Why women over 40 should stop wearing black: a colour expert explains the surprising reason

Black is the shortcut colour we’ve trusted forever: slimming, chic, always right. Past 40, a colour expert says it quietly starts working against you. Not your fault. Just physics, skin, and light.

On a grey London morning, I watched a colourist drape a series of fabrics around a client who’d arrived in a faithful black polo neck. The boutique was calm and bright, mirrors catching winter light, and the woman—mid-40s, smart, a little tired—looked at herself with that half-proud, half-pragmatic gaze we get when life is full and mornings are short. She insisted black made her look sleek and “in control.” The colourist nodded, then swapped in deep navy, forest, soft chocolate. Her face changed before my eyes: eyes clearer, skin smoother, jawline somehow lifted. The black went back on. The magic dulled.

Then the expert said something I didn’t expect.

The surprising reason black stops working after 40

Here’s the unglamorous truth: our colouring shifts with time. Hair lightens or silvers, skin loses bounce, the contrast that black loves gets softer—and black bites back. It’s less about age, more about the balance of light near your face.

On the Central line one evening, I did a quiet count: eight of the ten coats in my carriage were black, and the faces above them looked a touch ashier under LEDs. Later, in a studio, Claire, 47, tried a black blazer, then midnight navy. We did nothing else—no makeup change, same light. Navy made her look as if she’d slept.

Here’s why the switch happens. Black is the darkest value, so it ramps up edge contrast where fabric meets skin; if your natural contrast has softened, that edge can throw shadows into fine lines and hollows. It also absorbs ambient light, starving your face of reflectance that would normally add glow, and under some LEDs it bounces a faint green toward cooler complexions. **Black is not the shortcut to chic we were sold.** Softened darks—ink, aubergine, charcoal, earthy espresso—feed the face instead of draining it.

What to wear instead—and how to find your new neutrals

Try the two-minute mirror test. Stand in daylight with a plain mirror and hold black to your collarbone. Look at your eyes, not the garment: do the whites dull, do under-eyes sink, do lips fade? Now swap in deep navy, rich cocoa, charcoal, pine, or a muted burgundy. If your eyes pop and your skin evens out without makeup, you’ve found a working neutral.

Start with substitutes you’ll actually wear. Trade a black roll neck for ink or charcoal; swap skinny black trousers for deep olive or espresso; try a navy blazer over your favourite tee. We’ve all had that moment when the thing that used to work just… doesn’t. And yes, shoes: black next to lighter legs can look blocky—cognac, oxblood, or slate reads kinder with bare ankles and grey tights. **Your face should be the brightest thing in the outfit.** Let the colour do the lift you once begged from heavy eyeliner. Let’s be honest: nobody really does that every day.

One colourist put it neatly.

“After 40, you don’t need harsher clothes. You need kinder light near your face. Think of colour as lighting you can wear.”

Use this quick-start box to narrow choices fast:

• Cool undertone, silvering hair: try midnight navy, smoke, damson, blue-grey.
• Warm undertone, golden skin: try chocolate, olive, teal, warm navy.
• Neutral undertone: try charcoal, taupe, deep raspberry, forest.
• If in doubt, test with lipstick: if a neutral makes your everyday lipstick look fresher, it’s a match.

Pin it to your wardrobe door.

Style is energy, not a rulebook

Letting go of default black isn’t a ban, it’s a recalibration. When you pick a dark that carries light—ink instead of onyx, cocoa instead of coal—you project ease, not effort, and the lift shows before you say a word. It’s the difference between hiding and being seen.

I’ve watched women step into deep colour and stand taller as if someone turned up a dimmer inside them. If black still thrills you, park it lower on the body, break it with texture, add a soft-cool scarf that throws glow up to your face. The message isn’t “no black,” it’s “know black”—and what now serves the person you are.

Rebuild slowly. Keep one black dress for after-dark if you love it, then experiment with an ink suit, a pine jumper, a cocoa coat. Notice how strangers respond, how you feel in photos, how much less makeup you need. The right dark reads modern, forgiving, and quietly rich—and that’s the kind of help clothes should give.

FAQ :

• Do I have to throw out all my black?Not at all. Keep pieces you love and wear them away from the face, or break them up with texture and lighter accessories.
• Is black ever flattering after 40?Yes—often at night, in softer fabrics, and when balanced with a glowing lip or a cool-toned scarf near the face.
• What if I wear black for work?Switch to ink, charcoal, or very deep navy suits; they read just as authoritative and tend to flatter more faces.
• Can makeup fix the issue?Strategic light—a brightening concealer, satin skin, a lively lip—helps, but better neutrals mean you need less of it.
• Which colours suit silver or grey hair?Try midnight navy, soft black (washed), blue-grey, damson, and cool pine; they echo the refined coolness of silver.