Workwear if ‘black and colour’ is dated/shite

[PullingMySocksUp]

Waaaah.
Just getting a back to work wardrobe planned after a lot of time out of the office. I have a few smart tops/shirts so was thinking black trousers and a couple of cardigans would do as a start.

BUT then I see the thread about colour and black still being a no. That’s all very well, but what am I meant to do about work trousers? Tops are jewel or warm toned and mostly patterned.

I think black is fine but for a change try navy or grey trousers.

BUT then I see the thread about colour and black still being a no

Who makes up this shite let alone take notice of it ?. Wear what you want

Navy trousers! Generally speaking, black trousers just don’t look great with bright/patterned tops. Jewel tones should look good with navy. I don’t think plain grey works all that well with coloured tops (as opposed to, say, coloured stripes on a neutral background, or other neutral-ish colours).

I’m just worried that it will be really obvious I’ve not been in an office for 15 years!

Congratulations on your new job.

It's not what you wear but how you wear it. Wear something you like and feel comfortable and ooze confidence (even if inside you are a little jittery)

Good luck

But realistically, although I agree that color doesn't look great with black, or looks a bit dated, it's not like there's a rule, or most people care. People aren't going to be looking at you and thinking "Oh god. Not color with black. What a loser". It's just kind of ideally, by current fashion aesthetics, it's not that great. But seriously, most people aren't thinking about fashion aesthetics. This is Style and Beauty, so it might seem like there's a general consensus out there in normal society, but there's not. Jeez. Sometimes I wear black and color if I'm in a rush and it's all I can find. I don't think it looks brilliant, but it's not a big deal. I'd be surprised if anyone else even noticed I was wearing black and color, let alone had a fully-formed opinion!

Black tops with colour bottoms. Red chinos, navy cigarette pants, grey pencil skirt for example and then 5 identical black tops. Easy work uniform but a little less dated.

I think as long as it's not the dated "black with heavy accent colour eg cardigan, bag, shoes, necklace in accent" then it's not automatically lacking style.

Tailoring also makes a difference in my opinion. E.g. a well cut pair of black skinny trousers are my wardrobe staple, but I tend to wear them with a simple top and colourful blazer, or with neutral tones like off white, khaki, grey. Then play around with tailoring e.g. skinny trousers with heels, oversized blazers, or all fitted with statement necklaces.

I wouldn't just wear them as a black trousers and coloured top though as I'm not a fan of that look and think it's dated.

Agree with other posters about grey or navy being an option. I'm more in team grey.

If you want to be very this season then brown is probably the neutral of choice. But black is fine with: navy, grey, red, leopard print, nude, khaki, forest green, possibly dark purple or chocolate brown depending how much you care about fashion. Never wear it with pastels or brights, wear those with different trousers, if you've got a baby blue top, wear with navy, pink with grey. But use your eyes and don't go for black as a neutral that goes with everything. If you can't be bothered to think about which separates match then buy 5 dresses for work.

I like the coloured bottoms /black top thing.
Right now I'm liking bottle green trousers and a plum wool maxi skirt. With a totally simple, very fitted thick cotton black top.
The worst work uniform in my view is the black polyester trousers with a white or fou-frou floral polyester top combo.

In the A/W I get tons of wear out of navy, khaki and burgundy bottoms. Depending on how formal your workplace is, you might need to be careful about the cut with khaki to steer clear of being too casual, but it goes with a whole host of colours. Burgundy is great with pinks, brown, yellow, orange, blue or black. Navy will look brilliant with pretty much anything, as PPs have said.

Agree completely that it doesn't really matter if you wear your jewel-coloured tops with black as long as you feel good about it, but if it would boost your confidence in the new job to feel more current, then there's nothing wrong with that.

Good luck in the new job - I started one v. recently, and after endless deliberation wore head-to-toe navy on my first day in the end!

Fitted black cigarette trousers are a staple with black heels for my workwear paired with a bright knit for autumn. Possibly not high fashion and more classic but for me it’s good quality clothing and fit that makes you look/feel good.

I don't really care about whether stuff is dated but I tend to wear either black or navy trousers/skirt and a top either patterned or a contrasting colour. I also have some smart dresses. Usually add a cardy, although if I'm feeling particuarly smart some sort of (usually quite relaxed) jacket.
I'm fat so usually getting it over my head and not looking like a whale is more of a concern that looking ultra fashionable.

Was just thinking about my first outfit I wore to my current job 20 years ago. It was a purple long sleeved tshirt and a dogtooth pencil skirt in beige and purple with knee high tan boots. Quite tempted to get that skirt out and wear it again!

I wear a lot of jumpsuits for work. Plain navy ones, with heels. Or midi dresses with black ankle boots. I like only having one garment to think about when I'm busy in the morning.

Agree black trousers and a bright top look terribly dated. Navy or grey cigarette trousers would work better with those tops though?

Dresses are easiest for work in my opinion.

Or navy trousers with any colour really... grey with pink or white or blue.... camel trousers and black or white top.

I do agree that as long as it is not a pair of polyester bootcut trousers with an ill fitting, not so nice top black and colour could look really nice.

I don't work in the city or anywhere fashionable and there is plenty of black bottom half (skirts or trousers) and coloured/patterned tops going on still so I really wouldn't worry too much.
Personally I don't wear any black as I think it's a bit "safe". My work wardrobe is based on navy/grey but adding mustard, burgundy, red, dark green and pink to the pallette. If I wear a pattern I tend to wear it on a dress or in trousers or skirt and keep my tops plain.

No idea about "dated" as I don't really do "fashion" in that sense, but I think black plus brights is a bit tricky as it can easily look very harsh or just a bit cheap. It depends on the exact shade though, so hard to comment on without photos.

I'd trust your own judgement as to whether it looks good. Agree that navy is a useful alternative base colour - does well for all seasons and much less harsh.

I agree navy or grey would be good with the jewel coloured tops you describe. Black not the end of the world though!
The cut of the trousers could be very 'now' if they're wide-legged (and poss. cropped). But cigarette pants still good for office wear.

I have a bit of an objection to cardigans as office wear. Unless we're talking about a very neat cashmere or silk fine knit/twinset I find cardigans are the easiest way to make an outfit look dowdy. A blazer/ jacket always looks better.

I wear far more navy than anything else workwise. I think I have one black skirt that I wear with cream/camel or with grey. I DO wear cardigans often though - fine knit or cashmere, never chunky.