From The Straits Times    |

Image: Elvina Farkas/Anue Management

Wool turtleneck sweater, wool pants and calf leather pumps (prices unavailable) from Max Mara.

 

One colour, different shades: Tone-on-tone (which is not the same as ombre – where one hue melds into another) isn’t just pleasing on the eye. The concept, applied to streamlined clothes, is also figure-pleasing: It makes everyone look longer and leaner. Here’s how to master the look in three easy steps.

 

  1. Start with neutrals

 

Neutrals, like Italian label Max Mara’s palate-cleansing palette of nudes, camels, browns, taupes and soft golds this season are an easy way to get in on the tone-on-tone trend.

Black-on-black? Boring, everyone else is doing it too. White-on-white? Maybe save that for Labour Day.

When done right, head-to-toe neutrals – like the sandy hues we’ve put together in the look above – not only give an optical illusion of length, but also make you look infinitely more sophisticated without being too try-hard.

 

Image: Elvina Farkas/Anue Management

Lined velvet double breasted jacket, matching pleated skirt, and cashmere turtleneck sweater (prices unavailable) from Max Mara. Calf leather boots, $1,440, from Tod’s.

 

  1. Play with textures

Once the colour is set, your next move is to add dimension to your look. Give it depth by pairing at least two different textures. Try: knit with woven, matte with shiny, or a day fabric with a night one. Without the issue of colour matching (does this orange really go with that pink?), you can afford to have more fun with textiles and textures.

 

Image: Elvina Farkas/Anue Management

Cashmere sweater, wool and cashmere neck wrap, and viscose blend skirt (prices unavailable) from Max Mara.

 

  1. Incorporate metallics or jewellery

Now that you’ve got tonal dressing down pat, go bolder. An all-neutral look doesn’t always have to stay subtle or low-key. Throwing metallics, or even some chunky gold jewellery, into the mix helps to pull the outfit out of casual territory and into glam – if that’s what you want. The best part is, you’ll never look too garish or loud. Try: a khaki sweater and a soft gold skirt.

 

 

Photography: Elvina Farkas/Anue Management

Styling: Bryan Goh

Hair: Dennis Seah/Toni & Guy Salon @ The Star Vista

Makeup: Grego Oh, using YSL Beauty

Model: Jessica L/Mannequin

This story was first published in the October 2017 issue of Her World magazine.