What’s your relationship like with the colour black? This is the one question I always ask my colour analysis clients or delegates during their training. Why? Because the colour black has so many associations tied to it. 9 out of 10 times the response is always “I love it! Why?” Then they look at me suspiciously and the panic sets in as they’re thinking don’t you dare tell me it’s not one of my flattering colours and they’re suddenly regretting ever booking the session.

I respond by saying “why do you love it so much?” and these are the kind of responses I get: “well it’s easy, it’s safe, it’ goes with everything, it’s everywhere in the stores etc etc” hardly ever do they reply: “oh it’s because I know it suits me” and this is where the problem lies with the colour black, if it is one of your flattering colours it will indeed always suit you, you’ll look radiant and striking but if it’s not, black is the one colour that drains your complexion the most, makes you look grey which results in a harsher gaunt look and when you combine those effects together, this is what ages you!

We spend so much money on beauty products, creams, make-up, Botox, fillers to keep ourselves youthful but so many women are just not aware how their one trusted security blanket: the colour black, could actually be the their deceitful enemy. Of course in your teens and 20’s you can get away with anything but by the time you hit 30 this is when the ageing effects of the colour black start to kick in. A dead give away is if people are always telling you you look tired, chances are the colour you’re wearing isn’t one of your flattering colours.

Luckily for us colour analysts the drapes do the talking for us, the client can immediately see what negative effects black is having on them when they look at themselves in the mirror (without me having to point out a thing), all I now need to do is show them the opposite positive effects they’re right colours are having on their complexion, they simply can’t deny how much more radiant and youthful they look with their flattering colours and then this is when the process of building a capsule wardrobe in their most flattering colours begins.

Unlike the old Trinny and Susannah days we don’t belittle them and tell them to throw out all their black clothes, we simply advise that next time they go shopping instead of buying the top in black, buy it in navy or grey or one of their other flattering colours… black is an addiction after all so with any addiction we have to wean them off and of course give them a happier alternative. It’s when they start wearing their right colours and people start to compliment how well they’re looking that I once again become their trusted best friend….

I think if women are totally honest with themselves the reason why they wear so much black is because they believe the myth that black is slimming. Black like any other colour can be slimming if and only if it’s in the right cut and fabric but if you wear black in the wrong cut and wrong fabric you will look bigger than if you for example wore even white in the right cut and fabric and I show so many examples of this during our training courses. So the next time you go to your trusted black outfit… take a closer look in the mirror at what black is really doing to you, is it a friend or a foe?

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