I think I solved the black with color thing.

You guys this is really, really important.

As I imagine is the case for many of you, I always thought of black as a neutral. And a neutral as something that goes with anything.

So imagine my surprise when I first encountered Trinny Woodall and her idea that “black kills color.” Here’s one of the many times she articulates this (it starts at 8:57.

The first time I heard this I went through every stage of grief.

Denial: No, she’s wrong. It’s a neutral. Everyone says so. This must be some British madness!

Anger: This is untenable! Unacceptable! Unrealistic! And … I have so many pairs of black pants.

Bargaining: Maybe it’s in how you wear it.

Depression: It’s over. It’s all over. And did I mention I have so many pairs of black pants?

and, finally Acceptance: You know, if I’m being honest, black pants with a red sweater always made me feel kinda … like a walking velvet painting. Or ye Old West bordello.

(This is actually ”a bordello-style bar in Greenwich Village.”)

Ok, so now what? Trinny suggests the simplest approach: Starting to collect pieces in your favorite dark, rich color. A black alternative. So instead of killing a rich red with black, you add a plummy wine as your dark instead. And you save your black for pairing with navy, white, gray, silver, and other black, preferably in a different texture. The dictates of Tibi style (no, not rules, they swear!) say something similar. It’s why this brown featherweight skirt looks so good with red and blue here. And why it sold out.

But I also started to test a few other things. Another Trinnyism: When you want to figure out color pairings, look to how the fashion brands you love address it. (Same video; find it at 6:15). You’re basically harnessing all this color expertise and research investment from a great fashion house.

So I’ve done some tests on what feels good to me. But I’ve also looked to a few pieces I love that use color with black for inspiration. And I want to show you my findings. These are what I think works:

(1) Black + neon. Trinny has mentioned this as an exception too. She says that neon is so powerful that it just works with black. I also think it can be aided even further by the addition of a pastel (see the pinky lilac in the Prada?), or a little bit of white, like a sneaker or even my sock.

(2) Black with brights + white. Ok so here on the left, if the colors were just on a black shoe, it would look severe and dead. The white behind the colors lifts this black and makes them feel bright and light and fun. The right was a happy accident. I was playing with the pants, which were new. I felt like adding the black on top was ok but expected. I started by putting white under there, which really lifted the black. When I put the pink on, I liked it already. But I had fun just making it even more “wrong” with the navy blazer and the orange shoe, which mirrored the pink without matching it. I went for pizza in this. (And now I suddenly realize that every time I want to give my how-I-really-wore-it context, pizza is involved. Huh.)

(3) Black with color + metallic: There was something really pleasing about this LV/Kusama bag. And I realized the secret sauce is the silver hardware. If you cover that with your finger while looking at the image, it’s lost its life. On the right, I’m adding color with white but the main thing is that the metallic shoe is next to the color. If I put a black shoe with this, it would be like a dull “thunk.” If the shorts were all blue, I would add a silver belt between the top and shorts and then make the shoe another color or mid-weight neutral, similar to the blue in value.

(4) Black + at least 2 same-value brights + a neutral: The top and bottom (left) are old, from the Ken Price LA Collection for Loewe. (Just went down a rabbit hole and found this bag from the collection. And it’s good!)

The thing that makes the black in the print work with the bright blue/green and yellow is the diffusing presence of the neutral (that creamy sandy shade) and the fact that the 3 featured colors have the same basic value (dirty, medium brightness). I paired my black skirt with 2 same-value brights (the 2019 pink Dries mens jacket — on the runway here; I still want everything in this collection — and the orange Tibi tube top). And then 2 other neutrals, the brown shoe and my white Prada mens bag.

— but also

(4.5) It works without the neutrals too. A little bit back I threw on some black shorts to walk on my catwalk and grabbed a pink tee, gritting my teeth from the wrongness I felt. But when I reached for my neon sandals, the wrongness disappeared. Something about simply adding a second, similar-range color for whatever reason took the flatness and child-like quality away. It may help that the sandals are rubber, so it’s adding texture too. This could also be the neon theory, but I don’t think so. I think adding just a little more complication shifts things, at least for me. Cover the shoe with your hand and see.

And finally (for now at least):

(5) “the kitchen sink”: Black + pastels AND brights + neutrals: This next one is a ton, in the “one, ton and none” Tibi speak, whereby “a flood of colors creates calm.” Every time I wear this Lanvin sweater from my beloved Castanet in Boston, I marvel at the colors. Why do they work? We have black, we have brights (that saffron/tangerine and shocking hit of coral), we have pastels (sky blue, mint green) and we have a neutral (the dirty oatmeal shade). I figured it must be the ton-ness of it all that creates unexpected harmony. I experimented with adding more. And more. My Khaite cotton dress gets what Tibi calls a “strange neutral” under. And then I made like the Lanvin: pastel (green), bright (pink and purple), and even more strange neutral with the olive sweater. All of them are helped by different textures: ribbed knit, flat cotton, shiny patent shoes.

I still love black and black. And black and navy. And brown. And white. All of which are so sophisticated. But it’s always exciting to explore something new. It’s been energizing to find this new path forward with black and color. A path that doesn’t end at the Old West bordello. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.