Comfort Colour & Black Out Round Up

For many women, their "comfort wear" is black.  Black yoga pants, black hoodie, black work pants, black dress, black bathing suit.  This would be problematic for a lazy weekend during Black Out Style!  Fortunately, my comfort colour is gray.  I had a wonderful weekend crafting with friends, drinking wine and enjoying delish snacks.  (The girl at the store said, "How many women are coming?" to which I replied "14 hungry men." So there.  Hand over the mozza sticks.)  I wore my comfy gray stretchy jeans, gray jammies and then today when I finally had to "dress up" to go out, I reached for my current favourite gray sweater...

 

 It's got gray, it's got sparkle, it's got lace and it was $2.50 from the Hope Missions Bargain Shoppe!

It's good to have some "friendly clothes" like the gray sweater and my J Brand denim here.  J Brand never says, I think you better put down the chips if you want to wear me out.  Nope, he (don't ask why) is always ready for me, looking good no matter what.

 Thanks for being my friend, J Brand.

(note my colourful NON-BLACK socks)

 Why do I love this $4 thrifted scarf so much?  Because it has gray in it, my comfort colour.

The bottom line is: I managed the weekend without resorting to black, head to toe!  Here's some photo evidence of my black-less style so far...

• Red Pants Rock
• Cobalt Blues
• Golden Pants Unite

I am so pleased with the response to Black Out Style!  My Friday work style SISTERS (!) passed on black just for me and looked awesome!  There's even some hallway buzz there and other teachers are joining in the challenge!  Love it!!  I'm going to list off the participants in Black Out Style so far - because it's open to commenters, tweeters, Instagrammers and bloggers, and even IRL friends, not everyone has a link BUT if you see a link, click it and head on over to support your fellow Black Out Stylistas!

• Erin of Loop Looks
• Joelle of Clothes But Not Quite
• Shannon of She Does Create - designer of the awesome foxy prize for one lucky participant!
• Life Preloved
• Heather
• Beth
• Chantel
• Kim
• Chantal Y.
• Wendy
• Chantal L.
• Adrienne
• Stephanie
• Susanne
• Denise

Did I miss anyone?!  Please let me know if I missed you because each participant will receive one entry per week for the final prize!  Looking like the odds are pretty good, relatively speaking!  Don't forget to check out Sarah's Real Life - she'll be taking up the cause soon and showing black who's boss!

It is not too late to join in the January Black Out Style Challenge!  In fact, turns out I'm pretty flexible and if you are going to do Black Out Style in any way shape or form, I want to hear from you!!  I'm not that picky about shoes and hosiery and winter boots!  If you're trying, you get an entry.  If you're trying REALLY hard, I might throw in a bonus entry or two in recognition of your dedication.  And by all means, go shopping for some non-black pieces!  There's even a 50% off sale at VV Boutique tomorrow!  I can't go unless I'm "cough cough" sick, or able to arrange a spur of the moment out of town field trip for 15 preschoolers.  Sigh.

A reminder about the apparently lax "rules" for Black Out Style:

•  wear anything but black - wearing brown or navy or charcoal is NOT cheating!
•  you are allowed two-ish passes per week - for hosiery, footwear, or a subtle pattern including black
• for every week you go without wearing black and sticking to 2 passes max, you get an entry to win the grand prize
• for every week you pass on the passes, you get a BONUS entry!

Let me know you are taking the Black Out Challenge by commenting or linking up on Twitter @VVBoutiqueStyle, Instagram @VVBoutiqueStyle, Facebook or email.  Use the hashtag #BlackOutStyle to connect with other participants.

Thank you to everyone participating in Black Out Style!!  If you continue to participate next week, let me know so I can enter you again!  And remember, it's all about the intent - to invigorate this month with colour and warmth!