Black is strong, moody, severe, and intense. Blue is calm, intelligent, and serene but when paired with black it too can be fierce. A pastel blue may be playful but royal blue is passionate and bold. Such a bright jewel tone does not contrast with black, it plays with it cooperatively, evoking power and a take-charge attitude. This is the right look for a business function in the evening wherein you want to be instantly respected and taken seriously.
Green is natural, full, and lush, while black is powerful, demanding, and forceful. Both colours make strong statements, with green evoking optimistic prosperity. Black can also imply prosperity, as it is often employed by the rich to denote luxury – think black leather – but even in the most opulent settings, it obviously remains decidedly dark. There is an indifference to black, a certain better than thou quality that green cannot compete with, as green is so eager, and down to earth. Even in its most rich and vibrant jewel tones, green cannot supersede black’s inevitable dominance. But green isn’t red, it’s not trying to be a rival to black. It’s happy in its own lane, pleased to be a pop of colour in an otherwise somber palette, without trying to dilute that mournful mood.
Don’t be afraid of pink. People rarely wear it in office settings, probably because they want to be taken seriously and pink still carries a girly connotation, (though this wasn’t always the case) and of course, we still live in a society that considers all things feminine to be negative or at least inferior to masculine things.
Black, on the other hand is utterly gender neutral, and is, of course, itself a neutral. Black is classic, but equally modern. Let’s face it, if all the colours (and neutrals) were to fight for dominance, black would win, but pink would put up a good fight.
