Black is your favorite color to wear and you're sticking with it until something darker comes along. However, let's be honest, black clothes don't exactly scream summer. You certainly don't have to give up your black-heavy wardrobe when the thermometer rises, but you might want to consider adding some summery elements to your outfits to make them look less stark and heavy. Here are some tips on how to do it.
How to Make Your Black Clothes Look More Summery
Tip #1- Accessorize with two colors, not just one Adding one bright color to an all black outfit is a simple no-brainer. It's likely you're already wearing a pair of bright colored shoes with your favorite little black dress. To take it a step further and consider adding two colors, instead of just one. See your black clothing as blank canvases on which you can do anything. Then choose two colorful accessories that complement each other, like I am doing here with this BOSS Hugo Boss little black dress, coral necklace from Bauble Bar and mint green bag from Rebecca Minkoff. For earrings, I used these simple studs from Ann Taylor.
Tip #2- Add nude or beige shoes The next tip is to ditch the black shoes in the summer and consider wearing a pair of nude or beige instead, like I am in the outfit above with these shoes from Vince Camuto. Not only will nude shoes lengthen the look of your legs, and make them look slimmer, but your black clothes will look less dark. You can even try this trick with black pants.
Tip #3- Add colored shoes As I mentioned earlier, colored shoes are the fairly obvious choice for adding some summer punches to your black clothes. However, the knee-jerk reaction when doing this is to go with a pair of shoes in a bold color, like red or cobalt. With black outfits, you can add any color, like I did here with these soft yellow and taupe peep toe flats from Anthropologie that work with these skinny black jeans and black sleeveless top from Theory.
Tip #4- Soften black Again, you don't have to go bold and bright when adding summer touches to black. In the outfit above I went a softer route that, just like nude or beige shoes, adds an elegance a black outfit and makes it look less heavy. In the look above, the soft taupe bag from Lord & Taylor and ivory necklace from Stella & Dot gives the outfit a less severe appearance.
Tip #5- Pull in a print and then pull out the colors In this all black outfit, consisting of a black Rebecca Taylor skirt and ruffled Modcloth top, I used these printed Ted Baker pumps to introduce some fun, summer colors to the outfit. While you could stop there you can also take it a step further by pulling the colors found in the print to accessorize further with color. Using the orange and pink from the shoes, I added this pink handbag from Foley + Corinna and pink and coral earrings from Max & Chloe. The outfit is finished with a gold bracelet from Ann Klein.
The beauty of working with prints like this is you can go in many different directions. For example, you could also take the green or soft pink found in the print and use those colors too.
Tip #6- Warm up black Instead of a severe and stark look, black is easy to warm up using mid-browns. Dark brown and black may clash and look heavy in the summer, but shades like cognac, luggage, saddle, camel and tan work beautifully. Here, this black Zara dress is accessorized with wedge sandals from Jessica Simpson, a wood watch from Kohls and a fringe bag from Gabriella Rocha. Gold also warms up black, and in this outfit I used a long gold necklace and stacked bracelets from Bauble bar.
Tip #7- Add denim We all know that denim works with everything. Seriously, can you imagine what your wardrobe would be like if it didn't exist? I'd be screwed. Another way to give your black a summery look is with light wash denim, like I did with this Madewell vest in the outfit above.
Tip #8- Add a colorful topper piece to your black column Column dressing, dressing from head-to-toe in one color, is very popular for its ease and slimming features. I wrote a whole post on this topic last year. Another way to give your black clothes a summery look is to add a topper piece in a color. Again, your black base is a blank canvas on which you can paint anything. Here, for example, I used this soft pink linen blazer from J. Crew to pop over the black ankle pants and top from Boden. Next, using the earlier tip of using two colors in one black outfit, I found this beautiful necklace from Robert Lee Morris that picked up the pink and introduced this gorgeous mossy green shade. With the necklace I was able to add this green handbag from Furla.
Tip #9- Try metallic shoes In the outfit above I used metallic flats from Vince Camuto in lieu of black. Like metallic jewelry, metallic shoes can add some warm weather softness to a black-heavy outfit. Try a pair of gold sandals, wedges or flats to see how much it brightens up your black clothes.
Tip #10- Share your tips below Have any additional tips on how you wear black in the summer? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!