I think that if black's not your color, learning to use it judiciously is the best way to go. For me, it has to be away from my face. I think my coloring has softened over the years to the point where it just doesn't work that well for me anymore. It's not awful, but it's not that good.

I basically redid my wardrobe this past year. Even though I'm much older, I've bought mostly black items because I think it suits me. I've bought a coat, raincoat, jacket, blazer, shoes (4), pants (2), bags (3), turtlenecks (2), and tees (5), in black. It think it works well with the other colors I mainly wear; gray, white, blues, and red. It was really hard for me to stick to a color palette, but by doing so, I have a much more mixable wardrobe. I do plan to add more color as time goes on, but like the versatility of a limited color scheme.

Bonnie, this is exactly what I'm doing! I added more black winter items: coats, sweaters, pants and realized that my wardrobe is more cohesive and easy to mix. I'm still looking for a blazer and a cashmere turtleneck. But I'm taking my time to get just the right pieces. After 2 decades wearing different color winter coats, I love my parka, man-inspired coat and light wool unlined coat - all in black.

Irina and Bonnie, this is a wonderful approach. There is an older woman I see often who wears almost exclusively black. She looks so chic and amazing it's all I can do to not whip out my phone and snap pics! I should add she is not a "winter" either, but probably an autumn of sorts, maybr soft autumn. So I don't believe it's age or even color palette - it's a whole context. Sounds like your contexts are perfect for black, which is fab!!