Women love wearing black, no doubt. There are plenty of benefits that come with having a closet full of black clothes. They're slimming, understated, easy to wear, and so on. I may not wear black clothes, but I can certainly appreciate why most women wear them. Under the right circumstances, I'm not even opposed to putting black on my clients.
Fresh Ways to Wear Your Black Clothes
The problem with black clothes is that they can be like a magnet, tricky to make interesting yet oh so easy to just throw on. This can create a lot of dull, boring and uninspired outfits because, like in most things, humans will typically take the easiest and quickest route to anything. How much easier does it get then throwing on a colorful top with a pair of black pants?
This is what causes ruts. I'm not blaming black clothes, necessarily, but I am blaming how knee-jerk easy it is to wear black that causes most women not to branch out. With this in mind, I am putting five looks together using black pieces to give you a little inspiration when choosing what to wear with your black clothes.
Outfit #1
One of my favorite thing to do with black is to pair it with camel or beige. The softness of these colors tones down the sleek starkness of black and creates an elegant look. Tan shoes with black pants? Yes, please! Want ore ways to style a pair of black pants? Check out this l ink.
I styled these comfortable black knit trousers from Liverpool with a camel sweater from Vince, tan suede pumps from Sam Edelman and finished the look with a camel bag from Rebecca Minkoff and novelty hoops from Something Navy. An outfit like this is a great option for those who don't like to wear a lot of color but want more variety in their black-heavy wardrobes.
Outfit #2
Next up, a basic black cardigan. Likely something just about every woman has somewhere. Black can be a dark color to wear in the summer, but gets lightened up when anchored with brighter shades. This outfit is colorful without being the black pants colored top uniform that so many women get stuck on wearing.
Outfit #3
One of the more frustrating black wardrobe items is a black blazer. Ugh, they seem so simple and versatile but wind up being a lot more limited than women expect them to be. A black blazer looks like it will go with everything until you get it home and realize that the shade of black in the blazer doesn't match the black clothes in your closet and you don't have much to wear with the blazer. You can read more about how to style a black blazer here. Unless you have a lot of jeans, colored, printed or other neutral bottoms and colorful dresses, a black blazer can be very tricky to just throw on. Please be warned of this before you go out and buy a black blazer thinking it will be the end all be all of life.
Outfit #4
It can be hard to bite the bullet and purchase investment pieces, but if you are going to wear them a lot, over time, these pieces pay for themselves. If you are going to wear a little black dress endlessly, investing in one might be smart. Personally, I'd rather have one basic dress that I wear over and over than multiple dresses that do the same thing.
Even if you don't have the budget to invest in a dress like this, if you do have a basic black dress in your wardrobe, get the most out of it by styling it multiple ways.
Outfit #5
Black tops can have the same issue that black blazers can have. What do you wear on the bottom? You can create an all black look with your black pants, but, again, it's often hard to match shades in most black clothes. Buy black tops if you want, but don't buy too many unless you have ample bottoms to wear with them.
Having black clothes in your wardrobe is never a bad thing, it's when you wear with them without creativity that things can get boring and staid. Make your black outfits shine with these tips.
