Rules For Black

While I hate to wear black from head to toe, black worn with white is dynamiteI’ve always been fascinated by the changing etiquette of fashion. Not so much in the sense that I desire to know the correct rules of what to wear on a given occasion (my life is hardly so formal), (and, rules are boring!), but rather in a historical context.

Two books that I have bought in recent years fit this criteria: Genevieve Antoine Dariaux’s A Guide to Elegance (first published in 1964, updated in 2003), and Elise Vallée’s The Well-Dressed Woman’s Do’s and Dont’s (first published in 1925).

There is little to be found online about the latter, but I spent a much-fascinated hour or so reading Amazon reviews on the former. I was surprised to find most of them were truly offended by this outmoded guide to elegance; a very few found it inspirational, and some read it as I: as a quaint reflection of sartorial times gone past*.

Elegance is about attitude and bearing rather than mere finery…

One reviewer was disgusted that Dariaux propounded that black in the mornings was never chic. I chuckled because, according to Vallée, bright or light day frocks were completely inappropriate and black took centre stage. What a difference 40 years make!

Dariaux declares that black should only be worn with ‘beige, white, toast; clear shades, but not pastels such as sky blue or pink (with the exception of pale yellow, but only for a hat, worn with black shoes, bag and gloves)’. What strictures! But I must wonder, why pale yellow and not pale pink for example? That seems rather arbitrary. Perhaps because a yellow hat was akin to neutral straw?

Each of us must find our own way to elegance, and it does not mean we will all be carbon copies of one another…

I have fairly strict self-imposed rules on black too, but I would never go so far as to say they are the right rules for everybody. I prefer to wear black with white, grey or beige (as Dariaux suggests first in her list). I particularly dislike it with bright hues as it reminds me of the brash – and inelegant – 80s, although I occasionally will make an exception when it seems right. Many people love the classic combination of black and white with red, but I find that a bit predictable – I’d swap the red for hot pink for example (as I did yesterday in fact). Apart from that, I make it a rule to wear black as little as possible, whatever the season.

These are my own rules for elegance. I don’t believe you can be or feel elegant if you are in the slightest bit uncomfortable or lack confidence in your chosen attire. Elegance is about attitude and bearing rather than mere finery (and these are the sections in both books where the authors truly shine). Each of us must find our own way to elegance, and it does not mean we will all be carbon copies of one another – that’s more Stepford Wife than Coco Chanel.

*I was flabbergasted that the section on Hats must have been excised from Dariaux’s book in the ‘updated’ publication. Who made that stupid decision? Why leave Veils in then – who weirs a veil (except a bride) today? And Zoology! That chapter should more clearly have been titled Pets.