Thank you to to Alyson for both inspiring and modeling this edition of Friday Fashion Lab at The Space Between My Peers. Alyson’s question:
What about the Trinny & Susannah concept that you shouldn’t wear black with color, only other neutrals like white and gray. I think I remember them saying that it “cheapens colorâ€. Is this always true?
Not being thoroughly familiar with the teachings of Trinny & Susannah, nonetheless I have bumped into this idea elsewhere. Here’s an excellent tip from Angie at youlookfab:
When wearing black with a colour, be sure to add another neutral tone to the ensemble – it looks less dated that way.
I think “dated” is an underlying concern with wearing black and colors together. I also think alot has to do with the strength and how much color is in the individual’s own personal coloring. Now, on to the pictures:
Hey, is there a symbol for applause? Because I think Alyson deserves it for a great Fashion Lab!
So what are your thoughts about black & color? For me, with my soft coloring, I think black + white + something warm & muted might be a good formula. But I personally do not think the hot pink + black looks dated at all on Alyson.
I love the hot pink and black. I also love the floral print with neutrals with the black.
This was very interesting and not what I expected. I also like the print with neutrals but I woudn’t think of that as a test for colors and black. Otherwise, I love the hot pink and black and the red and black where there is a smidge of black at the top. I wear more “bits” and pieces so I would not think to wear a top and bottom of contrasting colors without belt, necklace, scarf, cardigan, jacket, shoulder bag – more pieces. So I was surprised to see how good the pink and black looked alone.
I also like wearing all black or all khaki and popping one brightly colored item. I like the bright color to have much less area than other pieces. I don’t think hot pink slacks and black top would look as nice as the reverse did. I also would not have liked – I think – the black slacks with a hot pink top with long sleeves. And maybe not even short sleeved.
I don’t think anybody really understands what T & S meant because they never explain it and many people have puzzled over it. When they say “it cheapens it,” I don’t think it’s at all clear whether black supposedly cheapens the color or the color cheapens black! And it only looks dated until everybody starts doing it all over again.
I need a definition of “dated.” Does that mean that the wearer looks older, or that the outfit looks out of style?
I like the red without the tank underneath, and I like the top two. Those look like the best options IMHO.
bonnie
I think if people didn’t wear black with colour, there’d be a lot fewer clothing options! (This may be a nice way of saying T & S would have to make an iron clad case for me to buy in. 😉 )
Personally I like Alyson in the red and hot pink with black — I also think the underpinning in the first red shot really makes the outfit. Great job on the fashion lab Alyson!
I wear black with colours on a regular basis. At least nobody’s ever told me I look dated. 😉
I like the brown/black outfit, the pink/black, and the red/black with the black cami underneath. The plain red works great too, but I liked that little bit of black peeking out.
Good fashion lab.
~Jody
I love the floral blouse and the red v-neck. They look fabulous with black pants!
Not one to follow the rules of fashion, I wear my bright colors with black pants all the time. I generally don’t layer it over anything, neutral or not. I don’t really care about looking “dated” as long as the ensemble looks good, but one way to prevent dated-ness is to have the black bottoms be something trendier. For example, I like to wear a brilliant red-pink henley with black widelegged pants. That’s not to say you should run out and buy trendy pants just to go with colored tops, but if you do have something that fits the current trend (trends get recycled anyway), go for it!
I don’t think mixing colors with black is dated at all. I’m young and (fairly) fashionable (as fashionable as I can be working in a laboratory with all the clothing limitations) and I pair black with colors all the time. Personally, I love the look with the red shirt and the black cami underneath — rather than “cheapening” the color, I think it really makes the red pop. I think having a vibrant color is the key component — the light pink looks a little muted, and the white just looks washed out.
I really like the black/red/black look, too. And the print blouse is cute. Do NOT like the light pink–that looks washed out.
I love the floral print shirt with the black pants, however to me the print seems so neutral that it’s not really considered a ‘color’.
However obviously the red and hot pink are considered colors and I think they look great! The black cami under the red shirt really makes the black/red outfit. It pulls it together and goes from looking like she just pulled pieces out of her drawer, to looking like she actually thought about it. (note to myself — layer more!) I actually like the colors better than I do the white/black — that looks kind of boring and dated if you ask me.
