Black has always been an authoritative colour and this winter it is back with a bang. Over the years brands such as Prada and Chanel have proven that the colour black is timeless. All bloggers and stylists know if you look around at New York or London fashion week that there is a natural devotion to the colour black within the fashion industry. Sometimes an entire black outfit can appear bland with no dimension but this week on the blog I will discuss the colour black and how it can be accompanied by other block colours, prints and patterns. According to Vogue Magazine “ black will always be with us”. So rather than feeling guilty about having a lot of black in the wardrobe start to take your black clothes and make a vibrant outfit by adding a different dimension of colour. On my previous blog posts I spoke about Denim and the colour red using examples from celebrities. This week I have decided to use real people who have bought clothes from stores that are familiar to us and assessable to all readers. After recently taking a city break to Lisbon Portugal I soon enough found myself hounding all of my friends asking where they had bought their outfits. I was actually very impressed with the way black could be worn in so many different ways. It became apparent that black was the mutual choice by all.
BLACK AND WHITE PATTERN
This first look worn by Leanne Treacy is H&M’s new black and white figure hugging dress. The dress can be worn with or without tights but Leanne decided on tights with this particular outfit. The pattern on the dress breaks up the black tights from the black blazer and therefore highlights the dress even more making it stand out. Leanne completes her look with a sophisticated slicked back hair bun and a bow tie nude necklace she picked up in Miss Selfridge a few years ago. This look is perfect for a dinner date with friends or a work Christmas party. The classic black blazer with the shiny upturned sleeves can be found at Vera Moda Clothing. Simple and stunning.
BLACK AND DENIM
The next look I will discuss is the one of Style Wars winner David Greene. David has worked for Auroras Fashion in London who own Oasis, Karen Millen and Coast. David wears skinny Wrangler jeans with Adidas trainers. David has layered his look while managing to keep it looking fresh and edgy. He wears a black classic top from Zara with a denim Levi Jacket. This look is perfect and I love how he is brave enough to wear two different shades of denim together, something I suggested in my previous blog. Topping off his look David wears german fashion designer Jil Sanders trench coat. David’s look sums up the minimalist fashion look with colour blocking and using the light denim in between giving his style a fantastic dimension yet keeping it simple at the same time. There is a reason he won Style Wars!
BLACK AND COLOUR BLOCKING
As mentioned above I promised to talk about wearing black with other colours. Here John Paul former First Options model decided to wear a black and white attire purchased in Top Man. He accompanies his black denim jeans with black and white trainers keeping the black and white theme colour going. Sometimes people get caught up in all different shades but black and white is far from basic and its good to take a break from other colours. The reason John Paul managed to keep this exciting is his combination of different textures. His denim jeans are fitted while his top simply hangs over the belt line giving it that sharp overall finish. Of course we all know when we wear black and white that we can accessorise more and John Paul nailed it with his silver chain.
BLACK AND GLITTER
This next look I put together shopping in Dublin city center. I spent about one hour going from shop to shop and I could see two things that stood out, black and shiny sparkly tops. The tops ranged from silver ,gold , green and red. I wanted to dress Christmasy but I was overwhelmed by all the shiny skirts, trousers and tops. I decided to start off with a basic colour skirt from Penneys that had large pleats and a tight band around the waistline. I went for black tights with this look as the skirt was particularly short on. This skirt would also go great with knee high suede black boots but I went with black pointed classic stilettos from Penney’s. The black glittered effect top is from H&M and tucks into the skirt perfectly drawing in the waistline. I love this look because I am naturally curvy and the combination of the high waist skirt and crop top showcased my fuller bust while making my legs look longer.
BLACK AND SYMMETRICAL PATTERNS
Pictured above Zara Fox goes for the black and pattern high fashion look. Underneath the vibrant top from river island she wears a black jumpsuit from Penney’s. Zara wears the front bump and slicked back hair do which is perfect for those with long hair as she drapes her pony tail to the front perfecting her style. Zara’s jumpsuit is loose from her body yet still compliments her fabulous figure. The two colours on her top are pink and red and from the same family colour therefore are usually hard to wear together as they clash. This top is the exception with its symmetrical patterns and are far from clashing. If anything the top defines her entire body shape and long legs. The accessorises are all from top shop and I love the 90’s tattoo stretchy choker as it is a major fashion trend this season. Thumbs up Zara!
BLACK AND MARSALA
Elaine has the perfect petite figure and wears a gothic patterned body con dress from River Island. Elaine’s fashion is on point as this shade known to most of us as a wine is actually “marsala” and has been named the colour of spring/summer 2015 by the wall street journal. This again is another example of how black goes with all patterns and shades. Elaine goes for black flats and black tights. Given that this colour will be huge in 2015 why not invest in some marsala Christmas clothes. Coming back to the icing on the cake of every style, accessorises. The low hanging chain completes the elegant overall look. Elaine’s also got it right wearing her hair off her face with this dress. With the colours all being dark if she had worn her hair down it might have drown her face out. Perfect for a Christmas party, Christmas Day or even a new years party.
