Should I Wear Black Shoes or Avoid Them?

How to know if black shoes are best for me...

If you've spent your whole life obsessing over your black shoe collection only to wake up one day in your 30s and wonder if they're doing you justice, you're not alone...

This guide will help you work out why you might have fallen out of love and whether you and your black shoe collection are heading for separation or divorce...

This Guide Covers...

How to Know If You Should Wear Black Shoes

the problem

There are 2 parts to this problem:

You didn't have to be fashion obsessed in your 20s to crave a pair of black shoes. They are/were always the perfect choice because black goes with everything, right? If in doubt, wear black! That's what the fashion magazines and influencers say. And...

They are right! But that's the problem. Black shoes DO pair perfectly with many colours - solids and prints - and that's why it's so confusing to know whether they are the best option for you. Because what they DON'T tell you is...

If you don't have naturally black hair wearing black shoes will make everyone look at your feet. Which is great if you want everyone to notice your new pair of shoes. This is what the mags and influencers want you to do because they make money if you buy them. But...

It's not great if you want peeps to be focused on your face. And if you're tummy, hips or butt conscious, you might find that switching to a different - anything but black - shoe colour can magically make you look slimmer, younger and less self-conscious. Here's why...

Example 1

This is a beautiful print. If we were buying this dress most of us would logically pair it with black shoes because the print contains black. But...

The problem is the black shoes pair with the print so perfectly they dominate the image, so that's all you see. If you were talking to her, your eyes would naturally keep flicking down to her feet, stopping at her boobs, tummy and hips along the way. This isn't going to make her feel great unless that's what she wants you to do!

In this example, we kept everything the same - except for the shoe colour - so you can see the difference...

When we match the colour of her shoes to her hair colour our focus shifts naturally to our model's face. That's because in the absence of black on her feet the turquoise naturally accentuates the colour of her eyes...

If you don't have black hair you must choose between wanting others to admire your face or your feet!

example 2

You can see black shoes have the same effect in this example for the same reason! And...

If you have a large bust, big tummy, big calf muscles, big arms etc, wearing black shoes if you don't have black hair, will accentuate these areas...

In this image we are drawn to looking at Peta's bust and tummy which might not be what she wants if she is self-conscious about these parts of her body!

As soon as we change her shoe colour to tone with her hair colour, our focus naturally moves up toward her face...

That's because in the absence of black shoes, the green in the print now accentuates her eyes. And...

Because black shoes are no longer drawing our focus down toward her feet her calf muscles and tummy look slimmer too!

Black Shoes on Woman with Nearly Black Hair

Example 3

If you have naturally black or very dark brown hair black shoes become part of a complementary frame for your face and eyes...

This is similar to choosing a beautiful frame for a picture. You want the frame to complement rather than overpower the subject!

are black shoes best for me?

You will feel younger, slimmer, stylish AND less self-conscious if the colour of your shoes accentuate rather than compete with the colour of your eyes!

If you want to simplify and reduce the number of shoes you own you will never go wrong if you own a pair of shoes that match your hair colour. That means...

If your hair colour isn't black or very dark brown, black shoes aren't going to be best for you unless your want peeps to be focused on your feet! But...

This doesn't meant you should ONLY wear shoe colours that match your hair colour. You can wear ANY shoe colours that accentuate your eyes and enjoy the same benefits. We call these your 'eye-popping' colours!