Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Why so much black?

Black is a colour that seems to be in fashion now, especially amongst women. It is not unusual to find women setting out to work dressed entirely in black, something I find odd.

Not that black is a bad colour. Black is sophisticated, smart but it is an evening colour. Black in daytime is only for mourning, which implies that it should be used with a degree of sobriety. No one should mistake someone in mourning for someone heading out to a smart evening party.

Dark colours, navy or grey, are acceptable if one likes darker hues but leave black for the evening. Little black cocktail dresses are best left for cocktails.

11 comments:

pp said...

when i was much younger, i used to wear full black but now i find it a bit strange, even for evening wear, unless it's a one piece.

if not done right, black can look dowdy imo, especially in the day.

Delilah said...

Hmmm. I dunno. Can you really categorize colors anymore as evening and morning? work and play?
In these times of fashion freedom I like to think that anything is possible. Within reason of course :)

Jack Point said...

PP, I agree.

Delilah, I am a bit of a traditionalist which is probably why it feels rather strange to me.

I suppose there is no real harm in wearing any colour but wondering where the change in taste came from.

Sach said...

Black in daytime is not necessarily for mourning, I would think. It's all about cultures rather; in the western world it is the norm while white is the color used for mourning in most of Asia - at least in non-chiristian parts of Asia. So it all depends on who you are, isn't it? What's black for you might not necessarily be black for someone else.

Lady divine said...

nah.. it's how you decide to look at it..:)

Black is a colour for everything now..:) well, almost everything I guess.

I used to wear a lot of black. But then, I changed as black appeared to be a bit depressing for me and I got the hang of colours... :)

Another reason women wear black - it makes one look slightly slimmer, covers the bulging curves and all..;)

Guiding Spirit said...

I wear black a lot because it is my favourite colour :) Can't remember ever wearing a full black outfit during the day though .. hmmmm ...

. said...

black i love ! just bought a gorgeous maxi dress in that color and i will hack it this summer...day and night!... times sure have changed.

Jack Point said...

Sach, yes I suppose it is more white for mourning, but is'nt it a bit too dressy to wear black in the daytime?

LD, yes black is indeed slimming but as you say bright colours are uplifting. You may be able to get a similar slimming effect from Navy or dark green, but I'm not very sure about that.

Maybe I'm being sexist here, but in the morning I like to see girls in lighter colours or even flowery prints on sarees.

Maya, thanks for dropping by, shall keep a look out for that black Maxi around town:)

Jack Point said...

Guiding Spirit, thanks for dropping by, black is fine but probably not during the day time.

I just remembered the other reason for avoiding black: its association with witches

:)

The Puppeteer said...

I guess it depends on whether they can pull of a completely black outfit during the day. A stereotypical metal-head probably could.
But I have to agree with you. In general, complete black is terribly dull.

Jack Point said...

Thank you Puppeteer:)