As the world watches New York City for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, BlackEnterprise.com is ushering in a new style series. Check us out once a week for tips on how to upgrade your power look, whether you’re a newbie graduate at her first gig or a seasoned C-suiter.
As a native New Yorker who has dabbled into the world of retail and Corporate America, my closet overflows with endless black options to make my mornings easier after late nights. And although I have always had a love affair with all-black everything, I picked up a new addiction of black and white.
When we talk about black and white, a few interesting people come to mind, like one of my favorite rising icons Janelle Monae, Dr. Cornell West and Karl Largafeld. Spring runways this season have inspired celeb trendsetters, and they are ditching the color wheel for a sleeker more striking way to wear the classic palette. What I adore about the classic trend is the reassuring clean and minimalist assertion the look depicts that can be worn in stripes, grids, dots or color blocks.
“Classic, sophisticated, and always in style—nothing says, ‘Trust me, I know what I’m doing,’ like an all-black-and-white outfit,” says Annie Georgia Greenberg, New York editor at Refinery 29. “And luckily, the trend is back in a big way this season. Throw on a bold lip, and you’re ready for anything.”
Black and white is usually an easy choice of workplace fashion because of its accessibility in multiple styles. Your black-and-white business attire can highlight a polished style that reflects your personality and your authority. Building a modern, chic black and white wardrobe is all about texture, patterns, and of course fit. Black and white combos do not have to be frumpy and monotonous, try a twist on the modern basics such as a classic shift dress in a houndstooth pattern and build your style through your accessory choices like glints of gold. Remember assess the culture of your workplace when choosing pattern and be confident in dressing your age.
Get inspired with these fab black-and-white pieces.
Shea Zephir (@sheazephir) a bonafide Renaissance woman who balances diverse careers as a journalist, makeup artist and dancer. Whether she is compiling a story, doling out a makeup look, or crafting choreography, Shea always encourages the celebration of the black community, inspires self-examination, and promotes the positive portrayal of black women in entertainment. She holds a bachelor’s degree in fashion and marketing from the Art Institute of Philadelphia and is a graduate of The Makeup Designory in New York, with a concentration in Beauty Artistry.