Suzanne Carillo

What is the first thing that attracts you to clothing when you are shopping?

Colour.

I’m not one that is normally attracted to anything black. Black, white, grey and beige are the least prominent colours in my wardrobe.

What???

Yes I’m a rebel like that. Travel wardrobes or capsule wardrobes filled with neutrals make me nauseous. The thought of wrapping myself up in non colour is the equivalent of wrapping myself in a yawn sealed with a shrug.

My wardrobe looks like a rainbow exploded and left bits of fairy dust and sparkles behind. No unicorns (that I know of) although I can’t rule out the remote back corner of my closet which is difficult to access or see. I have a feeling a wicked gremlin might be hanging out there and secretly making all of my clothes smaller. Damn you hormone gremlin!

Please don’t and spoil my illusion. Fantasy makes getting older bearable and relieves me of any personal responsibility.

Back to boring black.

Because truly, that is what I see when I see black. The absence of joy.

Top Tip To Transform Boring Black

How can you turn boring black into something that isn’t so predictable and yawn inducing?

Add some texture baby.

Texture stimulates and transforms what could have been a rather dull vintage little black dress into something truly special.

Can you see the interesting and unique texture of the material on this LBD?

I look like I’m wearing a superhero shield.

Or drapes.

Or reptile skin.

Either way I don’t care…I love it!

It makes the dress interesting and unique, not just another boring fitted little black dress, which let’s face it, anyone can do.

I honestly didn’t think this LBD would fit me when I saw it hiding on the overfilled racks at the Wild Things booth at The Toronto Vintage Clothing Show.

I took a chance though and it fits like a glove. Proof that even for the most experienced clothing shoppers among us, you still need to try on clothes to know if they will work or not.

This is another instance of a 1960’s vintage dress that looks perfectly contemporary.

The details that give this away as a classic vintage piece is the quality of the craftsmanship and fabric, thus why I love shopping vintage.  You simply cannot buy that kind of quality from retailers today.

Unlike my other sequinned vintage LBD which you may remember from this post…

which was torturous until I had it taken out, this one is very comfortable and easy to move in. No tailoring required.

Of course other ways to transform boring black is to wear colourful accessories with it like I’ve done here…

Here is another example of how texture can magically transform boring black into something quite extraordinary.

The fabric in this skirt is black lace with a cream lining.

And black leather? Well that is basically a no brainer. Especially when paired with a feminine fit and flare shape.

Many women prefer wearing black. They feel it hides a multitude of sins, is always classy and chic and goes with everything.

They aren’t wrong. Black can do all of those things but it can also be dull and lifeless. For me, texture and black go together like peanut butter and chocolate. On their own each one is perfectly fine, but together they are orgasmic.

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