Floral dress, my mom made it!Snakeskin pumps, Vince Camuto
Black bangle, Electric Foetus in Duluth
Black necklace, Target
OK you guys, I’m totally gonna do it. Starting next week, no black clothes for the rest of the summer! OK, no black clothes until August, which is almost a whole summer. Here are the rules I’ve set up for myself:
- Black shoes, accessories, and jewelry are fine. Let’s not get too crazy, here.
- Workout duds get a pass.
- Black can be in patterns, but cannot be the BACKGROUND color of a pattern. So the dress I wore today? Can’t wear it again ’till August. (Sniffle.)
- This challenge will apply to daily outfits only. I reserve the right to post black clothes for tutorials, and to draw upon older outfit shots to illustrate my points.
- I’m going to do this from May 24 through July 31. Since that’s utter insanity and I know it, anyone who cares to join me can do so June 7 through June 14. I want to make sure it’s good and summery before the festivities really begin. E-mail your photos or send me links and I’ll do a big roundup the third week in June!
- Thinking I’ll call this SUMMER BLACK-OUT 2010. And compose some tasty guitar licks that will play in the background whenever I say it aloud. Magically. Somehow.
For the record, I would never undertake two-plus months of blacklessness in the middle of the winter. I love my black clothes. They’re edgy, cool, and fabulous. But I feel like summer is the perfect time to shirk all that darkness and play around with color.
That said, I’ll be wearing LOTS of black this week before the challenge begins. I’ve got pieces that need showcasing!
Oh, and I totally stole the florals-and-snakeskin idea from Erin. Not sure I ever would’ve thought of this combo on my own, so credit where credit is due.
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
great dress! please ask mom to supply pattern details (maker and # if possible). some of us on here sew and would love to know. thanks! steph
No black? I can try it. I do tend to wear it a lot. For a bit after my sister died every single garment I owned was black and after two years I realised it was time to move to colours, she would want me to!
Those shoes are FAB! And it's funny that you posted about your challenge to not wear black for the summer months, because I wore a mostly black outfit today and it felt too heavy for a warm, sunny day. Maine has enough dark during the winter, time for bright and light! Good luck with your challenge, you're gonna rock it!
Yeah, Erin totally kills it with the pattern mixing.
And I can't wait for your black-out summer!! I'll start brainstorming sweet guitar solos now…
You look lovely as always
And no worries, okay? I totally took it the way it was meant, didn't even occur to me to see it any other way. And it does my heart good to hear that anyone thinks of me when it comes to detecting or preventing breast cancer — it's a huge part of why I've blogged about my journey.
You honored me
You look like a rockin' sylph in that outfit!
Count me in. I'll be on holiday but will be taking photos and will be back in time to send you links.
Loving those shoes – they are really spectacular.
Cute, Sweet Sal! It's an unexpected pleasure: that dress and those shoes! LOVE it.
I don't know about the blackout though! Sister, I love me some black – a lot of black actually. I'm slowly collecting tons of black so I can be a quirky old lady one day who only wears black, interesting shoes and neat-o glasses. A girl has to have goals, right?
I can try the blackout – for you. But whenever I wear a bunch of color, I just feel like a hot mess of >insert color here< coming down the street. It's too much for me. I'll think about it though…promise.
The dress & shoes bounce off each other nicely. Without the shoes, the dress might be too sweet. Without the dress, the shoes might be a bit Florida matronly. Together, they rock.
You are INSANE!
I can't wait to see this…
Oh, and the pattern mixing here is inspired. I just bought "snakeskin" sandals today (Geox).
It's more special when your mom made it…lovely print as well Sal!
Your mom rocks! That dress is great! And the shoes actually look like lace in that first pic.
Good Luck on your blackout, I'm sure you'll rock it.
This is a VERY cute dress and you look great it in. I am a big fan of black with floral prints over it. Also, I quite like the style of your heels!
you're pretty, i like ur attire for today! keep it up!
Wow, I'm impressed, no black for the summer?! When it comes to black and clothing I'm unable to control myself!
Props to your momma!! That dress is so adorable!
I adore this dress! I think the black out is a great idea. For me, it would have to be a "black in" because I never really wear black…
You look like you're showered in confetti!
What a challenge! I'm not sure if I can do it! I'm terrible with black pieces!
You look beautiful!
Just came across your blog!
It is lovely!
colormenana.blogspot.com
That's a beautiful dress! Can I have the pattern please? *wide eyes*
What? No black for two months?! I would not be able to do that for long…I don't have a lot of black clothes, but I can't restrict myself to just colors.
Sal, you look really, really pretty in this outfit. The necklace, dress, and shoes together with your hair up are so very pretty.
You've got some guts to go no black this summer! Can't wait to see! That said, I'm definitely up for the challenge in June
Amazing shoes! Love your combination today!
Fantastic! I can't wait to see your blackout outfits. I agree that getting through the winter without black would be beyond challenging (I'm way too attached to that black ribbed turtleneck…). I'm w/ Steph and would be interested in any pattern details if possible.
I adore those shoes! The chunky heel and texture are just fantastic. And I love that you pattern-mixed in this way. It's subtle but fun and makes for a wonderful outfit.
I love the idea of the tasty guitar licks.
I can hear them now.
Count me in for the black-free week in June! That sounds do-able.
I love this dress and the shoes together. How talented and amazing is your mom?
While I am scared to do a week black out, I have been highly encouraged by my buddied to do so. Maybe it won't be so bad, since it might be hot, but it could be hard!
I'm looking forward to your summer o' color!
I'm getting on board, too. only for a week, though. And I have to say that that dress inspired me to take one out of my give away bin: I think shortening the hem and sleeves will make it look more like yours (i.e., cute and contemporary). It also happens to be a floral print on a black background. It's sort of an outdated 90s cut, but I've held onto for so long because I love the print.
I'm totally in for this challenge! I rarely wear black anyway, so it won't be too hard…although I did get a fab LBD on the Champs d'Elysees that I'm dying to wear. Bah, it can wait!
I am going to join you in Summer Blackout for sure! Fun times!
That's funny; I seem to be wearing MORE black lately and I've been thinking about ways to make black and other dark neutrals look summery. Maybe I should try the opposite challenge! The weather in SF certainly warrants it…
This is super cute on you.
What an exciting challenge! It's super fun to imagine all the creativity that people will engage with over this idea.