For anyone whose wardrobe is built around black, but is now reconsidering that signature look, here are a few thoughts to ponder.
The issue is not the black. The issue is that you associate your wardrobe with your most formative adult years, which you have now left behind.
After all, this isn't just an all-black dilemma – it's for anyone wondering whether the wardrobe they've always relied on still reflects who they are today.
Our wardrobes need to evolve with our lives and senses of self, and if yours has not – if you are still wearing the same clothes you wore when you were in your 20s – the effect may be as much internal as external.
Put another way – your clothes may not be merely telling the world you are stuck in your ways.
They may be telling you that, too. And that can be a depressing place to find yourself.
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It is also most likely why you are starting to feel uncomfortable with your wardrobe. It’s not really the garments themselves.
It’s what they represent, and the fact that they are probably now out of sync with not just your chronological age, but your emotional and psychological state.
This is not to say that we need to completely change what we wear every decade or so.
Creating a consistent personal style is part of creating identity. But within those parameters, there needs to be room for change, and development.
After all, Iggy Pop aside, it’s hard to represent rebellion against the institution, as punk once did, when you are of an age you could be the institution.
The good news is that something like an all-black fashion signature has all sorts of associations beyond punk; it can refer to the art world, the Beats, emo, goth, fashion, mourning.
It’s elastic as a shade, which means that, if black is your thing, by all means stick with it.
But perhaps reconsider the kinds of black items you wear.
Zac Posen, the creative director for Gap and the designer of GapStudio, the company’s red carpet line, knows something about taking a basic look and maturing it.
He calls this style conundrum – of dressing in all-black trim jeans, black T-shirt look, for example – the “St Marks uniform” (a reference to St Marks Place, near Washington Square in New York City).
He suggests easing into change by rethinking the shape, material and even the colour of the clothes you wear – not radically, but by degrees.
That doesn’t mean abandoning core principles and embracing navy or camel, which may be so preppy-coded as to feel alien.
It doesn’t even mean adding a tailored jacket over your T-shirt, which may look less mod rocker than ageing dad who wistfully wants to be seen as hip.
See, for example, the new British prime minister, Andy Burnham, who has channelled exactly that sort of look to his Everyman advantage.
And it doesn’t mean leather, which is a punk cliche.
Instead, Posen said, try something as simple as a shacket: a garment halfway between a shirt and a jacket that you can wear unbuttoned over a T-shirt.
Read more: Why fashion's new preppy trend movement isn't about fitting in anymore
“A very heavy black canvas or cotton twill would balance out the denim and T-shirt and add form to the look,” Posen said.
“That would start to build an image that has gravity to it, but with the nonchalance and attitude of punk.”
You can find these clothing portmanteaus everywhere, including at Filson, Todd Snyder and Quince, and at a variety of price points.
Next, Posen said, try trading your narrow jeans for a straight-leg style that has slightly more give, perhaps in a dark selvage denim rather than black.
If you want to try adding a jacket, go for a three-button version rather than the more classic two-button style.
The idea is to convey a sense of sophistication without feeling like a sellout or even calling attention to the change.
It’s the wardrobe equivalent of the invisible face-lift: a minor tweak that somehow creates a new aura without most people being able to figure out why. – ©2026 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
