Black and beyond
March 2, 2007
Okay, let’s talk about black, baby.It’s classic, clean, and elegant. Absolutely chic.It’s practical. It’s readily available. And it can be remarkably flattering.
And…wearing black is a social epidemic.We wear it when we’re too lazy to put effort into what to wear. We wear it to hide. We wear it without thinking about it.
Hey, we appreciate black, like we appreciate good wine, trashy magazines, and blonde highlights. We’re not suggesting that you strike the color black from your life (tho’ that might be incredibly liberating and flattering for some), we’re proposing that you examine your relationship to it. (And FYI, scientifically speaking, black is actually the absence of color. White, on the other end of the spectrum, is all colors combined.)
THIS WEEK: Step 1: Ponder on black. Black has a range of cultural meanings…death, birth, sex appeal, purity, darkness, space. What does it mean to you, and why do you wear it, or not wear it?
Step 2: While you’re examining black in your life, you may as well tune into the palette of color in your life. Hook up with a color expert: a make up artist, a graphic designer, painter, interior designer, or image consultant. (Just because the fashion industry’s majority offering is black, does NOT mean that it works with the majority of skin tones and hair coloring. “Stylish” and “enhancing” can be mutually exclusive.)
Head to any hardware or paint store and pick up some paint samples, or get some textile swatches from a fabric store. And here’s a simple color test that you can do on your own. How does a particular color actually make you feel? What does it make you think of? Color vibrates and your body sensations will signal you if a color is match for you. Color – from black to white and everything in between – should lift you up, not weigh you down.
Step 3: Open yourself to change…because color can change your life – it is that powerful. Perhaps you’ve already found the colors that add value to your life…your complexion, your space, your mood. Or perhaps you need to purge the hues that are actually weighing you down.
Like taste, like words, like touch, color is a life-affirming substance. Choose your palette consciously. Feel good.
March 3, 2007 at 1:08 am
as you’ve probably noticed, every time i come by your office i’m wearing black…
i like black because it’s easy: all my tshirts are black, so i don’t have to spend time deciding in the morning what colour to wear. plus i stare at colours all day on my screen (graphic designer), so my walls and even clothing reflect a marked absence of colours… so black on me isn’t a goth fashion statement or anything, i just like simple.
March 4, 2007 at 1:04 am
Color trends are fun but they may not work for everyong. You hit upon a key point that is often overlooked in choosing the colors we wear or surround ourselves with…”How does this color make me feel?” For the majority of clothes in your wardrobe should make you look and feel sensational! Of course we are complex individuals so we may want items for certain occassions that make us feel sexy or playful or safe or just plain comfortable too.
Everyone can develop color confidence and their own color style. A simple system for personal colors I recommend is “More Alive With Color” by Leatrice Eiseman and can be found at http://www.morealivewithcolor.com
The same is true for the colors we use to decorate our home. Start by thinking about the mood you want to create and then select colors that communicate that mood.
My site has all kinds of information about color that can help as well as a list of books I personally recommend.
March 7, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Comments about “Black and Beyond”
As an image consultant for 30 years and a pioneer in color and color psychology, I think it is not a good idea to choose the colors that “make you feel good.” Having lived in Belgium for 23 years, I saw that Belgians choose colors to prevent them from standing out, and this is due to the fact that they have been invaded since the days of Julius Caesar – followed by the Spanish, Dutch, French, Germans, etc. They don’t feel good in colors that “stand out” because they would be too visible to invading conquerors.
The colors you wear can make you look younger or older, happy or sad, dynamic or dull – and you won’t even “see” it in the mirror, because we choose colors from the “heart and soul” and rarely from the results in the mirror. What I do is teach people to “look and see” – that is, to develop a trained eye to see what actually happens in the mirror when you change from a moss green to a jade green or a slate blue to a royal blue. I can tell most of the Brits will vote for the slate blue, no matter what. And all the Belgians will vote for the moss green no matter what.
Everyone can wear black once they thoroughly understand its many personalities. For example, you can’t expect to wear black well if you look like a Sunday school teacher in brown-toned lipstick, dated haird and a conservative outfit. You are more likely to look like a prison matron. You need to wear Big City makeup to make black work. Furthermore, orange-toned makeup makes black look very hard and black wears you. Conversely, pink-toned makeup softens and “defeats” black. YOU wear black, instead of it wearing you. It is necessary to have a thorough understanding of colors before you can wear them successfully. Makeup, accessories, etc. can change the way you perceive a color you wear. You can get a free book on my website with info about color psychology at: http://www.theimagarchitect.com.
Sandy Dumont
The Image Architect
March 18, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Re: Beyond black. Having covered the NY designer collections for Pantone for many seaons, I can tell you that we don’t even include black in the top ten colors becuse it is a “given’– it is never missing from the collections because it is such a classic. In my recent book, More Alive With Color I refer to black as a Crossover color, one that can be used in every palette. As to arguments against black, I don’t agree, as people rarely use black head to toe without breaking it with sparkling jewelry, or gold or silver, a colorful blouse or cami, a vibrant jacket over the basic black dress and so on. It is a wonderful background color, great for travel, easy on up-keep and it can cost less without looking cheap– so it is easy on the budget. And, as we all know, it is slimming. used within a print or pattern, we know that we always have black accessories (or should) to go with it. Those rigid old rules of those people who should never wear black are so yesterday!! I is how you wear it, not if you can. Even black with brown, another old no-no can be a wonderful combination.
April 27, 2008 at 2:50 pm
OK so this teeny little point got stuck in my lint trap.
The “scientifically speaking, black is actually the absence of color. White, on the other end of the spectrum, is all colors combined” statement failed my Crayola Challenge.
I drew 2 circles, then took my big box of 64 colors and scribbled inside the circle with all the colors and it became a black circle. The other circle — I didn’t touch and it remained white.
So either I’m living in a bizarro world, parallel universe or science had fooled me once again. Or not.
ps…I only wear black when I’m working backstage. It’s a great color to blend or hide in.
May 25, 2009 at 4:49 pm
in light black is abscence and white is all colors-
in matter it is the opposite
black is all colors and white is none