The "not wearing black" thread!

[foxtiger]

I have decided not to wear anything black for a month, with the possible exception of comfortable black boots for my long walking commute (and change into other shoes when I get there).

I don't normally wear black all the time, but it is probably my fall-back option - it suits me and I usually feel I look smarter when at least half of my outfit is either black or cream. My aim with this is to find out exactly where my comfort zone begins and ends, and maybe identify any gaps in my wardrobe for really useful items to expand the non-black side of it, if I still want to!

During this challenge, my basics will probably be brown/taupe and dark blue, with quite a lot of mustard yellow, burnt orange and teal/turquoise as accents. (I have ginger hair, warmish colouring, blue-grey eyes, and my work style is sort of smart casual/a bit arty.) Maybe sometimes burgundy or deep pink, although they don't interest me quite as much right now, maybe because I already usually wear them a lot with black. I buy a lot of my clothes from charity shops and I picked up a navy cardigan and a couple of necklaces at the start of this which have opened up a few more options for me.

I'd love to hear from anybody who rarely or never wears black, or who has tried a time-limited challenge like this. What are your neutrals? Your favourite colour combinations? What do you wear when you really want to look smart or glamorous?

I barely wear black. My neutrals are blush pink, white, brown, and cream. My two favourite smart dresses are dark brown and navy blue.

Ellewoods20 that sounds a really nice palette! Pure white doesn't really suit me, except maybe in a print, but I'm picturing all sorts of lovely outfits reading that.

I couldn't live without black. Good luck.

I used to live in black and grey but rarely buy them now. A combination of age and boredom. My new favourite neutral is... leopard print but always dressed down with trainers or DMs. I read somewhere that you should treat it as a neutral and since then it has really created options for me.

I used to live in black & apart from liking it job dictated sombre colours

I wear little black now (apart from tights and shoes/boots) - occasionally I wear a black skirt and I do have black dresses and jackets for funerals or if work dictates

Mostly I wear navy - I love it all year round - I wear white/cream/reds and have started to wear more green - bright or dark (not pale) . I tend to favour dresses and wear purples too & greys The colours I don't wear are brown shades - maybe they look good on me but I'm not drawn to them on me - I do have brown hair so maybe that has something to do with it ?

I also don't really wear yellow shades but in the summer I wore an old Boden dress in yellow and about 6/7 people on the same day commented how lovely I looked (inc complete strangers who didn't know how i normally look )

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions!

ZaraW I'm not planning to do this for ever, just wanting to mix things up and get some new ideas.

Thinkle I love leopard and I have some leopard jeans where the darker colour is brown, not black. However I tend to wear them with black a lot, so I'll be taking another look at them and seeing how they look with burgundy, yellow etc.

BeaLola I see what you mean about brown clothes and brown hair - I love the colour orange, but I'd only wear darker shades, because lighter ones are too close to my hair colour and there's not enough contrast!

I haven't worn black for over ten years. Nothing looks cheaper than cheap black clothes. Once you start noticing how shit most people look in black it puts you right off.

Following with interest...

I vowed to wear less black about a year ago, and haven't bought anything black since. Still dragging on black leggings/tights/jeans but that's all.

Not planning to ever buy black shoes/boots again either. Or bags!!

I lied!!

Bought a black top for a funeral recently... the only day I realised black was sometimes needed

I wear a lot of navy and charcoal grey
Dark purple also suits me as long as it’s not too burgundy in tone
I love a dark teal as well

I don’t wear black with the exception of a pair of black jeans (just because buying trousers is a nightmare without also having colour criteria, also they are far away from my face). I don’t have any black shoes apart from a pair in storage in case of funerals. I really hate black shoes/boots.

I wear navy and chocolate brown as neutrals, with teals, browns, orange, khaki, yellow, cream. I think it takes more effort to put colours together but often gives an outfit more depth. I agree it often doesn’t seem as smart as black - I don’t really ever need to be very smart.

I like a Trinny Woodall’s videos on compiling outfits, lots of colour, see her Closet Confessions series.

I am a big fan of grey, particularly grey crew-neck jumpers, which I have many of. I am particularly favouring an alpaca wool one with balloon sleeves from Other Stories at the moment.

Sometimes I think all black can look really good though. Today I wore black cords from Cos, with a black turtleneck jumper from Other Stories. I looked like an assassin, but broke it up with a leopard print faux fur coat, and white Stan Smiths.

I haven't worn black for a couple of weeks it turns out (Stylebook). Have been mostly in green (forest/olive), brown/tan, navy, pink (new trousers worn on repeat), orange/russet and a bit of leopard. Not all at the same time I hasten to add.

I do plan my outfits more days than not, and make an effort to think of new ways to put things together, especially when I don't feel I'm getting enough wear out of something, and that usually involves working out different colour combinations. And it's not that I have far too many clothes. Not at all.

Agree with @Judystilldreamsofhorses though that black can look great when done well. Two weeks ago I was in off-white trousers, black short-sleeve shirt (short sleeves! Only a fortnight ago!) and black denim chore jacket with black slip-on trainers. It was a good outfit day.

I rarely wear black, it drains me and makes me look ill. I might wear black jeans or leggings but that's it. My neutrals are always navy and grey. My favourite colours are green, teal and pink, and I suit pure white more than cream. I never, ever, wear any shade of brown or orange, and only wear yellow if it's a very pale primrose. If I want to look really smart or glamorous I go for dresses in dark green, teal, peacock or darker shades of pink & burgundy. I don't even possess a LBD as I don't suit black at all. I'm blonde and fair with hazel eyes.

@foxtiger I find Pinterest really useful for challenges like this - I have a board for not wearing black and pin great colour combinations to that. Erica Davies on Instagram did an unusual colour combinations story this weekend which would be saved to her highlights (if you use Instagram).

Today I'm in an orange v neck cardigan, worn as a jumper, with khaki trousers inspired by a woman I saw in the street recently looking fantastic in an olive t-shirt and orange skirt.

I am very into green + light brown + lilac at the moment, dusky pink + burgundy OR periwinkle blue; lilac + mustard, red + bright pink; emerald green + navy; russet + burgundy + bright pink... not all of these colours are in my wardrobe I hasten to add, just love the combinations!

Wow, thanks everyone - It's great to know that there are so many people interested in this idea or already living it!

I wear navy and chocolate brown as neutrals, with teals, browns, orange, khaki, yellow, cream

Lovely colours!

Sometimes I think all black can look really good though.

Me too, and I don't intend to give it up for ever, just find out whether some other alternatives could work for me so my outfits aren't so "samey."

I find Pinterest really useful for challenges like this - I have a board for not wearing black

That's a really good idea! I already use Pinterest and often start a board for a season, moving around pictures I've already collected and adding a few more. Now I can see a new collection taking shape...