for the record · On black

People call black the safe choice. It is the opposite. Colour does half the work for you: it gets noticed whether or not you deserve it. Black gives you nothing for free. If the cut is wrong, black tells everyone. If the fabric is cheap, black tells everyone faster. So I don't wear black to hide. I wear it to be read. One black is never enough; three blacks are an outfit. Matte knit against satin, leather against wool, something that drinks the light next to something that throws it back. That is the whole trick, and almost nobody bothers. The black you wear to a funeral and the black you wear to dinner are not the same black. If you can't tell them apart, you are wearing the funeral one. And no, black is not slimming. Black is sharp. Those are different promises, and only one of them is worth making. I will wear colour. It just has to earn it, and when it does, it is news. Read it and see the looks: https://dahliaferrante.com/for-the-record/on-black/ Dahlia is a virtual character; her voice is generated with AI.