# Pssst: Black Clothing Doesn't Make You Look Thinner **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776 "2006-06-07T18:22:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sleeping\_mud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58f4c7/32.png) [@sleeping\_mud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping_mud)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776/21 "2006-06-08T03:05:49Z")
Black just looks good, really. I have seen a large woman once wearing hot pink spandex pants. trust me, it does make you look bigger. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776/22 "2006-06-08T10:39:53Z")
No one thinks that wearing black makes them look like Kate Moss, and no one has been “hoodwinked”. Based on casual observance, I haven’t noticed any particular correlation between being fat and being stupid or deluded. That said, black \*\*is \*\* a great minimizer (assuming a decent cut), since the eye tends to skim over it. Picture it: three foot wide ass in black pants vs. three foot wide ass in white pants. No contest. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776/23 "2006-06-08T12:02:42Z")
When I was thinner, the process for buying clothes went something like : 1. Find outfit that I think is attractive 2. Try it on 3. If I love it, buy it Now that I’m bigger, the process is 1. Go through the racks to see if I can find my size 2. If I don’t hate it, try it on 3. If it doesn’t look dreadful, buy it There are fewer nice outfits for bigger girls, and shopping can be a depressing experience where you settle for what fits rather than choosing what you actually want. With that in mind, black is a nice, safe option because it’s easy to mix and match with other pieces. It is often more flattering and attractive than the other patterns and colours that are available and (since clothes shopping is such an ordeal that I dread doing it), there’s a good chance that it will work with the colours and fashions for several years to come. Last summer I did buy a teal and brown skirt that I hardly wore; the chance of finding a blouse to match it next summer will be slim as those colours will probably not be in fashion next year. If it was black, that wouldn’t be an issue. Black may not make you appear magically thinner, but it rarely exaggerates the lumps and bumps that we wish. It is much more flattering. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776/24 "2006-06-08T12:04:09Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > rarely exaggerates the lumps and bumps that we wish _to hide_. That we wish _to hide_! ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776/25 "2006-06-08T12:12:31Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] No, they aren’t the best examples of big women clothing, but color can look good. My husband works with a very large woman who wears polka dots the size of my head. Now what the hell is SHE thinking? [/QUOTE] Is your husband Drew Carey? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776/26 "2006-06-08T12:29:52Z")
[QUOTE=phall0106] Is your husband Drew Carey? [/QUOTE] He may very well be. She’s a Mimi-like substance from what I hear. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776/27 "2006-06-08T14:31:16Z")
[QUOTE=Sierra Indigo] Just a little OT related to the link Kalhoun posted - WTF is up with giving big girls capri pants? Most larger girls I’ve seen tend to have very chunky calves/ankles. Pants that cut you off in the middle of the calf, what’s that going to do. It’s going to make your calves look bigger, that’s what. Yeesh. Capris are the bane of my existance. Thank god most of the larger size retailers over here have twigged that most big girls don’t like the cutoffs. [/QUOTE] I think what is happening here is that many overweight women won’t wear shorts and so they turn to capris because at least they cover your thighs. I know when I still had my pregnancy weight on I was reluctant to wear shorts (if there is a flattering pair of maternity shorts out there I have yet to find them). I see it in older women too, people who don’t feel comfortable in shorts wear capris in warm weather. Skirts are often more flattering and I think more women who don’t want to wear shorts should consider skirts. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776/28 "2006-06-08T14:37:50Z")
I agree that skirts are the way to go. Very few women, heavy or otherwise, look good in capris. No matter how wide you are, they still make your legs look short, and cankles afflict women of all sizes. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776/29 "2006-06-08T14:51:42Z")
[QUOTE=Velma] I think what is happening here is that many overweight women won’t wear shorts and so they turn to capris because at least they cover your thighs. I know when I still had my pregnancy weight on I was reluctant to wear shorts (if there is a flattering pair of maternity shorts out there I have yet to find them). I see it in older women too, people who don’t feel comfortable in shorts wear capris in warm weather. Skirts are often more flattering and I think more women who don’t want to wear shorts should consider skirts. [/QUOTE] This is exactly right. In fact, I’d planned to post this reply myself. I am very overweight (so much so, that if I could afford it, I’d have bariatric surgery–I easily qualify). There’s not much I’m going to look all that great in anyway, so comfort is a high priority in choosing clothing. Summer’s heat is suffocating, but shorts bare too much for my comfort and they ride up between my thighs anyway. Capris cover those lumps and bumps somewhat, do NOT ride up, and let me remain cooler than if I was wearing long pants. I do try to dress as nicely as possible under the circumstances, of course, but comfort is definitely a major consideration. Alas, as for skirts, because of my weight, I can’t cross my legs, and I find it impossible to sit with any degree of decorum while wearing them. I even wear slacks and blouses to church. Also, because of the way my belly fat is arranged, skirts slip up over my rib cage, much like a maternity skirt would. NOT comfy! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pssst-black-clothing-doesnt-make-you-look-thinner/359776.md?page=1)