https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:14:39 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2138036 Wed, 12 Aug 2020 09:11:56 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2138036@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Do you really need a dark neutral? Why not try using black and white (menswear) patterns instead? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2138029 Wed, 12 Aug 2020 05:32:02 +0000 anchie 2138029@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks Jenni, this is very nice outfit but it did help me realize that maybe the reason I don’t like navy with black is that it is just too much dark neutral in one outfit for me. I like your black patterned items, I have similar amount. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2138021 Wed, 12 Aug 2020 04:02:17 +0000 Jenni NZ 2138021@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Also ( I have too much time on my hands this afternoon it seems, but it is a day off...) I liked your idea of a more textured black or of black-and-white, and realised how much I have of that- must stop buying, have plenty! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2138017 Wed, 12 Aug 2020 03:44:35 +0000 Jenni NZ 2138017@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I do wonder about the navy and black if you could mix it in some way like BJ1111 suggests above. I tried that in the past 2 years with the navy/black top worn with my navy/black snakeskin pants, and this year added my black/silver high vamp loafers to the outfit. I have felt it works really well.<br /> Pic from May- sorry the details are not that clear. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2138015 Wed, 12 Aug 2020 03:37:08 +0000 notsaf 2138015@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>SO much easier to find! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2138002 Wed, 12 Aug 2020 02:38:01 +0000 bj1111 2138002@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You could so slow and replace piece by piece. I happen to like navy with black as long as there is a clear distinction and looks deliberate. I would replace items worn close to the first first. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2137869 Tue, 11 Aug 2020 16:23:54 +0000 anchie 2137869@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I really like the idea of new lighter neutral and did some quick looking arround to see what is available but nothing is calling me. No wonder black is so popular, it is so much easier to find. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2137819 Tue, 11 Aug 2020 12:27:35 +0000 RobinF 2137819@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am hot and cold about black but always have some in my wardrobe. For a long time I used gray, especially charcoal, as my replacement for black. It just didn't seem as harsh. Lately I have been wearing more black again. Now that my hair is gray I wonder if I should switch back to gray?&nbsp; </p> <p>If I were you, I would wait and see if I miss any of these items - but then I am not nearly as much a planner as you are. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2137746 Tue, 11 Aug 2020 00:53:03 +0000 Anonymous 2137746@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Well she's saying lighter neutrals with lighter hair and darker neutrals with dark hair- though of course there's still color season to take into consideration...<br /> It may not hold up as well with DA or DW, cause my mom is all grey and still better with deep colors. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2137731 Tue, 11 Aug 2020 00:01:04 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2137731@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>ST, so wear things that have similar grey value as your hair, or are darker. Is that right? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2137708 Mon, 10 Aug 2020 22:09:55 +0000 Anonymous 2137708@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Here's that post. Just her theory, but it makes sense. It looks balanced. </p> <p><a href="https://insideoutstyleblog.com/2018/05/ideal-value.html" rel="nofollow">https://insideoutstyleblog.com.....value.html</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2137699 Mon, 10 Aug 2020 20:29:33 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2137699@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Suntiger “near darkness to your hair color”? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2137674 Mon, 10 Aug 2020 18:17:11 +0000 Anonymous 2137674@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think a medium neutral would be a good substitute. Imogen talks about ideal value, being your best colors are near darkness to your hair color. Yours could be brown, grey, taupe, olive, mid blue etc. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black/page/2#post-2137642 Mon, 10 Aug 2020 15:12:30 +0000 nzgirl 2137642@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I've also been finding myself recently moving away from some of the black pieces that were staples. As I'm still coloring my hair, I had been a bit puzzled as to why they seemed to look different on me. Now I'm wondering if it's not to do with the loss of pigment/changing skin tone that can happen as we age. Need to experiment with changing the makeup I wear with them and/or perhaps layering them more with lighter colors before I decide whether it's time to switch over to another neutral like navy or gray.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137481 Sun, 09 Aug 2020 02:29:29 +0000 Jaime 2137481@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don't see any reason you need black pieces you don't enjoy and don't wear. I still wear black, especially shoes and jeans, but I have black eyebrows and still some very dark parts of my hair so it works with my coloring. Do you even need a dark neutral? I love the idea of forest green or burgundy as a potential substitute for you. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137467 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 23:58:13 +0000 DonnaF 2137467@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes, no more black! But maybe a medium neutral instead of a dark neutral? I don't think there's a law that says you have to have a dark neutral in F/W. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137444 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 17:46:07 +0000 anchie 2137444@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don’t even know what capybara is, I thought it is spelling mistake LOL</p> <p>I have organized my whole wardrobe into capsules, main ones being dark neutral, light neutral and accent color. Also devided by season. But maybe I need medium neutral instead of dark. Capsules are useful but can be also limiting if I am forcing it or being too strict. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137441 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 17:37:20 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2137441@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don’t think guyabaras or capybaras are Anchie’s style, so let’s go for the wilder one </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137439 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 17:33:17 +0000 unfrumped 2137439@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Haha. Yes, my phone was feeling in a Zoo mood, apparently. </p> <p>I have kind of loose capsules, like black, gray/ navy / burgundy, and “ warmer” olive / khaki/ rust/ orange/ burgundy, and so on. Meaning I like those colors in different items, somewhat seasonal, so I may have tops, bottoms, and toppers. </p> <p>The devil is in the “ loose” aspect , in which I may find that thing’s don’t go together as well as I though, or maybe I can make outfits but don’t like some as much as others. </p> <p>My funeral outfit angst got me working on more outfit creation in general and yay/ nay and tossing some items that weren’t working and trying to see whether to try to “ fix” it with an outfit- completer or not. