Reasons not to wear black?

[Mr. Moo]

My friend loves to wear black. Work is mostly black dress pants and a black shirt. Or a silver shirt and black pants and a black trench coat and always black shoes, dress boots, etc.

I asked why he didn't want to wear more color, and he replied that he just liked black. "Besides," he said "what's wrong with black?"

I couldn't really give a very good answer (and I didn't want to step on his toes any more).

So, we all know black is "for funerals and waiters" but that really doesn't matter much to most people. Are there other reasons people shouldn't wear black?

 

[Aperipan]

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

My friend loves to wear black. Work is mostly black dress pants and a black shirt. Or a silver shirt and black pants and a black trench coat and always black shoes, dress boots, etc. I asked why he didn't want to wear more color, and he replied that he just liked black. "Besides," he said "what's wrong with black?" I couldn't really give a very good answer (and I didn't want to step on his toes any more). So, we all know black is "for funerals and waiters" but that really doesn't matter much to most people. Are there other reasons people shouldn't wear black?
Black clothes absorb electromagnetic waves, causing sweats esp. in the summer leading to BO issues.

 

[ppllzz]

i love black too! there is nothing wrong with black. whats right about white and blue?

 

[Jumbie]

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

So, we all know black is "for funerals and waiters" but that really doesn't matter much to most people. Are there other reasons people shouldn't wear black?

I don't really buy into all the SF anti-black [clothing] sentiments.

I'd say that a good reason for avoiding black however is the stark contrast it can have against very white skin. When I'm untanned, I think it makes me look sickly. I do wear black pants though.

 

[Aperipan]

Originally Posted by andyliu52

i love black too! there is nothing wrong with black. whats right about white and blue?

From a Freudian take, people generally dress up to feel important. Black reduces the stature of a man, causing him to appear weak and impotent. This is why I like to clothe myself with the colors of the rainbow.

 

[DocHolliday]

My chief objection to black is that it's so severe it doesn't play well with other colors. Your friend doesn't seem to wear other colors, from your description, so I'd say that going all black is a bit cliche/obvious/goth/Matrix/art dealer/high school. It's an easy out, and usually signals that the guy is either trying very hard or doesn't have ideas of his own. Not always -- some people do black very well. But the vast majority don't.

Black also doesn't flatter many complexions. I can't even wear some shades of navy without looking like an undertaker.

In warm weather, black just looks odd. I always feel sympathy when I see a gaggle of new college grads standing under the beating sun in their ill-fitting black suits. It just looks so hot.

In your friend's case, I'd worry about the silver shirt first, the black second.

 

[BABuckeye]

Call me a nonconformist, but I think black is actually appropriate for people other than waiters and funeral directors. I'm sure the black and silver combo works well in your friend's Vegas lounge act circles. Be careful suggesting he change his costume because the other magicians and Johnny Cash impersonators will tell him otherwise.

 

[brad-t]

Originally Posted by BABuckeye

Call me a nonconformist, but I think black is actually appropriate for people other than waiters and funeral directors. I'm sure the black and silver combo works well in your friend's Vegas lounge act circles. Be careful suggesting he change his costume because the other magicians and Johnny Cash impersonators will tell him otherwise.

thank you for enforcing yet another sf neurosis

 

[Nexus6]

Black is the historical colour of death & evil. Dracula wore black. Frankenstein wore black. Jesuit priests wear black robes. So do many other clergy. Women wore (wear) black to mourn their husbands at funerals, and are even required to wear it every day for a passage of time thereafter, according to some religious beliefs. Heavy Metal bands with their tiresome 'worship satan' mantra, wear black. Toss in almost every other HM band. Morticians wear black. Alice Cooper wore black....etc etc. Ofcourse today, and ever since the early 1980's, black is worn by anyone anywhere anytime, but the people wearing it are scarcely aware of the original and historical meaning of using the color.

 

[Reggs]

Dang

 

[Reggs]

Double Post

 

[acidboy]

imo, black is a lazy way to dress as opposed to having to decide what color/pattern/etc... to wear.

 

[embowafa]

I find it hard to match with my brown shoes. Plus it's so much nicer to wear a pair of charcoal, gray, or navy pants that accomplish the same thing as black but are so much easier to match with other articles of clothing.

My co-workers were shocked when I told them I didn't own a pair of black pants.

 

[Sharlatan]

I bet your friend is russian, moo

I also bet he has a closet-full of black leather jackets and owns a black BMW...

 

[Razele]

Maybe he likes Rick Owens.