Bottom Line: Black Doesn’t Go With Everything

Getting shoes that go with the right outfit can take hours, days, months of trudging from store to store. It becomes even more difficult during a transition of seasons. Lots of women have picked up new black shoes in season-end clearances, and they’d like to break them in with the pastel colors of spring. But they’re forgetting an important fashion point.

“Many wear their black shoes with a pastel dress that has no black accents,” says Stephanie Grani of Stephania in San Juan Capistrano. “Unless the dress has some black in it, it’s not going to look great with those shoes.”

Even if you have a spring outfit that goes with those new black pumps, if they’re suede, forget it. Pastels require a smooth grain or patent leather.

*

Pirate chic: Back in the ‘50s, a shirt company had a successful ad campaign that featured a handsome model who wore an eye patch. The patch gave him a sense of mystery and adventure. (Who is that patched man? You didn’t know if he got the injury wrestling a bear in the forest or if he got poked by a tree branch in the back yard.)

For those who have to wear a patch, is there a right way?

“If, for some medical reason, you have to wear a patch, get one in black,” says clothing buyer Bill Rigioni of Huntington Beach. “From my experience, you leave the doctor’s office with a ‘swatch’ of white cotton that the nurse tapes on. That doesn’t look too hot if you’ve got a big meeting scheduled the next day.”

When wearing a patch, make sure you’ve got your hair combed just right before slipping it on, then touch it up. Trying to comb or brush with it on can make your hair more noticeable than your patch.