How to Style Color Formulas in Spring/Summer with 30 Wears: Navy Rabbit Blouse

It's been a minute since I've shared a 30 wears post, but this one is fun because it features one of my favorite tops, a sleeveless navy rabbit print blouse that was part of the Kohls/Disney collaborations that accompanied the release of the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movies. (I discussed the four tops I bought from that collection here. The Cheshire Cat tank from the same collection was the subject of my very first 30 Wears post!)

I have actually gotten my total wears of this blouse up to 33 for a current cost per wear (CPW) of $0.80, and I have outfit of the day photos for about half of these wears. But I am not at all done with wearing this top; I hope to get another 30 wears out of it! It's still in extremely good condition (I "wash" it in the dryer with a home dry cleaning sheet) so this isn't out of the question.

The color palette of this top is navy, white, green, and yellow. Navy is a useful color because it can easily be worn with shades of blue denim or chambray as a tonally matched set. The green is interesting because it coordinates well with several different variants of the shade; warm greens like olive and yellow-green/lime are particularly nice with it, but I've also had good luck with truer greens like kelly green.

You will not be shocked to learn that my 33 wears of this blouse have fallen into Jodie's color recipe categories of "neutral in the print," "accent color in the print," and "print mix."

I decided to organize my OOTD photos of this blouse according to the color formulas I use, such as modern twin set, inner column, outer column, colorblock, and monochromatic. Because my blouse has a print, some of the color formulas will be the print variation where you pair a print piece with a solid piece in the same color as the print's background/dominant color (here, that's navy/denim/chambray). I'll also make note of color formulas I've used but not photographed as we go along.

Of the 33 total wears for this blouse, I have information/photos about how I wore it 26 of those times. It'll be interesting to see which color formulas rise to the top of the list. Let's get started...

Navy Modern Twin Set - Print Variation

Worn 10/26 times = 38%

• Navy Modern Twin Set With White: 3 times (2 photos)

My most recent wearing of this blouse earlier in the month is an interesting transition season outfit because I'm wearing a cold season cardigan and scarf with warm season bare legs and ballet flats! This is the earliest in the spring/summer season I've pulled out this blouse (April 11), though I do have a photo later on from an April 13 outfit.

OOTD 4/11/25

I love wearing these navy and white striped ballet flats with the rabbit blouse for some low-key print mixing, and it's a slam dunk when wearing navy and white with the blouse because it's a straight up repetition of those colors.

At a distance, the green grass in the print isn't very noticeable, so my light green scarf has some pop of color impact while still technically falling into the "color in the print" category.

I wore a new DIY beaded memory wire bracelet specifically made to coordinate with this blouse. I used an even distribution of the colors in the bracelet, even though the blouse is mostly navy with some white and a little yellow and green. I liked having the accent colors be more prominent in the bracelet to add some extra oomph to outfits I wear it in. It makes even more impact in outfits like this one that have a lot of the neutral colors represented.

My earrings were NOT made for this blouse or outfit, but I thought the yellow-green color of the glass beads would fit in nicely. The earrings are relatively inconspicuous because the beads are such a close match to the scarf, but the silver turtle charms still show up for some subtle "tortoise and hare" whimsy. (Note: I am aware that tortoises are not identical to turtles and hares are not identical to rabbits, but I do not observe these scientific distinctions when playing around with these concepts visually or verbally. I blame Looney Tunes; for example, Bugs Bunny sang "I dream of Jeannie, she's a light brown hare" even though rabbits and hares do not interbreed.)

My other OOTD with the same white skirt uses a dark chambray jacket to form a twin set look with the blouse and adds a pop of green in the ballet flats. Note the lack of necklace/scarf in this outfit, which is common when I wear the rabbit blouse because it has soft navy fabric to tie in a bow (which will be more visible in later outfits).

OOTD 9/13/24

• Navy Modern Twin Set With Olive/Green: 5 times (4 photos)

In these outfits, you can see the different shades of green that I've paired with the rabbit blouse and a navy topper. Here I've styled the blouse with a short sleeved navy cardigan and olive skirt plus the striped ballet flats again. Without any other white in the outfit, the white stripes in the shoes really make the white rabbits in the blouse pop.