I think with black, definitely bold and bright colors work well, and I don’t think it cheapens them at all.
I am also a little confused by the dated thing. Are they saying the wearer is dated, or the outfit? I
Great fashion lab!
I like 2 and 3 and 5. I think mostly b/c they are more THERE. I think T&S meant color cheapens the impact of black. In the US, our tendency is to see black as a neutral and I am not sure that’s true –
Now that I am older, I don’t need to wear as much black to feel my outfits are sufficiently serious/sophisticated as I think I did at younger ages – I think it was not a conscious thing, but that black was a symbol of my putting on some gravitas – a shortcut or whatever to maturity and “expert” status.
See now – to me that’s when the “rules” are just dopey. Rules to me are things like “If you’re this height, wearing this length skirt makes you look shorter” Or as I just taught the saleslady at Coldwater Creek, if you’re short and you’re carrying your last few pounds on your thighs, wearing a poofy “bubble” type skirt will look absolutely hilarious. (and not in a good way!) Those are rules that should be followed. But telling me I can’t wear black with a color? Huh. As my hubby would say, Hide in the corner and watch! I love black n pink, black n blue, black n lime…
And in other news -guess what? I bought my first belt!!!
I think your coloring has a lot to do with it. I have darker hair, and lighter skin, and I seem to be able to get away with very “Dramatic” color combinations, like a black and red or black and hot pink.
My personal fav is the red top with the back under it. It just ties everything together. Of course, the others with some accessories would probably pop more.
And not to be insulting, but plain black and white with no accessories always make me think of a waiter or a musical concert. . . . But with the right accent pieces you can dispell that feeling.
Blest, congrats on the belt! And “hide in the corner and watch” – oohh, I’m stealin’ that.
Great comments, ladies!
What is meant by dated: out of style, in a way that looks like you stepped out of a identifiable previous time period. Black & red is very “Thriller”, but … who cares? That was a long time ago!
Dana – you bring up a good point, one that we’ll have to talk about some more sometime. My young friends are always trying to be taken more seriously, feeling bad that people mistake them for unwed, teenage mothers. 😕
Blest, I agree with Vildy – congrats on the belt and I’m snagging your hubby’s statement!
I’m a trendy/romantic redhead who is very pale so i stay far away from black. But when i do wear slacks for some reason i like to pair it with a muted and a bright that aren’t seen together often. That makes the uniform black fade away because everyone is trying to figure out how the other colors match 🙂
WoW, Tia, you have me intrigued. Can you give an example of an atypicl muted/bright combo?
I’ve loved reading these comments. This whole exercise got me thinking, that’s for sure. Now that I’ve seen it objectively, I don’t like that white top anymore – wrong cut/style and washes me out. I’ve learned that maybe I should take pictures and look at all new purchases objectively (without faces, since we seem to focus there when we see ourselves and look for all of our perceived facial/hair flaws). There was one other bright color ( a bright turquoise) I really wanted to try, but my currently ample-still nursing baby #3- bosom wouldn’t allow me to button it! It is of the same intensity as the bright pink, so maybe it would work if I put the black tank underneath. One other thing – would this have looked different if done with skirt so there was less black? Rebecca, how would this change the proportions? Would skin be the 30% in that case?
About the lack of accessories – my photographer (dh) thought I should “let the clothes speak for themselves”. So, there you go. It was past his bedtime so I just went along. 🙂
Yeh, Tia, I’d like to see a fashion lab showing some atypical muted/brights, also. Coulc you give some examples using mushroom and/or slate as the muted?
Alyson, I think the way you did the photos was very illustrative.
Changing the pants to a skirt: if the skirt was worn with black stockings and shoes, it would be exactly the same. Otherwise, there are several different proportions shown here. But, because you have dark hair, black shoes would alway create a “bookends” kind of balance. Then you can just balance the top and skirt. A couple of the tops here are kinda long with the black pants, but the proportion should switch if they were worn with a knee-length skirt.
The black top with the print would still be monochromatic with a skirt. The hot pink might need to be tucked in.
Sorry. Kind of a messy explanation.
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