Paint It Black
It just doesn’t matter how hard you try. Sure, the pastel pinks and pale yellows and pea greens look great at the beginning of spring, and the crimsons and golds and aubergines look great at the beginning of fall — you see them on the runway and then on the store racks and you think, “Hmmm. I could get into that.” And early on you may even make an impulse buy of something vibrantly hued. But somewhere along the way, it’s back to black.
Call it a New York state of mind, or call it a strategic effort to make it easier to dress in the morning. Even though, I gotta point out, there really are different shades of black, and you often can’t tell till you’re outside, across the street, already running late, and your shoes are too uncomfortable to take those extra steps to get back across the street and into your apartment to change… or maybe that’s just me. In any case it’s my official reason for having so many pairs of black shoes and black sweaters — that’s my story and I’m sticking with it!
Let’s not forget the slimming effect of the color black. (I must say, Liz Hurley did us all a disservice by making white jeans a staple in her wardrobe. Admit it, at some point in the past few years you probably thought it was a good idea, if only for two minutes. And you know what? 99% of the time — not a good idea.)
Black’s never inappropriate, no matter the dress code. While black can ensure that you don’t stand out if you don’t want to, it also lends itself to a flair for the dramatic. It’s hard to go wrong with black.
But perhaps it’s mostly a matter of peer pressure. Everyone’s doing it. I should too! All the cool kids wear black; who am I to stand out like a sore thumb — or, say, a loud berry-toned Missoni print dress in a sea of black. I mean, it’s almost as if you were trying too hard to stand out. That would kinda be like wearing a white dress to a wedding when you’re not the bride. You know what I mean?
Sigh. I’m telling you, it almost requires a master’s in psychology to get dressed in the morning.
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September 16th, 2005 10:15
You are perfectly right: black is really the passe-partout colour in my wardrobe, too. I like other colours (red for all seasons, white and turquoise only for summer), but black has always been love at first sight. I personally use black as a plain canvas, where I can add anything: I love ethnic jewellery and colourful accessories and they’re usually perfect on an all-black ensemble. The same can be said for black shoes (or boots): you can use them in any occasion!
September 22nd, 2005 20:52
I currently live in the mid Atlantic region and find that black is not practical in a sunny, hot climate. One looks and feels cooler in lighter colors. I’ve read that Mrs. Kennedy, as the first lady, wore color so that she would be noticed in a sea of black clothing.