OOTD 8/23/17

This somewhat dressier version uses a short-sleeved navy jacket and olive pants with gold loafers that relate both to my hair color and to the yellow flowers in the blouse's print.

OOTD 6/22/20

This more casual version features a navy marl cardigan and aloe vera green crop pants with olive leopard flats. I like the mix of textures in this outfit: the cardigan has a chunky marl knit, the blouse is smooth, the pants are a textured denim (faint vertical stripes), and the ballet flats are calf hair.

OOTD 7/19/22

The short-sleeved jacket makes a reappearance in this outfit with a cooler, darker green that I call "pure green" in my wardrobe because it's such a match to the green hue on my color wheel. I still consider this shade of green to be a "color in the print" but it demonstrates that you really don't need to match your shades exactly for the combination to work. For once, I am wearing the most obvious color of shoes to pair with this blouse, plain navy flats that match the blouse's dominant color.

OOTD 9/13/22

• Navy Modern Twin Set With a Print Mix: 2 times (2 photos)

In both cases, I created a print mix with a navy and white micro-stripe skirt that has a bit of a false plain appearance at a distance. Using a false plain print is a very easy way to get started with print mixing two pieces of clothing that are next to each other in your outfit.

OOTD 7/6/20

OOTD 6/28/21

Navy Inner Column - Print Variation

Worn 10/26 times = 38%

• Navy Inner Column With White: 5 times (2 photos)

My white/ivory short-sleeved cardigan creates a high contrast look with the navy inner column, which has the potential to overwhelm me a bit; however, some days I am really attracted to the drama that the contrast generates. I'm enjoying seeing my mustard ballet flats make an appearance in this outfit. This is another tweak on the "color in the print" strategy, selecting a darker, moodier shade of mustard yellow, guided by the light, cheerful shade of butter yellow in the blouse. And like the gold loafers we saw earlier, it's another example of bookending with a shoe color that is reminiscent of my hair.

OOTD 8/31/17

As with the white skirt + navy cardigan outfit that I shared at the beginning of the post, the striped flats are very effective in this navy-and-white outfit. I think it has even more impact in this all-neutral look compared to the earlier outfit with the green scarf. When you're styling an outfit that leans this heavily into a couple of neutrals as the color palette, adding a print mix and/or texture mix gives a big visual interest boost to your look...especially when you are keeping your silhouettes as simple and classic as this.

OOTD 5/31/19

• Navy Inner Column With Olive/Green: 3 times (2 photos)

I have worn this color formula with an olive cardigan, but the two OOTD photos I have feature this cheerful spring green cardigan in the perfect saturated pastel shade of citrusy green. In this more casual outfit, I have formed the inner column using a faded dark denim skirt and popped on the striped flats for a fun look.

OOTD 6/2/17

This dressier version of the formula uses my favorite navy pants (thrifted CJ Banks) that somehow always fit perfectly even though they aren't stretchy to create a traditionally flattering inner column. I love the apple green loafers in this look, repeating the color of the cardigan. I've added DIY earrings with green glass pearls in very similar shades of green and, a rare sighting with this blouse, a necklace in a somewhat darker green color. I feel like every outfit with this cardigan is my favorite outfit, but with the double dose of spring green from the cardigan and the shoes, plus the rabbits, this one truly is a favorite! (I had bought the light green scarf in the first outfit above in hopes that it would be a similar magical spring green but it turned out a little paler than I'd prefer; it was bought online for $1.50 from ThriftUp where you kind of take your chances where exact colors are concerned so that was OK.)

OOTD 4/13/23

• Navy Inner Column With Yellow: 2 times (2 photos)

My light yellow cardigan gives me another high contrast option to wear over the navy blouse. This outfit has the same perfect navy pants and simple navy flats we've seen before and uses the matching-scarf-and-topper strategy to pretty good effect by adding some subtle textural interest.

OOTD 6/10/20

I also tried it in a more casual outfit with plain navy capri pants and nude-to-me studded flats. Nude to you shoes that match your skin tone are such an easy classic shoe choice, but we've only seen it twice in this round-up of spring/summer outfits. With an outfit with such a subtle print as this one, I tend to jazz things up with colorful shoes or print shoes.

