Obituary for BlackPants

It is with style and panache that I announce the passing of BlackPants. A faithful companion for many years, BlackPants was my comfort and security, an unfailing supporter of a sadly limited opinion of myself.

BlackPants was much more than an article of clothing. It was a state of mind. It was a belief that, because I was carrying around some extra pounds on my body, I should use lacklustre clothing to camouflage them. After all, black has always been described as “slimming.” The BlackPants philosophy led me to invest heavily in garments that were various shades of, well, black! Jackets, sweaters, tops, shoes, socks – but mostly pants! I recently counted my collection and found that I had thirteen pairs of black pants – winter pants, summer pants, old mess-around-the-garden pants and new dress-up ones.

BlackPants had been steadily losing its power over the past year. The decline began when I replaced the boxy black purse with a stylish lime green bag and took the audacious step of buying a pair of white pants. The final death-knell for BlackPants was the purchase of turquoise shoes and the creation of a complete outfit free of solid neutral colours.

BlackPants is survived by many friends, including UglySweaters, OldSweats and MuMuDresses, all states of mind that plague women who dress to keep themselves unnoticed and their style unexpressed. Sadly, BlackPants will likely reincarnate in the life of a woman who doesn’t feel she’s good enough.

While I will always wear black pants because I like them and think they’re classy, I will no longer be guided by the philosophy of BlackPants. I love fashion and will wear clothes that reflect that. But the difference will be more than the way I dress – it will be the way I feel. BlackPants dressing reinforces a belief that I have nothing to offer; stylish dressing makes me want to step out and express myself.

What does your style say about you? What message are you conveying? Might it be time to look at the way you present yourself? The transformation may not happen overnight like it does on those makeover TV shows, but whenever you make a change that brings you closer to reflecting your true self, it’s a change worth making.