Most Wanted · The Brown Edit
The Best Brown Pieces to Invest In This Fall
Buy the texture, not the shade. Camel, espresso and chocolate only look expensive when the surfaces don't match.
Buy the texture, not the shade. Camel, espresso and chocolate only look expensive when the surfaces don't match.
Brown used to be what you wore when black felt too obvious and beige felt unfinished. This autumn it is doing the job black used to do — just as easy, considerably less announced.
Here is the mistake almost everyone will make with it. Buying three things in the same flat camel. That is a uniform, and it reads as one.
The rule is texture. A suede jacket, a wool trouser and a leather boot in shades that don't quite agree will read as one deliberate decision, because the surfaces are doing the work the colour no longer has to.
This is not an edit for building a brown wardrobe. It is for the woman who wants two or three pieces that make everything she already owns look more expensive.
Mine is The Row Fabian Leather Jacket. Leather takes the light in a way flat brown never does.— K.W., Editor-in-Chief
Suede bomber, ivory knit, the darkest boot you own. Nothing else in brown.
The trench over a black dress you already have. Brown as the coat, not the outfit.
Camel cashmere, espresso leather, one gold watch. Three browns that disagree, and it's the best thing you'll wear all week.
Every piece in the edit — tap to shop.
A brown trench should sit slightly wrong against everything else you're wearing. If it matches the bag, you've gone too far. Saint Laurent, Chloé, Max Mara, Maria McManus and The Frankie Shop.
Cotton and silk, double-breasted, belted. A trench that is already an outfit.
Chloé gabardine. The trench you throw over jeans and call it done.
Short Max Mara twill. City rain, not countryside costume.
Cotton drill, unfussy. The trench that does not need a story.
The Pembroke. Sharper than it looks on the hanger. Belt it or leave it open — pick one.
This is the category that matters. Brown succeeds or fails at the shoulder and the surface. The Row, Loro Piana, Nili Lotan, SEV, Nour Hammour and The Frankie Shop.
The Fabian in leather. City brown. This is the investment jacket.
The Roana bomber in suede. Softer than the Fabian; keep the trouser sharp.
The Traveller. Technical cloth, not a field coat.
The Cirque in suede. A jacket that takes the light.
SEV bomber. Wear it like leather that learned manners.
The François in canvas. Workwear cut, brown luxury, no badges.
The Astra bomber. Lighter than the Roana. Day.
Tap any piece below to shop the whole edit.
Suede, and not the same height as last year's black pair. Burberry, Amina Muaddi, The Row, Etro, Brunello Cucinelli, Paris Texas and STAUD.
Burberry suede, knee, buckle. One metal detail. Darker than the jacket.
The Christine 80. Height and suede. The dress should be simple.
The Nobilis platform. Suede, a little lift, no costume heel.
Etro suede ankle. The quieter boot if the knee-high feels like a decision.
Brunello suede. Soft, expensive, and not trying to be a cowboy.
The Anja 85. A little more heel. Evening brown.
The Wally knee boot. Less house, still the right height.
The one place brown does the work of black without any of the severity. Brunello Cucinelli, Roland Mouret, Zimmermann, Abadia, Isabel Marant and Maygel Coronel.
Beads on brown satin. The dress is the jewellery. Stop adding.
Crystal on jersey. Long, close, and already finished.
Zimmermann drape in satin. Movement instead of embellishment.
The Gwen. One shoulder, asymmetric — that is enough architecture.
The Aleora. Marant brown that can do day if you drop the heel.
The Anna. Soft brown, holiday bones, city if the shoe is right.
Suede or nubuck. Smooth leather in brown, next to a suede jacket, is how the whole thing slides into beige. The Row, Alaïa and DeMellier.
The Row 9 backpack. Brown without a handbag performance.
The India 12. Textured leather. The tote for the week.
Alaïa nubuck. Soft hide, serious house.
The N/S Park in suede. The brown bag that does not introduce itself.
The New York large, suede. Less famous, same job as the Park.
Cable, not fine-gauge — brown knit needs a surface or it disappears. Brunello Cucinelli, Loro Piana, RÓHE and LEMAIRE.
Cable cashmere, zip. The knit that replaces a jacket on a mild day.
The Cedar cardigan. Loro Piana cable — this is the one if you buy one brown knit.
Róhe wool. Severe cardigan. Wear it as the layer, not as cosy.
Lemaire wool-blend. The quieter cardigan. Good over a white shirt.
Every piece in this edit, by the houses behind it. Explore them all.
Buy the texture, not the shade. That's the whole difference between brown and beige, and it's the reason one looks like money and the other looks like a set.— ESVRA