The color black, or is it? Artists can spend hours on that subject, but all I know is that I LOVE black. In fact, I would say that 50-70% of my wardrobe is black. Black shirts, shoes, pants, dresses, skirts, handbags, workout clothes, lingerie, belts, jewelry..I could have a "black sale" this January. I probably should, for one of my resolutions (ooh, I hate that word) is to wear less black for the rest of my life. My love of black started in 1990 when I started my career in fashion and beauty and realized that all you needed to do to look the part was to wear black. Even today, MAC cosmetics makes everyone from the President of the company to the girl behind the counter wear black every day. And, you have to admit, mostly they look cool.
However, as we age, black is not our friend. We see and hear our friends having their hair highlighted with lighter colors around their faces, well this is no different. The problem with black and our complexions is that black absorbs light. So, there is no light reflection to bounce off our skin to give us that youthful "glow" that we all desire. Now, I'm not giving up all my black (mostly because I can't affort a new wardrobe), but I will wear it differently.
Anything from the waist down stays in the mix. A lot of women our age believe that wearing black from head to toe will make you look skinny. Well the real skinny is that unfortunately, that's not always the case. In fact, looking too skinny can make us look older too, right? It's also hard to match blacks, so unless it's a dress or suit, your body is broken up anyway by the different shades.
Black tops will work if you break up the color with a scarve or statement jewelry. Black tops will work if there is a deep v or scoop neck to show some skin between your shirt and chin. Black tops will work if you have a beautiful colored blazer on top of it, bringing life to your skintone. Black tops will work if you REALLY know how to compensate for the lack of light reflection with make-up, but few of us really do. (Those tips will be in a later post!)
So, for those of you that know me, look for me this year in lots of color. Here are some pics of my favorite "slightly over 50" and "approaching 50" celebs in anything but black.
However, as we age, black is not our friend. We see and hear our friends having their hair highlighted with lighter colors around their faces, well this is no different. The problem with black and our complexions is that black absorbs light. So, there is no light reflection to bounce off our skin to give us that youthful "glow" that we all desire. Now, I'm not giving up all my black (mostly because I can't affort a new wardrobe), but I will wear it differently.
Anything from the waist down stays in the mix. A lot of women our age believe that wearing black from head to toe will make you look skinny. Well the real skinny is that unfortunately, that's not always the case. In fact, looking too skinny can make us look older too, right? It's also hard to match blacks, so unless it's a dress or suit, your body is broken up anyway by the different shades.
Black tops will work if you break up the color with a scarve or statement jewelry. Black tops will work if there is a deep v or scoop neck to show some skin between your shirt and chin. Black tops will work if you have a beautiful colored blazer on top of it, bringing life to your skintone. Black tops will work if you REALLY know how to compensate for the lack of light reflection with make-up, but few of us really do. (Those tips will be in a later post!)
So, for those of you that know me, look for me this year in lots of color. Here are some pics of my favorite "slightly over 50" and "approaching 50" celebs in anything but black.
Sela Ward - 53 yrs.
Michelle Pfeiffer - 51 yrs.
Iman - 52 yrs.
I've had the pleasure to meet her and she is even more beautiful in person.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - 48 yrs.
Sharon Stone - 51 yrs.
Demi Moore - 46 yrs.
1 comment:
this is great advice! great post!
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