A Peasant Surprise

Leather Jacket: DOMA Leather (here)

Cashmere Sweater: Enza Costa (here)

Maxi Skirt: Daniel Rainn (Nordstrom here)

Booties: Sam Edelman (here)

Versatility is key to a successful wardrobe. It's important to me that I'm able to wear most of my clothes year round (but that's only possible because I live in Southern California where the weather is typically beautiful all year long). I usually try to buy pieces that can be worn simply as is and then creatively layered for the chillier months. That way I can get the most bang for my buck! I mean...if you're going to spend a pretty penny on something, you should be able to wear it more than once a year!

I love to get creative and restyle my spring/summer pieces for fall/winter. And I find that maxi skirts are surprisingly perfect transitional pieces in my closet. 

This Daniel Rainn maxi already doubles as a dress so it really is the ultimate versatile piece! During the summers, I'd pull up the skirt to my chest over my bikini and simply belt it for a casual day by the pool or at the beach. For the cooler months, I style it as a skirt with a light cashmere sweater, a leather jacket, and some little booties. If it was colder, I probably would have thrown on some fleece-lined tights for an extra layer of warmth. 

Slit-ther

Another "fashion rule" people are scared to mess with is "never mix black and brown". I think this is just silly so I decked myself out in black and brown from Head to Heels in order to prove that it can be done without looking like a hot mess.

I wore this black asymmetrical side-slit maxi skirt with a black and brown striped silk tank top. I accessorized with a brown floppy hat, black strappy heels, and hints of gold jewelry.

After playing around and experimenting with different shades of brown, I found that medium to light browns pair better with black than a darker chocolatey brown. You want to make it evident that you're sporting both black and brown. If your brown is too similar to your black, it'll just appear as if you failed at matching your all-black outfit and you may have possibly gotten dressed in the dark?! Lol. I'm probably being a little too harsh, but I'd just stick to lighter shades of brown to be safe.

Below are some additional simple tips for learning to break free of this silly "fashion rule". 

Tips:

1) The easiest way to try this look is to probably stick to a solid medium to light brown top with a black bottom or vice versa. Or if that's still a foreign concept to you, try a solid black or brown dress and contrast it with a belt in the other color.

2) If you're feeling a bit ballsier, try adding some prints or texture the way I did. Make sure that both your brown and black pieces aren't printed or that could create one huge disaster. I added a brown and black striped tank top rather than a solid brown top and kept my skirt a simple solid black.

3) Make sure to tie in black and brown accessories in similar shades to bring the whole look together, which I did with my brown hat and black heels. I simply tied my outfit together from Head to Heels with my accessories. Just remember that when you look at your outfit in the mirror, you want everything to simply flow together.

4) I personally think that gold goes well with both black and brown, so why not add a little gold bling to this brown and black ensemble?! I kept it pretty tame with the jewelry and embellished my outfit with a gold chain necklace, a gold cluster ring, and a set of black and gold bracelets.

If you already know how to style these colors together like a pro, feel free to leave more tips in the comments for myself and others!

P.S. this post is dedicated to a good friend of mine, Chris, who likes to give me crap for pairing black and brown together! :P

Tank Top: Sam & Lavi Los Angeles

Asymmetrical Skirt: LF Stores

Floppy Hat: Free People (here)

Shoes: Dolce Vita 'Elka' heeled sandals (here)

Necklace: Vintage

Bracelets: Vanessa Mooney (here) and Jenny Bird (here)

Ring: CC Skye (here)