SHEfinds | Justine Ingersoll Schwartz
When you’re having a fat day, the natural inclination is to reach for the black clothing, right? If you’re feeling bloated or just want to look thinner that day, the tendency is to pull on your favorite black jeans or black tee and call it a day. Sometimes it’s as simple as topping off your look with a black moto jacket. Black is cool, so it’s not like you’re phoning it in with a mumu – it’s the perfect solution for feeling instantly better about your outfit and your waistline.
But what if I told you that some stylists believe that black actually isn’t the most flattering shade – and that other colors can actually do more for you in terms of accentuating your features and downplaying your flaws. Fascinating, right? Well, that’s exactly what I’m saying – or at least that’s what style expert Jeni Paolella Luciani is.
Jeni told MSNBC that the real insider stylist trick is to play up your features/favorite body parts with bright colors like yellow, bright greens, burnt orange, or bright blues, and then to use dark neutrals on the body parts you want to downplay. “Curvier women tend to go to the darker side and wear a lot of black and brown,” she said. “There’s no reason to hide what you have and who you are.”
Jeni’s trick can be used for accessories – if you love your collar bone, for example, and want to draw the eye there (and away from say, your butt), try wearing a bright-colored scarf or a pair of electric statement earrings. Ditto if you love your legs, try a great colorful pair of heels or a miniskirt. There’s no reason that every “flattering” look you own needs to be black! It’s definitely more interesting for your wardrobe, too, to have more color mixed in.
So there you have it – some new color combinations to think about next time you’re getting dressed! Hey – you just might end up giving all those black clothes away.
