The Style Suite - Colour Analysis, Personal Styling & More - Cardiff, South Wales & Online
The Style Suite - Colour Analysis, Personal Styling & More - Cardiff, South Wales & Online
Home » How to wear black when it doesn’t suit you
For most people true personal style is a delicate balance between self expression and presentation. We want to express our personal style but also look good.
So what happens when our style personality and personal colouring directly contradict each other. What can you do when you love black but black doesn’t love you?
Three Tips for wearing black when it doesn’t suit you
1. Move black clothing to the bottom half of your body.
2. Wear black clothing with a lower neckline.
3. Diffuse black with make-up and accessories in your best colours.
When black doesn’t suit you, it’s usually because it is too strong for your personal colouring and is overpowering your facial features. Some very edgy people such as those with a dramatic, rock chic or gothic style personality might decide this is a look they like. Equally very glamourous or creative women who enjoy wearing full-glam make up might not mind putting in the extra work require to pull black off.
However, if you do want to have a low maintenance, radiant complexion and for people to see you before they see the clothes, you’re likely going to want to reconsider how you wear black instead. Moving black so it sits far away from your face is going to be the most effective way to achieve this.
You could look at incorporating black into things like footwear, belts, or bags minimizing the amount of black as well as moving away from your face. Or you might want to just shift it to your bottom half in the form of a pair of trousers or a skirt.
When accounting for your body shape, as well as your personal colouring, there might however be some contraindications to consider. For example, if you are a very large busted lady or are broad shouldered, using black on your bottom half may give you the appearance of being top heavy. This is because black is a particularly slimming colour and can make body parts appear even smaller than they already are. If this is the case for you, then read on…
Sometimes you still might not want to wear black on your bottom half. This might be because you’re trying to balance a top heavy body shape as discussed above. Alternately, you might find black bottoms too formal looking, or have one of the edgier style personalities which has a strong preference for black or deeper colours.
If you would still like to wear black up top when it doesn’t necessarily suit you, you can reduce any unflattering effect it has on your face by wearing a lower neckline.
The most flattering neckline in terms of achieving colour harmony will be a bandeau neckline, a tube top, or anything else that is completely off the shoulder leaving the full upper chest/decolletage area exposed. However, again, you still need to consider whether these specific cuts are included in your recommended clothing lines and whether they are also going to flatter your body shape and make you feel confident.
If you cant or don’t want to wear the lines suggested above for any reason, v-necks, scoop necks, and sweetheart necklines will still work for you in terms of diffiusing the imact black has on your face. Tops utilizing cut-outs or fabrics such as chiffon, mesh, and lace can also reduce the effect of black, since they allow your natural skin to show through them.
If you have virgin hair, this colour will always be flattering on you. You could look into wearing your hair down or bringing it forward in order to get some flattering tones near your skin.
Otherwise using accessories in one of your most flattering colours is another way you can diffuse and counteract the effect of black when it overpowers you. You can add colourful pops with jewellery, head bands and scarves.
If you have had an official colour analysis, you will already be aware of the colours you look best in and which metals and colours to use. If you haven’t had an official colour analysis, you will still hopefully know at least one colour that looks great on you – use that!
You can of course enhance yourself further by wearing the correct make up for your skintone and colour season.
You can find out more about wearing the correct make up here (however as a general rule, if you don’t look good in black you should avoid heavy make up and jet black mascara).