What goes with navy?

Following on from What goes with brown and What goes with black?, here's what Good Housekeeping had to say about navy back in the 1940s. It may seem odd that there are so many more variations for brown and navy, but I think it's actually that the options for things to go with black were much wider (pretty much any colour dress except navy or brown - anything as long as it wasn't neutral) whereas with brown and navy there are specific dress colours and so on assigned.

Leather accessories Navy
Costume and coat shades Navy
Etceteras (also frock or sweater) Yellow, claret or scarlet; mid blues or green, or navy
Hat Navy (plain or trimmed etcetera colour)

Leather accessories Navy
Costume and coat shades Grey
Etceteras (also frock or sweater) Yellow, claret or scarlet; mid blues or green, or navy
Hat Grey or navy (plain or trimmed etcetera colour)

Leather accessories Navy
Costume and coat shades Camel
Etceteras (also frock or sweater) Bright red, green or navy
Hat Camel or navy

I think it's the third option I find most fascinating because it's hard to imagine anyone nowadays pairing navy shoes and bag with a camel-coloured suit and bright red scarf. This summer navy does seem to be making a resurgence, but paired with mint green - very different from those 1940s combinations.

Image from Stitchcraft April 1949

Comments

  1. I usually match navy with light brown and/or red, and grey.

    I recently bought some navy shoes, very useful as I was sick and tired of tan sandals or brown boots with my blue trousers.

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  2. I tend to put navy/blue with red and/or cream, not very exciting is it? Lol. X

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  3. Ohhh - GREEN!!! I had not thought of that one before!

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  4. Funny, always picked up that black, grey, brown and navy were wardrobe base colours and pretty much everything goes with these colours. But that may have been a midcentury advice (50s/60s)

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