We’ve previously reported Anna Wintour’s famous line that she’d never wear head-to-toe black, preferring to step out in colourful dresses. Take a look at any fashion week front-row and it’s seriously impressive that someone so high up the fashion food chain goes against the favoured all-black grain. Now, Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon has revealed that her Southern upbringing has also influenced her view on the colour.

Wall Street Journal sat down with the movie star to talk about her fast-growing fashion and lifestyle website Draper James. When quizzed about Southern women and style, Witherspoon said “matching items, like matching your shoes to your handbag, is not a bad thing in the South. It’s a return to pretty clothes. We also do a lot with bright colours and patterns. We don’t do black. Our black is navy. People wear black to funerals. I didn’t wear black at all when I was young and was only allowed to buy my first pair of black pants when I was 15”.

We have to say—if you’re going to shy away from black, navy is the chicest alternative. Keep scrolling to shop our favourite navy staples.

Do you have any personal fashion rules that you swear by? Let us know in the comments below!

Amanda Bardas