Keeping it in the closet
Starting my working day swallowing a latte and avoiding splashing it down my black shirt, hair still drying following swim squad, I have come to terms with the fact I am an urbanite.
When I was moving to Wellington seven years ago, my friend solemnly informed me I must avoid becoming an urbanite drone - mobile phone in one hand, coffee in the other, dressed head to toe in black.
Let’s not discuss the phone and the coffee (because I have no defence on that front) and concentrate instead on the black. Well, I haven’t quite managed the head to toe. My sandals today are gold. And to be fair, the shirt is not buttoned all the way up, so the black is relieved by a contrasting-colour singlet.
While the 'little black dress' is approved across the western world, apparently, New Zealand women have taken the black message too far and wear a lot of it.
According to overseas visitors, this phenomenon is particularly marked in Wellington, where we all dress like we're going to our grandfather's funeral.
(I wanted to wear red to my granddad's funeral because it was his favourite colour, but that's beside the point.)
I opened my wardrobe a year or so after moving and realised there might have been some truth to Jude’s warning. Suddenly, there was a lot of black.
Interesting, my training clothes remain all the colours of the rainbow. I have running T-shirts in blue, pink, purple and white and shorts in several different shades. At least one of those shades is unadvisable in shorts but they were cheap. I also subscribe to the theory that cycling shirts should be as bright as possible, so we’re as noticeable on the roads and hopefully decrease our chances of being run over. I always shudder when I see cyclists dressed in grey and black.
However, my standard wardrobe had taken on something of a monotone.
Is this a problem? It’s true that black injudiciously worn can be draining – I thought the rule involved some skin between neckline and face to relieve the black, so no black skivvies - but it is such a practical colour.
While I am unconvinced about black’s so-called slimming properties, I have an issue with white – as soon as I put it on I manage to spill something on it. While it’s more than likely I am unusually clumsy, there is an element of Murphy’s Law about it.
And I would rather wear the same pair of black pants for an entire week than wear white pants. These are abominations that should not be allowed on women under the age of 55. Particularly the overly tight, flared kind.
In my opinion, there’s one message that these pants scream and it’s not one I wish to send. I simply cannot understand American women’s attachment to these.
What do you think? Do New Zealand women wear too much black? And should we start a petition to ban white pants?
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NZ women probably do wear too much black but maybe it's because Wearing black is so easy as it goes with everything. I don't want to spend time in the morning wondering if my green shirt goes with my red skirt or whatever. I do think that NZ women are quite boring with their attire. It's one thing to wear black a lot, but it's quite easy to accessorise with different coloured shoes, a funky top or some cool jewellery to show your own style.
And yes to the white pants ban. Those under the age of 20 might get away with them though but only if they are not overweight.
I also wear a lot of black in my street clothes - I think because it is a type of urban camoflage that blends us into the grey sky, not to mention the practicalities of the colour and the fact that it always goes with our black shoes. Funnily enough I wear lots of white on my bike (or flouro green) - I never get grease on these clothes, but will easily spill anything on an item of white clothing should i dare to wear it to work.
Ban the white pants! I'd join that group ... While its true my wardrobe contains a fair amount of black, I developed a love for Annah S a few years ago, so I guess I'm probably a little more colourful in my day-to-day dress than the norm! Mind you, we have a fairly young and casual office - there aren't too many people sporting the black trousers/skirt and jacket combo.
Black is so versatile. You can wear it to work or working on the car. Some people do both at once. It goes with pretty much any other colour.
My wardrobe is predominantly dark colours but as noted by BM #1, makes for easy washing.
Hell yes people wear too much black, ESPECIALLY in wellington. There are loads of other colours you can use for a 'muting' effect, green, purple, grey, dark blue, even (at the last gasp) brown <shudder>.
I take your point Ann about how black is practical, but some black, not everthing black! It really bugs me here how many woman wear black to look corporate or be practical ... but they really Do Not suit it.
Having said that I am wearing a black shirt today so hypocrite much? Still, I'm all about colour, and I'd like women in Wellington to branch out a lot more and be as bold and brilliant in colour as they are in personality
/Rant ends :)
I think our dress is dictated by the climate - it's cold 90% of the time and black is warm! But I think alleviating the gloom with splashes of colour is an excellent idea. Contrasting pinks, greens, blues and yellows look great against black. Yes, we Wellingtonians do wear too much black so I think we should dress it up a little.
It is definitely a Wellington phenomenon. Whenever I visit now, I am surprised at how monochrome people look walking down Lambton Quay. Now in fairness, I was no different when I lived there, but up in Auckland I expose much more flesh (still not much though!) and wear lots of different colours. In fact, there is now very little black in my wardrobe. Although that might be as much to do with having small children and spending a lot of time on the floor - lint and baby spill covered black clothing is not a good look.
All my training gear is black though. I feel so much faster running in black!
People who wear nothing but black strike me as lacking in imagination. It's only slimmming if the item you are wearing is not 2 sizes too small for you. I wear hardly any black, red being my colour of choice. I find if you wear bright colours they lift your mood.
I definitely wear way too much black. I am, today, head to toe in black all the way down to my knickers. And I was exactly the same on Monday (I spent the last 2 days being sick at home so I was mostly head to toe in pyjamas...). I have managed to break out of the black-on-black thing in my casual wardrobe, but it is far easier to mostly wear black to work. Everything matches that way! Is that really so wrong?
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There are advantages to only having black clothing - you do not need to separate your laundry into whites and colours, everything can go into one load! My friends comment that all my clothing is dark (mainly black and brown) but I guess it is what suits me, and yes I live in Wellington. I like the Welly uniform, no one clashes!