Two colors that go down in history as rivals are black and brown. I have very specific memories of being in middle school and taking caution not to wear my brown Coach tote with my black leather boots, for example. It just couldn't be done! But times have changed and now in the days of mixing prints, we've thrown most of those rules out of the window. Anything goes! But does it really?

With any type of aesthetic- whether it be art, fashion, or interior design- we like to 'break the rules' but there are certainly ways in which pairings look best. So while the old-fashioned rules don't necessarily apply anymore, there are steps we can take to optimize the look.

This is exactly what our next Style Dare is all about!

I Dare You...

This anonymous Style Dare asked:

"How can you wear both black and brown together? I dare you to try!"

It's a little tricky because when you grow up with a certain belief, it can be tough to steer away from it. But Anonymous, we're in luck because there are definitely a few ways that we can do this! Read on to learn all about how we can wear brown and black together.

WHY IS THIS A CHALLENGE?

To successfully leap over this hurdle, it's important to figure out why it's a challenge in the first place. Despite the 'rule' being ingrained in our culture, the challenge lies in the depth of both colors. Black and brown are such deep hues that are similar in color. While they don't match exactly, they're not different enough to offer a contrast- like say, black and burgundy- so it almost looks like a mistake.

The simple answer? They're just too similar to complement or contrast!

THE SOLUTION

The solution is all in the colors and balance. What do I mean by this? Let's break it down and get into the specifics! We'll use the following infographic as our guide:

created by The Closet by Christie using PicMonkey

Become a pro at styling black and brown together using these 3 Steps!

1- Choose Different Shades

Because our reasoning for the difficulty is depth and similarity, the first step is to use different shades of one or both colors. Because shades of black become gray, I prefer to choose an alternate shade of brown. You'll notice in our infographic that I chose nude, cognac, and mahogany.

2- Bridge The Gap

Going off of the 1st step, our next step is to bridge the gap between the colors. What do we mean by this? Choose a mutual hue that goes well with both colors. For this example, I chose burgundy. Because many shades of brown have red undertones- mahogany and cognac, specifically- this is a great color to balance black and brown.

3- Add Accents

The last step is to use our brown shade as an accent color for your look. For instance- I chose black as my primary color for this look. Cognac is used as my secondary color- and the shade of brown- and I incorporated it into the look with my accessories; heeled combat boots and a wool beret.

To play it safe, don't overlap black with the brown hue. You can add a few other colors, like neutrals, that can be used as a buffer to 'break it up.'

BEHIND THE SCENES

Want to know what actually happens when I do my photo shoots? Here's a peek behind the scenes!

This particular day, I was in a race against the weather! I prefer to shoot on a cloudy day because the weather is usually cooler and I don't have to worry about sun glare, which can terribly limit the location I can shoot in. What looked like a partially cloudy sky from my house quickly turned into a very gray sky and I was concerned it was going to rain any minute! Luckily there were few people at the park this day, so I was able to be in and out quickly. I managed to avoid the rain completely! Phew!

Houndstooth Cowl Neck Sweater Dress, literally swiped from my sister's closet (very similar: Modcloth Coach Tour Dress in Houndstooth) // Express Stretch Leggings // Express Colorblock Snakeskin Crossbody (similar: Topshop Smart Chain Crossbody Bag) // Madden Girl Heeled Combat Boots // Topshop Classic Wool Parisian Beret // Movado Bold Luxe Chronograph c/o Movado // Dominique Cohen x Miss Me Fleur de Lis Earrings c/o Miss Me // Marc Jacobs Lip Crème, in 'kiss kiss bang bang' c/o Rakuten Marketing

Do you dare to wear black and brown together? How would you wear it? Show me your style! Post your black and brown look on Instagram and tag me (@theclosetbychristie).