Why can't i have a black suit?

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

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The problem is that a black suit is not versatile. There are virtually zero situations, except for funerals, where a charcoal or navy suit will not look better...

Drink the kool aid much?? You think, black, as a colour is "inferior" to charcoal or navy? Please. The reasons are cultural and barely enter the realm of aesthetic considerations for most here, it is born of dogma and imitation of forumnites with superior cultural SFcapital.


Some reasons why you could possibly not want to wear a black suit:

1) Tradition, it is changing but it used not to be done. Keep in mind that someone could do it in a conservative law firm without any problems nowadays or in another bastion of sartorial conservatism so the point is sorta moot in all but the most special of cases. (i.e. you're meeting Prince Charles and don't want to offend his delicate sensibilities because you've got a fetish for big ears and are aiming to score).

2) Doesn't pair well with brown shoes and other IGent accessories. To be honest it's mostly a black suit, shoes, belt + white/pink/grey/pale coloured dress shirt/pocket square. Black as a colour is about as easy to associate than navy, considered not all shades of navy go with all shades of brown and various dress shirts. You might have a little bit more colour choices though.

3) Nothing else, you hardly look like a waiter wearing a black suit or a security guards wearing navy jackets and grey slacks.

There is a cultural dimension to that on-going debate on the Black suit...
Younger generations tend to be more attracted to the idea of the sexy Black combo than most of the SF participants...
Why? Tom Ford and many other designers have during the nineties used black and made it acceptable outside it formal context.
The sexy black was common in magazines and also TV series..
I used myself to wear a lot of black combo and find them very sexy but i do have very dark hair with a normal skin tone making the contrast interesting..
With age , i prefer wearing midnight blue ,dark charcoal grey suits during the day ...
They look like black but they do not have the bad points associated to black :Flatness and lack of depth..

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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Drink the kool aid much?? You think, black, as a colour is "inferior" to charcoal or navy? Please. The reasons are cultural and barely enter the realm of aesthetic considerations for most here, it is born of dogma and imitation of forumnites with superior cultural SFcapital. Some reasons why you could possibly not want to wear a black suit: 1) Tradition, it is changing but it used not to be done. Keep in mind that someone could do it in a conservative law firm without any problems nowadays or in another bastion of sartorial conservatism so the point is sorta moot in all but the most special of cases. (i.e. you're meeting Prince Charles and don't want to offend his delicate sensibilities because you've got a fetish for big ears and are aiming to score). 2) Doesn't pair well with brown shoes and other IGent accessories. To be honest it's mostly a black suit, shoes, belt + white/pink/grey/pale coloured dress shirt/pocket square. Black as a colour is about as easy to associate than navy, considered not all shades of navy go with all shades of brown and various dress shirts. You might have a little bit more colour choices though. 3) Nothing else, you hardly look like a waiter wearing a black suit or a security guards wearing navy jackets and grey slacks.
Well, my personal dislike for black stems from elsewhere. If you're a brown man who dresses up in a black suit for a social event, people assume you are a waiter (or the like). And even if they don't explicitly state it, you can almost see a flicker of it. It does not matter where, but I've seen it happen in oh-so-many-places -- you could be Hispanic, Middle Eastern, East Indian, Latino etc. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. Secondly, the traditional black/white combo does not look good on people of certain skin tones. Light blue with charcoal or navy? Yes. But black/white? Too severe. Of course, if you can pull off looking good in black, do it by all means. It's not like there aren't a million others doing it any way.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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Drink the kool aid much?? You think, black, as a colour is "inferior" to charcoal or navy? Please. The reasons are cultural and barely enter the realm of aesthetic considerations for most here, it is born of dogma and imitation of forumnites with superior cultural SFcapital.
Group-think's a *****... ...but seriously, I do think that in most day-time situations navy or charcoal will just be more interesting and look better than black. I do actually quite like the black suit and white shirt combination for evening-wear, as it's like black tie but less formal, but since this is the only combination that looks good it hardly makes a black suit 'versatile'...

I say screw the haters and get yourself a black suit. They can be both nice and cool. And if you are worried about looking like a waiter or like you are going to a funaral, ad some colour with the shirt and tie. Many colours work well with black.

Originally Posted by Metlin

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Well, my personal dislike for black stems from elsewhere.

If you're a brown man who dresses up in a black suit for a social event, people assume you are a waiter (or the like).

I have never been confused with a waiter. I believe the way I carry myself sets me apart (If somehow my clothes dont distinguish me enough).

Well, I have a couple of reasons for disliking black suits.

1) I simply don't wear the color black. The only two black items I own are a pair of black Park Avenues and a black belt to match. I have red hair and am not that tan so black looks like crap on me.

2) I usually don't like black suits on others because I don't normally see it pulled off very well. Most of the people I see wearing a black suit are also wearing a black shirt underneath with a red time. This has to be the worst look known to man. I've never understood how somebody can wear that and look in the mirror and think it looks good.

3) To continue on the post above most people who wear black suits aren't wearing a very nice suit or fabric. This seems to show much more than in Charcoal or Navy Blue.

Now, if you want to wear a black suit and it looks good on you then by all means do. It's a much less versatile suit, you have a lot of fewer selections in shoes, ties, shirts, that you can wear and still look good, etc.

Originally Posted by emmanuel

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I have never been confused with a waiter. I believe the way I carry myself sets me apart (If somehow my clothes dont distinguish me enough).
Like I said, I've seen it happen often enough (and not necessarily to me - although it has, on occasion) -- immaterial of carriage or other distinguishing factors. My experiences may not reflect that of others, and vice versa.

I wear a lot of navy blue suits and i'm often taken for the Sales assistant in upmarket department stores...
As i'm also White caucasian, do i need to hang myself immediately?
Some Sales assistant are classier than the people they serve therefore that is the last of my worries....
Buy yourself a black suit if you do like the look and do not worry about us...

Search... Appropriate Business Attire? http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ght=black+suit Stupid Aversion? http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ght=black+suit Resurgence? http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ght=black+suit

At the moment the only suit I have is an old black one. I hope to buy a navy one in the next few months. I can't remember the reasons I originally went with a black suit. Besides the suit of mine being poorly cut, the black really isn't very flattering. I wore it to a friends wedding a few years ago with a light, sky blue shirt (good quality, but a bit too big in hindsight) and a nice silk navy tie. Looking back on the wedding photos, the suit really didn't do me justice and it let me down. Had I worn a navy suit, the look I was going for would have looked much better.

You can and enjoy wearing it.

In the meantime use the search function so that we do not have to rehearse all the arguments and counter arguments yet again.

please be sure to purchase KC shoes while your at it

Problem is that those quotes are according to SF. Author Steven Friedman states that blacks suits are acceptable business attire. There is a good segment of the population that wears black for business attire as well as a good segment that preaches it is okay--such as clothing guides for MBA programs.

Originally Posted by Master-Classter

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Search...

Appropriate Business Attire?
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ght=black+suit

Stupid Aversion?
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ght=black+suit

Resurgence?
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ght=black+suit

+1.

I love how this topic comes up a couple times a month and still ends up a 50+ post thread.

Originally Posted by Master-Classter

Click to expand...

Search...

Appropriate Business Attire?
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ght=black+suit

Stupid Aversion?
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ght=black+suit

Resurgence?
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ght=black+suit