I think it is more accepted these days to adjust rites and rituals to the deceased's wishes. So what we perceive to be something religious isn't always the case. The most unusual funerals I've been to was a 'Buddhist' one, but it really was a cherry picked version as he died very young at 18 and suddenly (acute Leukemia IIRC) and his parents had never really spoken much about death with him but he had expressed interest in Buddhism and expressed interest in certain customs for himself. So we all wore white (which was so different than black and I'm not sure if it's down to black being the default in Western custom) and the body was wrapped, almost mummy style and burried without a coffin. But the music was by Coldplay and the speeches were like any old Dutch non-religious ceremony.
Peregrane, I find with leather accessories it can really elevate a look if you go for 'not black' but it's a lot harder to get several accessories in the same tone, never mind the same shade but if it is all from one make it can look a bit matchy matchy in a boring way, but when you get it right it's always stunning. Oxblood and olive are particular off the beaten path favourites of mine but tougher to find, I do find them more versatile as they'll go with the staple colours of grey, dark green, navy, beige and black where black can look quite nondescript with some of those.
Speaking of matchy matchy, I went browsing through the easily accessible bit of my A/W wardrobe looking for heritage style fabrics and patterns and was reminded I was already doing this last year as I wore attached outfit a few times with opaques and my Margiela ankle boots. Which reminded me so long as the accessories are a bit more sharp and contemporary I can get away with it.
Yoox order arrived yesterday, unfortunately Toteme dress was far too big with way too much extra fabric which was a real shame as the colour was lovely, fabric was much nicer than expected too, viscose but looked and felt very much like the silk of my Toteme trousers. The obvious alternated striped Jacquemus trousers were a bit blah. The gamble pair with the cuffs and subtler striped pattern, however, were brilliant were it not that they arrived with a broken zipper 
thankfully they had a size up still available, so have swapped them for that as taking in the waist is less of a hassle than replacing an entire zipper in a fully lined trouser. Length was good too for wearing with heels, they fit wider on me and with the added height of heels they have a bit of a Palazzo feel. IM jumper was a bit too wide and cropped for my liking.
Also took receipt of a secret sales order that I'd half forgotten about, was a bit of a gamble as materials weren't specified. From that order two things from Margaux Lonnberg are definitely going back, but I'm on the fence with this cami from Amator. It's curpro and tencel, which is cellulose based fabric (tick for the environment) that looks and feels like washed silk but is a lot easier to look after. The lace isn't really lace but a star trim, normally despise all things star but I like the effect of it here as it looks lacy but not underwear lacy. Love how it looks on from the front but am irrationally annoyed by the bulk of the adjustable straps at the back. Not that I see the back much, but still. I'm wondering if my tailor can just attach them at a fixed length and not charge me a ridiculous amount of money for it.
Catharine, I suppose it's down to regional settings but I get an error on the Topshop site so can't see the trousers but they sound good.