Men's Designer Clothing Advice - How To Wear Black Correctly

It is sometimes thought that if you're lazy when it comes to choosing and wearing men's designer clothing then you can't go wrong with black. For some men it is as though black is a safe bet regardless of how you wear it, yet this is actually far from true. Black can come in many colours, and that's not quite the oxymoron it seems. In this article we'll look at the best way of matching and coordinating your black items of men's fashion, and how to avoid some of the common mistakes men make when wearing men's designer clothing.

You may have already noticed that there rarely seems to be any such thing as a single shade of black. Some clothes seem to be very dark indeed, whereas others may be labelled as being black, but seem to be almost dark grey. This can become especially true once you have worn your clothing for a while, and had it washed. It can quickly seem as though your wardrobe of black clothing has become a wardrobe of many colours, from black through to light gray and every shade between.

The fact is that it depends on the material as to how dark the clothing is likely to be. Some materials hold the dye very well, and can give the appearance of a real jet black colour, whereas others never fully hold the dye, appearing to be much lighter in colour. The best material for holding dye is wool, which is why if you're looking for a black suit that will be a proper black and not a shade of grey, then wool is by far the best choice. The same is true for when you're buying sweaters and jumpers - wool will give a much darker and more honest shade of black. Not only this but it will hold the dye very well, meaning that your men's designer clothing will continue to look fashionable even after it's been washed a few times.

Knowing that different materials will appear differently in colour despite all being labelled as black means that you can be more careful when pairing black items together. You may have a black shirt and plan on wearing black trousers with it, but if your trousers are wool and your shirt is cotton you could very well find that the two stand apart rather than appear to blend. In fact sometimes black items of clothing can appear either brown or purple, and so it is always important to make sure that you check carefully whether different items of black clothing will go together.

There are two ways of checking this. Firstly, check the materials. Two items of black clothing which are both made of wool or both made of cotton are likely to work better together than mixing materials. Secondly, try to compare the two items in natural daylight, as indoor lighting tends to give a false colour cast which can be very misleading.

Although making sure that the shade of black works fluidly throughout your outfit is important, at the same time it's very important to try to mix patterns when wearing several black items. Wearing smooth, non-patterned trousers with a smooth, non-patterned black shirt can look either as though you're in the priesthood or working for a funeral parlour. Try mixing the patterns and textures a bit more, with smooth trousers and a patterned or textured sweatshirt or jumper.

Men's designer clothing is usually made to an excellent standard, and this includes black clothing, but it will still be very important to make sure that you look after it. There are two tips here for looking after black clothes. First of all, no matter what the label says on the clothing, always have it dried cleaned if you possibly can. This will help make sure the dye remains held for longer.

If you do insist on washing clothes, especially those made with cotton which has a tendency to lose the colour quite quickly, then add in a cup of vinegar to your wash the first time. The vinegar acts as a fixing agent which helps to make sure that the black dye remains in place better. There are products you can buy which claim to do the same thing, and you may prefer to use these but effectively they do just the same as vinegar yet cost considerably more. By following these few bits of advice you can enjoy wearing men's designer clothing in black without fading into the shadows.

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