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On the face of it, that question must seem like the one about who is buried in Grant's tomb. I mean, of course, a little black dress should be black, right? And everyone should have one. It's a universal way to add style to your wardrobe. The little black dress (LBD) is a black evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often quite short. ... it is a "rule of fashion" that every woman should own a simple, elegant black dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. - Wikipedia  The Little Black DressMany women are used to hearing that every wardrobe should have one. It's considered a staple of any stylish wardrobe. But the truth is that not every woman looks good in black. Many women do not look good in it at all! So your "black" dress may need to be another color altogether. Wearing Your Little Black Dress AnywayBut can I get away with it? You might be wondering. Maybe. It might not look ghastly on you. But neither will it set you aglow the way your colors do. So you'd be settling for less than the best. But sometimes, that might be appropriate. For example, if you sing in the church choir and the choir robes are black. Or, your best friend chose black for the bridesmaid dresses. When you can choose, however, and you want to look knock-em-dead gorgeous, choose your best version of black, even if it has to be another color. How to Find the Best Color for Your Little Black DressOnce again, the eyes have it. In his book, Color Your Style, David Zyla, Emmy-award-winning stylist and author, suggests that you can find your version of black, by looking at your eyes. This time, it's the ring around your iris that will reveal your best formal neutral color. My suggestion would be to take a picture of your eye. My own pictures weren't quite clear enough to identify for sure what the color was around my iris, but what you'll see below is the closest I could get to it. It looks almost black but if you look closely, it actually gets close to espresso or raisin brown.  This color is fairly close to the raisin color David gave me. So this raisin-like color would be my best formal neutral, or best choice for a little black dress. Another way to go about finding your best "black," if you have a personalized color palette, would be to experiment with those colors to find the one that looks most elegant on you. Do you have a little black dress? And if so, what color is it? See you tomorrow! Love, Jeanine
10 Comments
9/7/2020 03:42:55 am
Little Black Dress? hhhmmmm....I often wondered why is it little black dress while as an artist, wearing black is just a staple- being a real artist one wears black right?!?!? So yes, I have alot of black in my wardrobe....it is slimming as well.....but I have to admit I love wearing RED and it looks good on me....I've probably had more compliments while wearing red than black. I do not wear dresses so I do not own a little "black' or "red" dress but your making me want to own one little dress of skirt. I actually do not wear skirts or dresses because growing up I had to wear a uniform to school and was forced into wearing a skirt and in the military when I got to wear Class A's females had to wear the skirt as opposed to pants most of the time or be pointed out- the separation was unbearable. Having been a shy person I believe to this day I didn't like to point out from the crowd and having been a female among males from the day I was born- FYI I was the only female in the hospital nursery when I was born...so I just wanted to be one of the masses and fit in which was honestly never in the cards for me in life to this day- I was always the sore thumb! 9/7/2020 10:25:05 am
Awww! More and more, I am coming to believe that what happens to us as infants is way more powerful than anyone seems to think!! I spent my first month in an incubator, and hello - loner. Anyway, how wonderful that you both love red and look good in it! I don't wear a lot of dresses, either. Sometimes I go a whole season without wearing one, or even longer, occasionally. So your little red dress doesn't have to be red. And I think there is more transformative power in slimming style strategies than slimming colors. So red on, Pamela! :) Would you believe I HAVE a little black dress! It goes great with my blue eyes and while I don't wear it out often it's also great when I want to shed the jeans and t-shirt. It has spaghetti straps, just above knee length and looks great when I where a shawl over it. 🤗 9/7/2020 10:28:12 am
That is great that you have one!! But I am wondering how much of it gets covered up by the shawl. Maybe a shrug or short cardigan would do what you want without overwhelming the dress or requiring you to gold on to it? Aaaaannnd .... if there are lighter colors that would be good on you, the shrug or cardi could be in one of those colors. Like the red we were adding to your color palette this summer. ;)
vidya
9/9/2020 01:03:56 am
I had a LBD years ago and I did like wearing it..I donated it to Goodwill once I could no longer fit in it after my little ones were born.. But I think my LBD will be a maroon (?) 9/10/2020 12:40:56 am
So... it seems that my little black dress isn't going to be black, even though I like the mysterious qualities, as well as the slimming nature, of black. It might not make me glow or shine, although I am sure that it is better than mustard yellow, which would just make my yellowish undertones pop out like some supercharged light bulb. Nope, the ring around my iris (as opposed to my collar) is a deep shade of gray. And my little black dress color apparently is a slate blue. In fact, right now, I am wearing a shirt with a deep gray background and it is the same color as the ring around my iris (not ring around the rosie). And that's a good thing that the focus is on the ring around the iris, as opposed to eye color because I don't know what my eye color is anymore. I always had that deep gray ring, but my eyes used to be brown. They are now green at times, amber at times, and even a little bit blue (but very dark grayish-blue). 9/12/2020 11:24:25 am
Alice, those are all beautiful colors! And you're right - the ring around your eyes looks like dark grey. But then, up close, you see the slate blue it was hiding. :) 9/12/2020 10:22:15 am
I don't own a dress of any color and I can't even remember when the last time I had a dress was. But I only wear black slacks but have shirts in all colors. I guess it's time to update my wardrobe as I am not dead and I am not Johnny Cash and venture from only black slacks to jeans or colors. 9/12/2020 11:26:35 am
Well, I totally understand, Glenda, because I am very casual, too, and usually only wear dresses in the summer when it is so hot, I can't stand the heat, but can't get out of the kitchen. ;) You still have a "formal" color, but it could certainly be your version of a little black pantsuit, instead. Leave a Reply. |
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Thanks for dropping by! I'll see you soon. Love, Jeanine 
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