Can you really (not) mix silver and gold?

There are a couple of dumb pieces of style "wisdom", that each and every self-appointed fashion expert will always try to stuff in our faces, whenever opportunity knocks. You know what I mean... no white after Labor Day, no hot pants with knee-high or higher boots, never mix this and that color, and so on. While I whole-heartedly agree that print mismatch is a bad idea and that sweatpants are strictly for trips to the gym and the laundromat (I don't care if they're Juicy Couture, OK?), I believe most of these other "rules" should be challenged as often as possible. After all, it's very often the unpredictable clashes that make for great fashion statements!

That said, however, for every style clash out of nowhere that comes out as a brilliant fashion innovation, there are about 10 or more that just read as terrible examples of wardrobe mishap. One of the classic mismatch hit-or-miss combos is indeed the mixing of different metallics... in particular silver and gold.

I have yet to see a full silver-gold ensemble that actually works - the Marc Jacobs AW07 look to the left is an extremely lame example; Doutzen Krous for German Vogue (April 2009) to the right comes off as a little better. However, I believe the way to successfully mix gold and silver is steering clear of shiny Barbarella clothing and instead adding metallic accents, in the form of shoes, accessories or even makeup, to an otherwise neutral outfit. Usually, I would add a disclaimer here, emphasizing that this is not necessarily true for looks intended for stage, editorial photography or runway, but honestly.... the gold-silver combo might be one of the few cases where catwalkers, primadonnas and 9-5 office slaves can all benefit greatly from the less-is-more philosophy!

Some inspiration: a smokey silver eye paired with golden hoops on Kate Moss for Vogue Nippon (July 2009); Anna Jagodzinska and Sigrid Agren for the Bottega Veneta AW09 campaign; silver-gold jewelry combos by Jason Wu and Thea Grant, respectively; metallic-mix accessories by Marc Jacobs, MaxMara and YSL (MJ pewter handbag, MaxMara ankle wrap gladiator, YSL slingbacks, MJ satchel, YSL pewter handbag, YSL belt.)


























In general, I think you get the best results working different metallics into the same item (as in the case of the Jason Wu necklace or the MJ/YSL bags - even though I am not particularly crazy about the latter) or, alternatively, wearing them very close together to create the illusion of one single piece (as in the Bottega Veneta ad). On the contrary, mindlessly pairing gold and silver all over the place looks sloppy and thoughtless - see Raquel Zimmermann's gold jewelry and silver handbag pendant as a reference (image from W's November '09 "Art and Commerce" editorial). Just lose that pendant or at least get it in gold! I know, matchy-matchy sucks, but it's sometimes to prefer over total mismatch - at least in the case of metallics!

And for yet another horrifying example, scroll up again to the very first picture in this post. Someone got dressed in the dark the other day and forgot she was already wearing a silver necklace and a dress with a built-in fake silver chain belt, when she grabbed a purse with a gold chain-strap on the way out to walk the doggie.... yes, that would be me. Evidently, even fashion bloggers screw up now and then. At least that little mishap inspired me to write this post....!

What's your opinion on mixing metalllics? Are you a total Barbarella or do you at best prefer to wear some mixed bling on your wrist or so, leaving it at that? Let's hear it!