Black trousers: what tops to wear with them if...

[BansheeofInisherin]

you don't wear white, cream, grey, beige, caramel or pastel shades. I only wear deep jewel colours-teal, burgundy, fuchsia, purple, cobalt blue, cherry red- if I can help it, because paler colours just don't suit me. I don't wear many prints either. But jewel tones look terrible with black trousers.

Maybe I should just stick to navy trousers?

Yup, not buying black trousers sounds a sensible idea.

Do you practise at the Bar? Work in funeral services? Front of house for a restaurant with a strict dress code? If not, you probably need never consider black trousers again.

They’re horribly ubiquitous anyway. And mostly look crap unless very, very expensive, skilfully designed, and tailored to fit.

Ha, none of the above. I have forgotten what trousers to wear as I WFH and only rarely go into the office.

What high street trousers are you all wearing for work? I have lost some weight and am replacing all mine, which were mostly from M and S. Below £80 or so?

Perfectly priced:

https://communityclothing.co.uk/collections/womens-trousers-chinos/products/womens-work-trousers-tan?variant=40358682755126

(Though not High St.) Highly recommended.

You can wear all those colours with black too. Some lovely black stylish trousers in Zara and next

Personally, I never wear white with black as it looks a bit like office wear at best or a waiter. Pastel shades don’t suit me either and anything pale looks wrong with black. Bright colours are best, is that what you mean by jewel colours? Any bright blue that’s not navy, most strong greens, orange, red. Deep purple can work, likewise burgundy or some browns. Tan or camel are good

Oh thanks @RandomersAssociation those look lovely. I definitely need to spend more on clothes.

I don't really like bright colours with black trousers @SuperiorM . I do like grey or oyster with black, but as I said those colours look wrong next to my face.

Is this because of Trinny and Susannah? I always have that ‘no bright tops and black trousers’ rule in my head. It’s annoying.

no not really! I just don't like the look. Trinny these days is dressing in head to toe yellow, so I don't think I would take style advice from her😀

Fair enough OP, but for me oyster, cream, off white, navy can’t be worn with black. Would you feel the same about jewel colours with navy trs or dark jeans?

Dark versions of the jewel colours look good with back. Navy, aubergine, dark green?

I suit similar colours to you OP and always wear navy when I have to be "professional". Much nicer than black.

Navy is softer, kinder to skin tone.
Black can be draining as we age.
Build a capsule wardrobe around navy with jewel scarves & accents, plenty of bling, thrown in.
A lovely understated look for all sorts of occasions.

@BansheeofInisherin Ha Trinny’s make up line is yellow branded so she wears a lot to promote that. She has a good series Closet Confessions and some of the older ones cover colour combinations. She says you need to match colours with an equal, black sucks the colour out of things out next to it hence why grey and white are often mentioned as they aren’t colours to begin with. So she’d say instead of wearing a pink top with black bottoms, wear orange bottoms. Not so practical for every day use, though coloured trousers, as part of suits, have been around a lot this season. I’d just look for other colours like pine green, aubergine, dark brown, grey and navy.

I like brown, navy and black with black.

I think rich jewel tones look nice with heathered or tweedy things as a contrast, or if a solid colour, something with texture like a twill or herringbone weave. Browns, taupes, navies, greys depending on preference.

A bit of strong jewellery can lift any outfit

Deeper jewel colours - darker emerald green, raspberry, darker teal - look great with black. I think it’s also about fabric. Silk or textured fabric or something with some interest rather than plain cotton or polyester.

I only avoid bright reds, bright green, cobalt blue with black, as it looks a bit 80s (which will probably be back in style in 3,2,1 anyway! ).

I find baby harder to pull off, to be honest. You have to have the exactly right shade to match your top - so dark navy looks better with some colours, a more blue navy with others. It’s a faff.

Charcoal grey might work?

Baby = navy

Also agree that darker colours like forest green, aubergine etc look good with black.

Black may be draining but if it’s not near to your face it’s not an issue. I’m a lover of minimal fashion and cool tones so I love all the off whites and greys ( and a silk shirt with great black trousers doesn’t look anything like a waiter) but I’m currently loving chocolate browns with black, grey or navy trousers. I have some high waisted trousers from Cos and also heavyweight wide trousers in all colours from M&S. ( the £39 ones)

I like black trousers with black, especially silk or wool. Or maybe leopard print. Or grey. Or a dark green.

There's some total bollocks on here about what 'can't' be worn.

Like a pp I tend I to wear navy rather than black because the colours that suit me best are warm greens, blues and pinks and they tend to go better although I don't suit navy that much more near my face. I also like chocolate but typically less choice although a bit more these days.

I do wear black trousers sometimes and the odd black based dress and wear with a very odd bit of navy (I kid myself I look French) and neutrals. Oh and leopard - I love a bit of leopard.

As a pale person, I’ve always found black easy to wear. It’s a contrast thing. I find silver jewellery good too

I would wear bright colours with black trousers. But I tend to wear darker colours. Lots of burgundy and dark green and teal. I think black trousers go with most things. I find navy harder.

Black might be too harsh.

Navy or charcoal (dark) grey may loom better with jewel tones.

Is royal blue too bright? It can really lift black trousers but you might see it as not so bright that it contravenes your preference for not too bright?