Scandinavian Style

Scandinavian (Scandi) style has been, and still is, very popular both for clothing and interiors.

What is it about Scandinavian style that we like? Well, for me it is the uncluttered, minimalist and clean lines of both clothing and interiors and the seemingly little effort it takes to make everything look good!

Neutrals

Clothing tends to be mainly neutrals with little to no bright colours. Black is the most worn colour, also grey, beige, camel, navy and white or off-white. When I was in Sweden I noticed that, in Stockholm particularly, many girls wore all black head to foot but looked very stylish despite the snow and low temperatures! I’m not sure why they go for neutrals so much in Scandinavian countries. It could be that it’s easier to get dressed in the morning if you don’t have to match colours, as neutrals all tend to go with each other. Having been trained in colour analysis though, I do personally like colour and would find an all neutral wardrobe boring.

If you like this neutral Scandi style and have cool, blue-based colouring then black, grey, white and navy are the best neutrals for you. If you have warm, yellow-based colouring you will look better in beige, brown, cream or off-white and camel neutrals. In my view it’s fine to wear a pop of colour to a neutral outfit for interest.

Stores

Some clothing stores that are good for Scandinavian style clothes are Cos, Arket, Organic Basics and Scandinavian Fashion Store. H & M, which is a Swedish company, also has items, such as this oversized white shirt, so it’s worth looking there first for Scandi style.

With knitwear, such as the one above, be careful about looking shapeless in a boxy cut. You can get away with it if you are very slim and have a straight body shape. For the rest of us we need to choose our cut of Scandinavian style clothes carefully so as not to look too frumpy, particularly when you are 50+.

Another observation I made about Scandi clothing is that there are very few patterns apart from stripes or textured designs within a garment, like cable stitch.

Why not try and emulate Scandi style from existing items in your own wardrobe?