Black is always in my formula - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Dressing

About: Outfit Formula: Fun Summer Black

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Black is always in my formula

Tammyb

Many years ago my wardrobe was all black. Literally. I was young and broke and living in a city so it was very practical. It didn’t show dirt, it was ultimate mix and match, and I thought it looked edgy.

I still favor black as my staple neutral. However, I have a bigger clothing budget, so have expanded to grays as my neutral sometimes. And have incorporated more color in general. But black is part of my formula 90% of the time.

My teenage fashionista daughter has very little black in her wardrobe. She has a very different lifestyle than mine (school!) but even my coworkers wear less black than me.

Dressing

23 replies

Latest reply was from Becky

Helena

Veteran

Hi Tammy, although I've swapped out much of my black for navy, there are times when only black will do. To me, black is timeless, classic, adaptable, practical, and chic - what other colour can do all those things at once? If it works for you, then milk it as Angie would say!

I do notice that younger people seem to default to black less than I did when I was young ... DD says she feels black is more mature-looking. So interesting since when I was a kid, black was rebellious!

Tammy, are you happy with your black, or do you wish you could mix it up more?

bj1111

Veteran

I love black when it’s rich looking, glossy or tactile. In process of transitioning to charcoal and navy but a lot of what I see is flat. In navy this makes for a matronly look.

Any whoo, humming amy winehouse.

taylor

Veteran

Black is the foundation of my wardrobe and has been for some 30 odd years. Although I have added creams and a few black based florals , black is where it’s at for me. I always add a colorful shoe or bag...but , yeah , black always my favorite choice.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I have never worn a lot of black. It does not make me happy unless it's in extremely small doses. I don't even own black shoes. I used to wear black so that I could wear it with white! Even those days are on their way out. I am 95% dark blue as far as solid black goes.

These are the solid black pieces in my current wardrobe. Four of them not so solid! And some items are on their last legs - very old. I am fine to wear black as a background colour in a bold pattern though. I love that.

View Info

Banana Republic

Rib-Knit Crew-Neck Sweater Top

View Info

Top Pick

16

View Info

Topshop Topshop Popper Crew Sweater | Nordstrom

View Info

Top Pick

19

Madewell 10-Inch High-Rise Skinny Jeans

View Info

Top Pick

14

Bella Freud 1970 wool turtleneck sweater

View Info

Top Pick

6

Cropped Flare Trousers, Midnight

View Info

Top Pick

16

View Info

View Info

View Info

View Info

View Info

Merino turtleneck sweater

View Info

Top Pick

29

Tammyb

Torontogirl, I think I am ready to mix it up a bit.
Bjj111, I agree that navy is sometimes matronly.
Taylor, I LOVE black and cream together.
Angie, almost all of my shoes are black!

Anonymous

I'm with bj1111, I like black much more than navy! I couldn't live with only black in my closet though-broke or not!

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I used to wear black when I was younger for all the reasons that you mention but I have very little in my wardrobe now as it’s not a kind colour for maturer skins.lf I wear black I always try and soften it by wearing another colour close to my face.

smittie

Veteran

What can I say: Black is easy, especially with respect to footwear and matching leathers.
Black is not my favourite colour, but it sure does simplify my life, so I have found myself add more and more of it.

Helena

Veteran

Smittie, that is the ace in the hole for black isn't it - there's nothing easier imo. That's why I'll never get rid of it, even though I've minimized it quite a bit.

Tammy, the great thing is, if your foundation is black, you can pretty much mix in any colour you like. Adding lighter neutrals with black looks very sophisticated to my eye (like the gray you mentioned, white, beige, etc.), but obviously colours bright and soft can easily be thrown into the mix too. Have fun with it!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Black is our national colour! But I keep it limited because of loving colour. It’s good for pants and jackets for me.

nemosmom

Veteran

Black looks awful on me. I used to wear a TON of it in the late 80s/early 90s (my hair metal days), but slowly got away from it. I find that I am gravitating toward it again, only in a softer version (a washed black vs. a stark, solid black). I've added a couple of bottoms, a moto jacket, and boots, and think they will help give some oomph to all the earthtones and greens I usually wear.

Echo

Veteran

I would say that 2/3 of my wardrobe is black - perhaps more. I've never been terribly good at coordination (Garanimals for adults would be nice), but I find that I can wear ANY other color with black and it is is usually okay. So a column of black with something to accent it has become my uniform.

When I was younger, black (and olive green) was always a rebellious color, though I see far less of it on my students now. Even the "edgy" students rarely wear it. Fortunately, at my age I no longer wear it for "edge", but simply because it is easy, flattering and makes me feel like me.

Bijou

Veteran

Tammyb - I love black too and have more black clothing than any other colour. I find it so useful, particularly in work wear as black has a certain gravitas. Also, I am of the generation that black was the colour that the cool kids wore, so I always feel a certain magic in sporting a well cut little black dress or black blazer and have more than a few black leather jackets. Rather than wearing head to toe black, I tend to wear it with colour and find black really works well with most pastels and brights.

Black is timeless and if you enjoy wearing it, then embrace your dark side!

rachylou

Veteran

You know what? I have relatively few black items, but I wear them a lot. How curious!

Erin

When I was younger, a lot of my shoes were black. I discovered the concept of bookending thanks to Angie and YLF, and because I have auburn hair I now gravitate toward cognac colored shoes. Black is not my best color, but I still enjoy wearing it. I love black with cognac, camel, olive, cream, and denim.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I used to wear all black all the time and was known for it. Now I wear lots of colors but still like black shoes, black jeans, and the occasional black dress.

Alicewonderland

Veteran

I don’t have many black clothes. I have to make sure I’m well rested and wear enough makeup if I want to wear black by my face or I’ll look pale, My favorite neutral is white.

Susie

Veteran

Black is still a go to color for me not just because it’s easy but more because I actually like it, both in tops and bottoms, and shoes and bags as well. I always have an assortment of black pants in my wardrobe and most of my patterns are black based as well.

I have added more ink/navy in recent years but I find it much easier to find interesting shoes in black than navy. I also like gray as a neutral.

Anonymous

Black is one of my favorite colors, especially in shirts, belts, and dress pants! I think you have great taste

Bonnie

Veteran

I wear a lot of black, too. About one third (45) of my total wardrobe items are black and the rest (90) are either blues, whites, reds, greens, browns, or grays. This mix seems to work well for me.

lyn67

Veteran

I couldn't wear blacks when I was young- my Mother never liked it- and I had a navy/light blue uniform for all my pre-college school years... Than being blonde and low contrast I was told black is too harsh on me, so wore chock browns instead- for almost 15/20 yrs. Can you believe I started wearing blacks in my 40's-and never looked back....

I just find it edgier than other dark neutrals-especially with full on textures-but always include prints(with blacks in them) or some accent colors, too.

notsaf

Veteran

Thanks for this post! Black sometimes gets a tough rap here on YLF, so it's nice to read all the reasons why people love it. I agree: always matches, doesn't stain, looks serious and/or cool, and for me (like others above) more flattering than navy or brown.

Becky

My initial response was, ahhh, I hate black!

Now that I think about it, most of my work shoes are in black and I have two pairs of black pants. Black pants look much dressier.

But I do genuinely dislike black tops. It makes me feel so dark overall. I have Asian black hair, which adds more black overall.

If I dye my hair blonde one day, I may try some black sweaters. But until then, bright colors