My Stylish BFF Hates Color—Here Are The 6 Neutral Items She Wears On Repeat
One of my constant sources of IRL fashion inspiration is those around me, and I count Nana Agyemang, also known as @itsreallynana, as one of my biggest. Like most people with a group chat these days, she’s a soundboard for a lot of my fashion-related thoughts; we constantly message each other links to pieces we're thinking about buying or outfits on Instagram that wow us.
But as similar as our thoughts are on fashion, we couldn’t be any more different in terms of personal style; Nana notoriously eschews bright color, opting to style herself in a spectrum of neutrals, from rich hues of mocha and olive to crisp whites. Her steadfast dedication to neutrals became such a thing among our circle of friends that anytime she did wear color she’d use the hashtag, #nanadoescolor as a tongue-in-cheek gesture to mark the rare occasion. "Every time I see super-saturated colors I run the other way. No offense to anyone that loves a pop of color, I just think that wearing neutrals is a guaranteed way to look chic. I’m no longer #nanadoescolor, I’m now #nanadoesneutrals,” says Nana.
Despite her use of homogenous tones, she still manages to pull off interesting outfits that usually make me wonder if I should rethink my own approach to color. To get some insight on how she curates her wardrobe, I asked her about the essential building blocks that make up her everyday looks. As I found out, sticking within a similar tonal family not only streamlines getting dressed, it can also be fun and experimental. Keep scrolling to see the full list of items she has on repeat.
STATEMENT SHOULDER BAGS
"I’m the type to put together a full monochrome look—on the daily. Although that might come off as boring, I always make sure to elevate it with a statement bag. I like to dabble with different bag sizes and shapes! It’s my favorite easy accessory because it makes you appear much fancier than you tried to be. For all my comfy girls this might be your next favorite accessory too."— Nana
SLEEK BLACK LEATHER
"Leather will always have a timeless look. You can’t go wrong with it–whether you're in your 20s or 50s. Even when I have kids later down the line, they’ll think I’m the cool mom when I bring these out."
LWD (LITTLE WHITE DRESS)
"You'll still find a few LBDs in my closet, but I really find myself gravitating towards LWDs when I want to look fresh. White dresses really go with everything, and they're easy for me to accessorize or wear alone. It’s one of my favorite season-less staple pieces."
WARM NEUTRAL BOOTS
"This fall I've noticed warm brown shades trending big. It's on everything from boots to bags. I'm also the type of person that likes to invest in items I can get multiple uses out of; I just can’t wear something once, store it away in a box under my other 20 boxes of shoes so it'll never see the light of day. My brown boots go so well with other colors in my closet so I get great use out of them. I plan on wearing these until the heels come off."
FORM-FITTING KNITS
"This two-piece set from COS is a favorite of mine that I wear to run errands and even for lunch dates. It’s so easy to take it from a casual look to elevated. All you have to do is pair it with sneakers or heels. Knits in general are great for the colder days when you want to be comfy and chic. In terms of silhouette, I prefer mine to be on the form-fitting side."
CUT OUT TOPS
"I don’t like to overthink when I’m getting dressed. I prefer to spend a few minutes putting on my clothes and then just going about my day. Cut out tops are my secret to my chic effortless looks."
Up Next, The Simple Styling Trick Everyone's Flaunting on Instagram.
Indya Brown is a fashion editor, stylist, and writer living in Los Angeles. While going to school at Columbia University in New York City, she got her feet wet in the fashion industry interning at Elle magazine, Harper's Bazaar, and New York magazine's The Cut. After graduating in 2016, she joined The Cut as a fashion assistant, eventually working her way up to fashion editor. There, she worked on a multitude of projects, including styling inbook feature stories for New York magazine's print issue, writing and pitching market stories for The Cut, and serving as fashion lead for The Cut's branded content. While New York has been her home for over 10 years, she moved to Los Angeles in the midst of the pandemic in 2020 for a new chapter. Now she is a fashion market editor for Who What Wear, focusing on emerging designers, rising trends on and off the internet, interior design, and BIPOC creatives and brands. Aside from her duties as a fashion market editor, Brown is also a freelance stylist and writer, working on national print and video commercial campaigns for Sephora, The Independent, and Cadillac. Her bylines also include Harper's Bazaar, Vox, and The New York Times. But once the computer goes down and the emails turn off, she's likely eating her way through Koreatown, hunting down vintage furniture, scoping out new outrageous nail designs to try, or taking a hot cycling class.
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