SW Ann, like Irina, negative associations with colours make perfect sense to me too! Not odd at all. I wore a grey school uniform in primary school, and a brown school uniform in secondary school. Both neutrals are problematic.

Grey is still a "no thank you" - although I love grey on those who wear it well! (I don't, for that matter).

It took me 40 years to recover from wearing brown - which I do now, in small doses, and ONLY in patterns

I like black and have come to accept it as an essential neutral for me. I put it that way, because I think it's probably not my best neutral. (Although come to think of it, I'm not sure what my best one is. Perhaps dark olive.) I also wear navy, but often I prefer black, maybe not for flattery with my coloring but more for the visual weight it brings to an outfit, which can reflect edge, sophistication, sombreness, among other vibes. I don't like wearing black alone, but generally pair it with muted colors so it doesn't create too much contrast, which can overwhelm my coloring.

I still like black a lot. In my twenties when I *decided* that I was a “Spring” colouring I might have steered away from it for a while as not being overly flattering, which also might explain why I didn’t own a Little Black Dress until my late forties. However I found the LBD really useful, as are black dress pants, and a couple of black tops. I love black and white patterns also. I would hate now to be without my black options.
I also notice that I get more comments and compliments on my brighter clothes, but then some days I just feel like I don’t want any comments today so I put on something plainer, often including some black. And I think with my silver hair now it looks better than it used to, maybe.
Black is a good base for bright prints, as well.

I am chuckling at the uniform colour trauma ... it look me a long time to recover from my navy blue and light blue kilt, sweater and blazer situation!!

I have always loved to wear black. For me, it feels a bit edgy and I love the crisp contrast it offers to whites, off whites, light washed denim, etc. I’m sure it takes up 50% of my closet real estate. I just turned 60, have fair skin, blue eyes, and fairly dark hair (with the help of colour). What I have noticed over the past year or so, is that I am gravitating more towards black pieces with a bit of sheen or shine to them these days. This has not been intentional. It has evolved organically. For example, I reach for blazers, bombers, jackets or coats that are made out of faux leather or have fabric finishes that are silkier, shinier, and smoother…finishes that reflect light possibly? Not sure if that makes sense. I don’t feel as vibrant or myself in duller, softer black finishes. I never really recognized this until I read your post. I think I will always love black in my wardrobe. It may just change a bit how I incorporate it. I have been incorporating more dark cool browns this year…which is a surprise to me. I am quite enjoying it.

Evie, I realized that I don’t like soft black next to my face. Jeans are ok but I sold my soft black trench, was not enjoying it. I agree, soft black looks somewhat dull.

Before my hair turned silver gilt I was blonde with warm coloring, and my closet was full of black across all wardrobe categories.

I loved black and it looked good on me.

As my blonde turned silver and my complexion paled, black up around my face made me look sickly. Over about a five-year period, I got rid of my black tops as well as the couple of dresses I had, and most of my black coats, keeping only one wool cape with a faux fur collar, and a vintage cashmere cardigan lined with white lace overlaid with black silk, and topped with a white fox fur collar. I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. It’s a 50s era piece that I bought in 1985.

I had mainly black jeans and black trousers. I happily continued to wear them and black shoes and bags.

I still wear black jeans, trousers, and one skirt, and have a selection of black footwear and 3 bags. However, I have jeans, trousers, and skirts in a wide range of neutrals along with footwear and bags. My coats and scarves are in a similar range of my favorite neutrals + orange.

The only time I wear a black top is when there is plenty of skin showing, usually bare arms.

I think black suits me, and I like it, especially in different textures - shiny satin duchesse or fluffy mohair etc. The only problem I have with it is I don’t know how to pair it well with other colors. I wear it with other neutrals, especially light ones - white, stone, light gray, light beige, but cannot do anything interesting in combining it with brights or pastels. I had an idea to just eliminate it from my wardrobe completely, but recently decided it’s too bad to refuse myself a color that is one of my dark basics and easy to shop for.

I have a very limited amount of black in my wardrobe. Items that are worn on the lower half of my body or footwear. Black is just too harsh as a solid next to my face. I've never owned a black handbag nor will I wear black outerwear. A little black dress has never been an essential wardrobe item for me.