Should I be wearing black?
Recently, Emma, (one of my clients), asked me, “Should I be wearing black? I have so many black clothes, but I think they’re making me look old.” It’s a question I hear often.
How would you describe the way your skin looks when you wear black near your face? Is your response something like “washed out”, “pale”, “drained”, or “sick”? If you have light to medium hair or undyed greying hair and a fair to medium complexion or a skin tone with a golden glow you may have noticed that wearing black near your face is ageing and unflattering.
Our eye and hair pigments fade over time, and skin colour changes too. You may find that after many years of feeling happy in black, you now instinctively feel uncomfortable in it.
Despite what the fashion magazines and media say, black does not work with every skin tone and hair colour. Shock! Horror!
Why not test it out for yourself?
You need two pieces of fabric – one black, and the other a colour you love wearing; you know, the colour that people always comment on when you wear it. Place the black fabric over the coloured fabric and hold them under your chin. Look closely at your face. Are the circles under your eyes dark and pronounced? Are the wrinkles more pronounced? Does your skin look sallow? Now drop the black fabric and do the same again. Do you see a difference?
Some ideas/solutions
So, if you feel like you’re in the same boat as Emma, here are my top 5 tips I shared with her to help her achieve a healthier look when wearing black:
- Create contrast and distraction by wearing a lighter neutral or colour near your face. This could be a scarf, a statement necklace, colourful earrings, hat or pashmina.
Adding colour to soften black outfits
- As your black clothes wear out, replace them with other neutrals that are dark but less harsh, like navy, charcoal and chocolate. Introduce colours that suit your complexion.
- If you feel you can’t give up your black tops just yet, wear the ones made from softer, sheerer fabrics with lower necklines so that your skin colour shows more. Lace, mesh and chiffon are good options.
- If you have lots of black bottoms (pants and skirts) and black shoes and boots, find patterned tops that have some black or grey in them to link them together.
Patterned tops with black skirt and pants
- Accessorise your LBD (little black dress) with gold, silver, rose gold or pearl necklaces to steer eyes away from the heavy, draining black. Knowing if you have a warm or cool skin tone will help you decide which metal or colour of pearl you should wear.
Little black dress with yellow gold accessories
If you would like to discover the colour palette that best suits your complexion, hair and eye tones so that you look fabulous every day and shop for your best colours with confidence – contact ann@imageconfidence.com.au
Your colour guide
