bing's Bar skirt is cream silk charmeuse that swishes when you walk. St. Agni's Minimal Flat loafers are soft cream leather, and Chloé's Paddington bag is off-white with its big brass padlock. What I would skip: a gray shoe. With a gray top, a cream shoe keeps the outfit from looking heavy.
The Cream Cotton Dress Under a Gray Wrap Coat
Faithfull's Carmen dress is ivory cotton, shirred at the bodice with short sleeves and a full skirt, a summer dress that works in fall under Toteme's wrap coat. That coat is long gray wool doublé with a big shawl collar and a belt, and it is the best piece in this edit. Bottega Veneta's Rosa flats are off-white leather with a little tie at the front, and Saint Laurent's small Loulou bag is quilted cream leather with a gold logo.
A Cream Leather Jacket Over Gray Cashmere
Loulou de Saison's Adea jacket is ivory leather, collarless and fitted, with a row of small buttons, and it is the piece that makes this outfit. Under it, Arch4's charcoal sweater is slim ribbed cashmere, and Skims' wide-leg pants are heather gray cashmere, as close to pajamas as office clothes get. Roger Vivier's Belle Vivier pumps are ivory patent with the square buckle. Gray all over, with cream at the edges.
Gray and Cream Outfit: Add One More Texture
Two soft neutrals can look flat if everything is the same weight, so I always add one more texture: suede, patent, satin or a chunky knit. Let gray take the trousers and coats, and keep cream near your face and on your feet, where it looks fresh. A stark white can make gray look gloomy, so stay with ivory and cream. A cream cardigan with gray trousers is the outfit to try first. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Light Blue and Gray Outfits to Try This Fall and Gray and Chocolate Brown Outfits to Try This Fall.
