It's the Journey

Ever since I was old enough to pick out my own clothes, it didn’t take long for me to develop an appreciation for wearing black.

At that age, it’s not like I could really articulate why I did. Maybe it was a little bit of my type-A tendencies that were showing early. I just enjoyed how building an outfit involving black garments looked cool without too much effort. It was a few years later that I discovered the word “neutral” to articulate the reason why black went with pretty much everything.

But more than that, even early on, I found that wearing black jeans felt a notch up from wearing blue jeans. In some ways, it felt more dressed up, sometimes a bit more mysterious, maybe even a bit more rock n’ roll, all at the same time. Regardless of what I paired it with, it seemed to work with little chance of clashing and eliminated a lot of guesswork.

The first time I was made aware that I was potentially making a statement in wearing black was when one of my high school teachers pulled me aside and asked me diplomatically if someone had died in my family. He thought I wore black because I was in mourning. That was when I realized I had to watch myself and not make it such a regular habit that people thought that my wardrobe was a sign of a deep funk or a silent cry for help, though I hoped my chronic cheerfulness suggested otherwise.

In my university years, I started hanging around with a group of friends all sharing an artistic inclination but in different disciplines. What was interesting was that even though we hadn’t consulted with each other, wearing black was a common denominator for all of us, whether it was just for hanging out casually or for going out. It wasn’t necessarily about fashion. To us, those items were simply chic statement pieces, especially for the era when Depeche Mode and the Cure were topping the music charts.

As the years went on, black became my go-to in my work wardrobe, from the beginning of my career to the end. In the beginning, when money was not in great abundance, I could still look smart in a crisp, white shirt, colorful tie, black dress pants and shoes. It was timeless, it was classic and it was efficient for someone with limited resources. Toward the end of my career, when the rules for the office dress code were relaxing and my work no longer involved face-to-face meetings with clients, black jeans regained prominence in my wardrobe as I rotated through several pairs in my final years.

I will admit that there were times that I took full advantage of the benefits of wearing black as a slimming color using a black shirt, jeans and shoes to create a solid vertical line from neck to toe. To me this also helped with the illusion of height as I appreciated all the help I could get in that respect.

Throughout the years, I’ve always envied people in the professions for whom black was their uniform color, such as servers in classy restaurants and hairstylists in some of our higher profile establishments. When my partner and I started attending concerts at the arts centre together, you can imagine my joy at seeing the entire orchestra decked out in black, looking so cool, so classy and so professional. How lucky I thought they all were!

Unfortunately, wearing as much black as I do, I tend to blend into my surroundings to the point where I get stopped and asked “Do you work here?” an awful lot in retail settings or flagged down by restaurant patrons when I get up to use the restroom. It’s OK, the tips are good!

One of the best parts about wearing black is that when traveling, even if a garment is wrinkled, it doesn’t seem quite as obvious, making it a hassle-free staple for living out of a suitcase.

However, one must be aware of when wearing a lot of black is appropriate and when it might be better to mix it up with colours or other neutrals. For example, I might not show up to a daytime wedding event, fully decked out in head-to-toe black. It might be a little much for such a joyous occasion. Similarly when attending a friend’s birthday, especially somebody older than myself, I take particular care in not overdoing it with the black and showing up looking like the grim reaper.

What is interesting is that now with the career years behind me and writing full-time, it should come as no surprise that as part of my writer’s uniform, the color black has made another comeback in my wardrobe.

I don’t know why I associate the color black with “artistic” but it just helps create the right mood for my writing sessions.

Regardless of whether people assume that by wearing black I’m in mourning or on duty in a certain profession, to me it is about practicality, versatility and a part of living an artful life, spending less time on my wardrobe and more time at the writing desk.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André