OOTD 9/1/20

Navy Colorblock - Print Variation

Worn 3/26 times = 12%; 2 photos

I have said before that color blocking is not my go-to style, so it's interesting to see how I've used that strategy with the rabbit blouse. In this dressier outfit, I wore a long-sleeved ivory cardigan (rolled up in the sleeves as I so often do) and a silk skirt in a camel-gold color. I like how the two lighter neutrals create an overall lighter and brighter look, even with the navy blouse creating contrast where it peeks out. The camel skirt is really pushing the boundaries of "color in the print" because it is a couple steps away from butter yellow; you could categorize it as "neutral not in the print" just as well. But it works well here because it's such a good match to my hair color that it doesn't feel at all random or arbitrary; there is a high degree of cohesion to the colors when my own coloring is in the picture. (Sadly, I stained this lovely thrifted skirt but I am planning to upcycle the silk fabric into some textile jewelry so all is not lost. But I do miss having this skirt that matches my hair!)

OOTD 9/7/23

It's the spring green cardigan again, and it looks very fresh with the white skirt! I don't wear white pants/shorts, but wouldn't this look cute with some for a casual weekend look?

OOTD 9/3/19

Monochromatic/Trio

Worn 3/26 times = 12%; 0 photos

It's funny that I haven't photographed the outfits with the navy rabbit blouse, navy skirt/pants, and navy cardigan/jacket...but it looks like those were weekend outfits during a period when I was extremely lax about taking OOTD pics. Luckily it's very easy to imagine how such a combination would look!

So here's the stats on my most popular color formulas with this blouse. Modern twin set and inner column tie for first place! I would have guessed that inner column would be the most common, but am surprised to see modern twin set showing up so much. But what can I say, I do truly love the modern twin set look! I think it's an underappreciated color formula that too often makes people think of a matching cashmere knit twin set worn with pearls on Leave it To Beaver, but it's actually an incredibly versatile idea. The only constraints are that your top and topper pieces be the same/similar color; there is no limit to what styles of pieces you wear. (For many more examples, see these three round up posts: one, two, three.) And if the solid on solid version sounds blah to you, make one of the pieces a print, as I showed in this post, for a modern twin set with more oomph and interest.

So with 30+ wears behind me, where do I go from here with my navy rabbit blouse?

Continuing with the "color in the print" strategy, I realized I've never worn the blouse with my yellow pants (in the same light yellow as the cardigan shown above), so that's an obvious one to try...and yeah, I'll probably style it in the modern twin set manner with a navy cardigan. Continuing with the "print mix" strategy, I'd like to experiment with a few different pieces in my closet. First, I've not worn the blouse with a print cardigan so my navy-and-white striped cardigan is on the list. I also have a couple another striped skirts to try. One is a navy and white striped knit skirt that has a bolder striped look than the false plain micro-striped one I wore before. The other is a beige skirt with vertical stripes in navy, black, white, and mustard...which is more of a wild card print mix choice that could look not-so-great, but could also look totally amazing.

Moving into "color not in the print" territory is challenging for me, but after going through my entire wardrobe, I've identified some items in a range of red/coral/pink/purple colors that I could experiment with. I think these warm colors with warm undertones hold a lot of promise with my blouse to create some high impact looks.

These pinks/purples with cooler undertones are more of a question mark for me but still worth testing out.

Of course there is no rule that I HAVE TO expand the ways I wear my rabbit blouse. I could easily continue creating outfits with the tight color palette and low-key print mixing as I have in the past - I have not yet exhausted all the mix-and-max options my closet offers on that score. (Maybe I should have titled this post "how to wear navy, white, and green together" because it does show a lot of examples of that, haha.) I mean, if I wanted to wear my blouse with the spring green cardigan another 30 times, that would be perfectly legit!

But there is value to periodically taking an item out of your wardrobe and thinking about your options for styling it in a broader way than your normally do. It gives your styling muscles a bit of a workout and who knows...you might find a new combination that tickles your fancy and maybe brings new life to an older item.

Do you have a favorite color formula, such as inner column, outer column, modern twin set, color block, monochromatic? Do you prefer styling your print pieces with neutrals, accent colors, or a mix of both? Do you have a favorite print in your wardrobe that you have worn a lot of times and hope to wear for 30 more? Do you have a favorite outfit in this post? Do you have any suggestions for how I could style it in the future?

Blogs I link up with are listed here.