Nodding along with what Jaime said, at least in terms of black being so much easier to source and easier to be specific about.
Black looks okay on me if I wear makeup, but it's not my best -- dark or ink blue is a better dark on me, so that's what I wear. Also charcoal. I think those can be as elegant as black in the right type of pieces, but as you and others point out, the right pieces are so much harder to source.
I still wear black footwear (especially in winter) and if I saw something I just had to have and it only came in black, I might try it, especially if I could mix it with blues. A lot of my blues "read" as black anyway, in some lights.
I think black can look great on people with grey hair. So hair colour isn't a problem for it.