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137417 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 14:38:47 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2137417@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>unfrumped, I did not know what a capybara was until my son used that word the other night--now it's coming in handy already :)&nbsp; Do you create capsules intentionally? When I look at my closet, I see a couple categories of colors, generally in pretty decent balance (ie: there are berry pants to wear with the berry colored tops), through no intention of my own. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137409 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 13:07:18 +0000 unfrumped 2137409@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Of course, you can have color paletteS, plural.<br /> I like looking at some pics of tight color palettes and all-season wardrobes where everything seems to go together.<br /> But I so far have not been that disciplined about my colors, or not able to have the exact silhouette I want represented, and so I tend to have overlapping capsules. </p> <p>Point is, you can keep a black capybara let it shrink by attrition and editing; you can replace with or introduce navy , especially if you think it has trans- seasonal value, but maybe think whether you want an extensive navy capsule , or a smaller group of pieces and experiment with a less dark neutral so you later won’t feel you have tons of dark navy that is also too harsh. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137398 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 11:55:01 +0000 anchie 2137398@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am on my phone and it is difficult to answer you all individually. </p> <p>Regarding if I am cool or warm - I don’t know. I took many tests but it was always inconclusive. My skin is on warm side, with slight yellow tint and my veins are greenish and not blue. But my eyes are dark brown, almost black, so they are on cool side. And grey hair is never option in those test LOL. </p> <p>I was not planning to replace those items immediately but was making a plan for future purchases and started to think if I should replace them at all. It is not that I never wore them, but hardly that much that I should consider them as essentials. There was always a different and most likely better option, and that is not a definition of essential :)<br /> I do love navy and wear it a lot in spring and summer so that would be probably easiest to gradually replace solid black with navy. I still like my patterned and textured black items on top, so having solid black pants will probably be good idea. But exploring other colors seems very exciting even though it is probably more difficult than finding black and navy. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137387 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 10:38:14 +0000 Minaminu 2137387@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Navy and black can be used in the same outfit and can look stunning, the proportions and texture of the items in the outfits can be really beautiful.</p> <p>Having said that, I think black can be restricted to formal events, ie funerals or formal evenings wear. As your hair are now a beautiful shade of grey and you changed sizes, I think this is the best time to revisite your colour palette. Would a warm or cool palette work best for you? Do you also need to review your make up? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137381 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 08:53:56 +0000 anchie 2137381@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thank you all for the response, lot of wisdom here. I will be back later with more detailed reply, just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137379 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 08:21:37 +0000 rachylou 2137379@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes to what Sarah said - the power of tracking wears. I agree that instead of replacing them, you should explore a new neutral. I *do* see you as a softer person colour wise than flat black. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137362 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:45:37 +0000 unfrumped 2137362@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Great post and questions !<br /> I generally agree with the other posters, with th EF idea that if you are re- thinking one color, it’d be good to think about your entire color palette. Maybe cruise through some Pinterest palettes plus review your existing wardrobe.<br /> Neutral colors, main colors, accents.<br /> You would not want to randomly pick s lighter neutral and then find it doesn’t work well with your other colors. </p> <p>Plus I always had some issues finding good quality professional work wear, , kind of not- quite corporate but not casual, in as much variety. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137361 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:36:15 +0000 Bijou 2137361@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don’t think any colour is a wardrobe essential for everyone. Black can look sleek, sophisticated and high fashion. However conversely, it can look harsh and boring, and details can be lost on a black outfit.</p> <p>10 years ago I wore quite a lot of grey. Then I stopped feeling good in it. I have now almost eliminated grey from my wardrobe and don’t know if I will ever feel the desire to wear it again. Why not wear and enjoy the colours you love. You look wonderful in your light tones and colours. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137360 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:34:44 +0000 notsaf 2137360@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What Cindy said: if you don't wear them, you don't need them! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137359 Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:21:26 +0000 cindysmith 2137359@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I used to think I had to have certain things, too. Then I realized that I never wore those things. Basic black pencil skirt, trench coat, white button-up shirt, red lipstick, basic black flats... I don't wear skirts, trench coats, button-up shirts, lipstick, or basic flats. I was wasting my money on that stuff.</p> <p>I wear a lot of navy in place of black. It's much kinder to my complexion, and navy pants are just more versatile for me. I say this sounds like a perfect opportunity for you to try something new XOXO </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/thoughts-on-black#post-2137348 Fri, 07 Aug 2020 23:39:50 +0000 Angie 2137348@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You might want to read these posts on the subject:&nbsp;</p> <p><a rel="nofollow" href="https://youlookfab.com/2020/01/30/how-to-wean-your-style-off-black/">https://youlookfab.com/2020/01.....off-black/</a></p> <p><a rel="nofollow" href="https://youlookfab.com/2018/01/15/the-role-of-black-in-your-wardrobe-and-style/">https://youlookfab.com/2018/01.....and-style/</a> </p>