Every “fall must haves” article in every self respecting fashion magazine has camel listed in a very prominent place. “But Annebeth, isn’t camel one of those yearly recurring trends like plaid and nautical?” Yes, it is. But that does not mean camel is boring. As a matter of fact, camel has never fallen into place as perfectly as this fall. It’s not right to speak of a trend in this case if you ask me: fall just has a “vibe” this year. A modest, simple, back to classics vibe away from constant renewal and constant consumerism, and towards classics that will last you a lifetime and make you feel perfectly in style every single day. The fifties, almost Mad Men inspired Louis Vuitton ads we all loved speak of a glamorous approach to this back to classics vibe, and camel gives us the other side of the coin: while the fifties trend is very obviously present in longer hemlines, classic silhouettes and an absence of the hardness often found in more futuristic seasons, camel is almost a non-trend. Camel isn’t in your face, it’s a neutral that poses a pretty backdrop for all of your other, more trendy clothes. And this way, camel is like the embodiment of the back to classics vibe we have going on this fall: it does not make you buy stuff you’ll tire of in a few months, camel will always be around. The camel trend inspires us to buy basics, classics, quality as opposed to quantity. Camel makes you look refined without screaming “look at me, I’m trendy!”. Like I said, camel is a non-trend. This makes camel THE trend to try: it’s the hype your mom would encourage you to buy into.
But camel also has a practical downside: it does not look good on everyone. If you have a cool skintone like me, beige and all colors in its proximity make you look absolutely positively undead. And vampires may be hot right now (TEAM EDWARD!), but I prefer my skin to look rosy and alive. Want to check what your skintone is like? Just place a gold piece of jewelry on your skin, and a silver piece of jewelry next to it. The piece of jewelry that seems to “stand out more” (trust me, you’ll notice which one seems to shine) implies what type you are: gold for warm, silver for cool. If you have a warm skintype, camel will look amazing on you and my only advice for you is: go buy camel and wear the hell out of it! Okey okey, if you REALLY want a tip: buy a gorgeous camel coat. It will make you look like a million bucks, go with everything and every style in your wardrobe and never be dated. Check Golestaneh for inspiration on how to wear your classic coat and still look young and cool. If you are an unlucky bastard like me, here are some tricks on how to make camel work for you.
1: Keep the camel far from your face – camel shoes, camel skirts, camel pants, camel gloves, camel handbags: you have a green light to go ballistic buying these. Alisa_aiv shows us how chic camel can look in limited doses, combined with that other non-trend: black. Camel adds some warmth to black, and the two together are just the epitome of timeless class. Your granny probably wore this and she looked mighty fine doing so. Why fix something if it ain’t broke?
2: Printed camel brings some vibrance to the look – want to try camel a bit closer to your face, but you don’t want the Twihards all over you? Choose camel that is incorporated in a print. Leopard is another one of those classics that never really go out of style, and hey, leopard is actually camel-colored most of the time! The print looks good on practically everybody and can add a tiny bit of edge to camel classics. Fashionjuice wears her leopard camel in a chic safari look that would flatter even a cold ass skintone like mine.
3: A chunky necklace or scarf between the camel and your face brings color to your cheeks – you bought a camel coat, top or dress before realizing that it actually made you look like the bride of Frankenstein? Just wear the damn thing with a necklace or scarf that DOES flatter your skintone. At its worst this will result in some damage control, and at its best you’ll look ultrachic like Joannaladrido . On top of that, adding a scarf or some statement jewelry also allows you to make a classic camel look your own, infusing it with your style. Remember, you wear the camel, the camel doesn’t wear you (am I the only one who has a vision of a camel wearing a sweater made of ME right now?)
4: Try on different shades of camel and buy the least offensive one – as demonstrated by Marlasinger , there are many shades of camel out there ranging from cool beige to warmer orange-brown. There is bound to be a shade out there that flatters you to a certain degree. Have a good time shopping around and trying on a gazillion different shades of camel, but don’t bring your boyfriend. And if you bring him: don’t ask him which shade looks best on you, because he won’t be able to tell the difference (also because torture is inhumane).
But as always, my best piece of advice is this: don’t take any advice and just have fun. After all, who cares if you look a bit sickly when wearing a certain color. If your outfit shows us your personality, that is way more important than having the perfect look. If you like camel: wear it. If you don’t like it: just leave it be. Because this fall isn’t about trends, it’s about class and style. And we all know that those come from within.
love camel!