Dear Readers,
Can you estimate the percentage of the black clothes that you have in your wardrobe? I personally love the black color – it is simple, elegant, and formal and goes well with any occasion. Moreover, according to statistics in Russia, it is the favorite color of the majority and today I would like to discover why. Based on the internal sociologist research 80% of Russians love to wear black clothes. The next in popularity is gray, blue and white. In particular, 44% of the inhabitants of Russia gave preference to gray, 43% to blue and 41% to white. With a large margin from the top four in the ranking of favorite colors are brown, beige, green, red, and blue (22-28%). The least popular were pink and yellow (8% and 9% respectively).
So why black is so popular? I believe there are several reasons for this. The key is the history, for many decades, Soviet people have been taught that appearance is not the main thing. Modesty and moderation were considered to be the core values and were seen as a benefactor. Contrary, bright colors were perceived as a sign of immorality.
The other cause of that is the climate. There is literally no sun! The average duration of winter in Russia is 5-6 months and 4 more are heavy rains and slush. So even in urban conditions, dark tones clothes serve as the savers and in the villages, even that does not help.
Another, psychological reason for that – is the fear of being rejected by the collective. The roots of this go back to the past since childhood people were told that it is necessary to be like everyone else. Looking the same was believed to create equality in society. The favorite expression of the majority of parents –“do not be like a white crow”. In cases where a child felt different and refused to fit into the surrounding society, he/she received the punishment, in most cases got beaten with a belt and rarely dragged to a psychologist.
The last, but not least is the depressiveness, as well as Russians, are more likely to be susceptible to negative thoughts. The habit of seeking help from specialists in moments of depression is not that common in the country. Moreover, to fall into depression is considered to be a norm and the attire is usually the only possible way to declare the pain.
In addition, black clothes are the main representations of subcultures. Such as punks, bikers, rockers, goths, emo … The list of black lovers can be continued to immoderation. Black is also considered a symbol of ambiguity, mystery, and uncertainty: “covered in the darkness of mystery” and it is believed to protect from the “bad eye”. That is the reason why it is used by many occult specialists and highly respected in esoteric.
Furthermore, black color has been always rich in symbolism. According to the history in the 18th-century black was the representation of romance and artistry. However, in the 19th century, it was adopted by the Romantics (Byron, Shelley, and Keats) due to its melancholic aura. As well as at this time the transition of the meaning has taken place and black became the color of grief and mourning instead of art. Widows were expected to wear black clothes for at least 4 years, as well as it also became the uniform color of servants and maids. Nowadays black is the obligatory color of Russian funerals and still considered to represent sadness and strictness of the occasion. Contrary, in the East it is a symbol of goodness, purity, and perfection, nobility and experience.
Moreover black is believed to make the body skinnier, due to the ability to absorb the light. Black means the tone, the absence of luminous flux from the object. In the RGB system, it is designated as # 000000. Shades of black are called gray.
With a deep appreciation to Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, who in 1926 published a picture in American Vogue of a short simple black dress, this “Chanel’s Ford” made black cloth available for a woman of all social classes and occasions. LBD (little black dress) from that time became “sort of uniform for all woman of taste”. This and others designers helped to move the worldwide perception of black from the dark side to the simplicity, elegance, and convenience. Chanel contributed to the shift of the meaning from negative to positive. Today black & white combination considered the choice of high taste and timeless classic.
Different cultures have various beliefs, especially when it comes to colors. In addition, colors are believed to be positively correlated with the emotional aspects of humans. For modern man, black that has traditionally been considered as the color of mourning – the base and the lifesaver of the wardrobe today. It can be combined together with any color. My favorite combinations are white and yellow!
XoXoLenLenStyle
Thanks for reading me
