Rediscovering Black

Many of us grew up thinking that black was the best color in clothing. We bought the line that "every man has to own a black suit." We believed that "black goes with everything" without question. And at some point, we had to unlearn all of that.

There are easy ways to wear black. Black tie; black suit at night a la Tom Ford; "goth ninja" type shit, all black flowy fits; basic black on black denim. I'm trying to break past all that. I want colors, patterns, and forbidden pairings. I want everything I was told wouldn't work.

Some people make all black wardrobes work by way of unique silhouettes and details. But most of us realized that black was not what it was billed as. It's "neutral" in tone, but it creates a harsh contrast with most of your wardrobe due to its depth. We had to learn that black is a formal color. Its natural home in tailoring is in evening attire, a business suit is just not formal enough for black. We learned that it can look odd in sunlight. And we learned that it's not a cheat code for looking cool.

But it can look cool. We can use that contrast in our favor. We can play with that formality. We can find our way back to black.

Black linen is a funny fabric for tailoring. Linen is inherently casual. It doesn't take dye like some other fabrics, so black linen never hits the same depth as a black worsted. The suit will wrinkle and fade. Do you like that?

Please don't ask me. I can't possibly tell you the answer. Please, for the love of god, figure this out for yourself.

If you want to see me write more about color, I have to warn you: the next article will be me telling you that white shirts are dramatically overrated. If that sounds good... subscribe.

Further Reading

My own articles

• Black and Brown
• Black and Blue (specifically, black slip on shoes with mid-light wash denim)
• Eveningwear part one, part two, part three

Others

• Drake's by Aaron Levine
• “Edgy” Menswear and Wearing Black | A Little Bit of Rest