6 Sept 2009

Black To Basics - Fun Wardobe Workout With Sharon!

This morning post was inspired by a recent trip to buy a new winter mac, I chose a minature hounds tooth pattern in the end, which I love, as it looks sooo sharp! I have as I have said in previous post, at times had a bit of a love hate relationship with black, purely from a Stylists point of view, it can easily drain all the colour from your face if your not careful. It can cheapen any colour that you are wearing, it can  look hard and unyielding, it can even cheapen the look of black fabric and conjur up images of polyester rather than cotton or silk or wool. 
However alot of women derive comfort from having vast quatities of the stuff in their wardrobes, which I usually encourage them very gently of course, to let go of and to start intoducing a colour palette that will energise their wardrobe and work for their skin tone.Of course it can be quite scary to reduce the number of black clothing items that we consider to be fail safe neutrals in our wardrobe.We are often tempted to remain faithful to black, due to what we perceive to be the magical slimming properties that black clothing has to offer plus our blind sweet belief that black clothing goes with practicaly anything! Its a little bit like saying, a staple pantry food like baked beans goes with everything, they probably do, but this does not mean they necessairly enhance the other elements of food on our plate. Ok that was a little gloomy, but hopefully food for thought, if not useful. Now for the good stuff,where black really comes into its own in my opinion is in the detailing of an outfit. It is literally like taking the control for your television and playing with the contrast button till you have that satifying crispness and clarity to the image in front of you.If you think about my hounds tooth coat, the back sharpens the white and the injection of pattern means the overall effect is crisp,but without looking hard, pure genuis!
Of course I do appreciate that the hard, masculine and edgy are all huge trends this A/W, but the trick here is still to bring in plenty of feminine elements to your outfit and grooming, such as soft full hair or a slouchy bag and to use varying textures of back or tonal shades, such as silver, pewter or slate.We all have that adorable fail safe black dress in our wardrobe, why and when does this piece work well? 1) You have olive or yellow tones in your skin, 2) you have young plump pale skin, with no dark shadows under the eyes! 3) You can wear the neckline low, exposing your skin, which means you are not wearing black directly next to your face.4) Cheat!! Tan your face olive rather than orange with a good quality bronzer! My absolute favourite at the moment that comes in a divinely packaged gold and black box, which would make a gorgeous and very useful gift, for any pale friends you might have and helps recreate that expensive glow, is enhance by makebelieve, sunbeam bronzer and blush.There is the option to buy the whole system,which includes concealer, tinted moisturiser,which has been great for my open pores and I would not be with out, now autumn has set in, a highlighter and a nude lip gloss.
Long live black in its rightful kingdom!
S x          


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12 comments:

Kate said...

Looooove those shoes in the 3rd picture *drool*!

Love your blog, it has some great advice. Look forward to reading more!

Kate x

Unknown said...

Oh! I think I need that, I have always been pale! Yum, that licorice made me want to jump in the screen! Love your post, again!
Suzie. xxx

Sher said...

Beautiful pictures, dear! I must say I definitely have a lot of black in my wardrobe, probably need to inject more colour into it:)

Anonymous said...

My name is Angela, and I am addicted to BLACK!!!!

Cristi Silva said...

Those pictures are off the hook!

Sharon said...

Hi loving all your comments on this months Wardobe Workout, keep them coming!Sharon xox

Winnie said...

Wow those are some crazy shoes...I thought the photo had been altered and didn't realise they were actual shoes until I looked closer!

Emma x said...

Fab blog, fantastic pictures x

koralee said...

Love your blog...love your fashion advice....you are so my stylist this year! Black and white...I so adore. That polka dotted black skirt...I WOULD SO WEAR IT!!!!!...send it my way please! xoxoxo

Crystal @ Plush Palate said...

These images are stunning and really resonate with me right now. I currently have a lot of black and white going on in my home :)

koralee said...

Thank you for your lovely comments you left on my blog...you are such a good encourager! I do feel blessed I have found you through this blogging land! I was wondering as I was looking at my wardobe this morning... for a full week of teaching...what Sharon would wear to school. Any ideas for good comfortable but stylish teaching clothes?

Rose said...

Hi there ive just come across your blog. I love the lace gloves in this post! And that spotted skirt is too cute :)

Rose

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