# The new black **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862 "2005-07-17T06:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/1 "2005-07-17T06:37:55Z")
Every once in a while you hear about some color being declared “the new black”. I think I’ve heard grey, brown, blue and pink so declared, but that list is probably not complete. Where do these declarations come from? Does anyone keep track of them? When they run out of other colors, will they declare black to be the new black? ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/2 "2005-07-17T13:19:56Z")
I, for one, have no earthly idea what the heck you are talking about. 😕 [sup] **but maybe its just me** [/sup] ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/3 "2005-07-17T13:38:27Z")
I would swear that we did this one before. But hard to search for. Fashion magazines are the source of the term. I’ll try my newspaper databases to give you an idea of time frame. Back in a bit. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/4 "2005-07-17T13:47:46Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > When they run out of other colors, will they declare black to be the new black? Whoa, dude! Are you prescient, or what? Just searched and found an article from the NYTimes, 2001, by Penelope Green. Entitled…wait for it… **Black Is the New Black**. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/5 "2005-07-17T14:17:49Z")
I just thought it’s bizarre than in Ancient Chinese the word for white was _ **bhlak** _. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/6 "2005-07-17T14:52:42Z")
Wait a minute. What was the _old_ black? Is this about all those artsy types that wear all black? Or what? ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/7 "2005-07-17T15:00:18Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Whoa, dude! Are you prescient, or what? > > Just searched and found an article from the NYTimes, 2001, by Penelope Green. Entitled…wait for it… > **Black Is the New Black**. Hehe, I was flipping through a magazine in the drugstore yesterday that declared, “No worries ladies, this fall, black is the new black!”. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/8 "2005-07-17T15:13:02Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Whoa, dude! Are you prescient, or what? > > Just searched and found an article from the NYTimes, 2001, by Penelope Green. Entitled…wait for it… > **Black Is the New Black**. Well, he wouldn’t really be _prescient_ if the article was published four years ago… Merchandise-arily, [blood is the new black](http://www.bloodisthenewblack.com/). Politically, [pink is the new black](http://www.miaminewtimes.com/Issues/2005-06-30/news/kulchur.html). And if you really want to go insane figuring out what the new black is, check [this](http://mpt.net.nz/archive/2004/02/17/black) out. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/9 "2005-07-17T15:28:15Z")
The thing is, all the people who are proclaiming things to be the new black invariably are wearing black, because damned if _they’re_ gonna wear periwinkle and chartreuse. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/10 "2005-07-17T15:33:40Z")
The first time I heard a variation of this phrase was in the movie _Josie and the Pussycats_, which in you haven’t seen it, satirized this type of fashion announcement. They had one of the characters saying somtehing like “orange is the new pink”. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/11 "2005-07-17T15:40:02Z")
The phrase is kinda a joke but color forecasting is an interesting topic. I watched a fascinating show on TLC or HGTV (called “The Color Czars” possibly) about the people who pick the upcoming “hot” colors for a season. I’d always wondered how some years _everything_ (even household things like brooms) is deep jewel tones and the next year hot pinks and oranges are what’s in. It’s in manufacturer’s interest to coordinate the colors of their products so they don’t wind up the odd man out. Anyway, [here’s the palette](http://www.pantone.com/products/products.asp?idSubArea=0&idArea=14&showNav=10&idArticle=716) for Fall 2005. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/12 "2005-07-17T15:40:12Z")
For years I thought the phrase was made popular by the musical _Funny Face_, but now I’m not sure if the “Think Pink” campaign in the movie ever uses the phrase “pink is the new black.” It’s not in the lyrics to the “Think Pink” song, and I can’t remember if it’s in the spoken dialogue. Well, the concept is there at any rate, that a designer is declaring a certain color to be “the color” for the next season. When you see it in fashion articles now, it’s an observation of what fashion critics saw on the runway at the launch shows. It used to refer more specifically to eveningwear, with the premise that black is generally the standard default for evening gowns, like a “when in doubt, go with black” thing. Now it’s used for all types of clothing, not just gowns. If the shows in a given season are using a lot of, say, pink, you’ll see the “pink is the new black” in the fashion pages. Everyone knows it’s a cliche, it’s just shorthand for "the designers are featuring a lot of pink in this year’s collections. Sometimes, the color seems to catch on in a big way in the industry, and you really do feel like you see that color show up everywhere, from the carpet at the Academy Awards to the t-shirts sold at Target, and everything in between. Other times, after the big splash at the fashion shows and all the pronoucements that such and such color is the new black, it doesn’t turn out to have much of a impact at all. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/13 "2005-07-17T16:05:40Z")
Well, _some_ of it comes from the Patsy Stone Clone fashion & beauty editor at my magazine (and, like Kay Thompson in _Funny Face_, “she wouldn’t be caught dead!”). I consider it part of my job description to be the office Eve Arden (or Thelma Ritter, depending on how I look that day). So last month when a fashion piece breathlessly declared that “ **Gold is the new Beige!** ” I dropped the article onto Patsy’s desk and deadpanned, “Are you sure we should let the public in on this? There might be a panic.” [P.S. In Civil Rights circles, “Gay is the new Black”] ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/14 "2005-07-17T16:22:12Z")
Oh, girlfriend… haven’t you heard? “Declaring things to be the new _pink_” is the new “Declaring things to be the new black.” 🆒 Also: monkeys are the new robots, and pirates are the new ninjas. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/15 "2005-07-17T17:03:02Z")
Searching Google News for “black is the new black” [http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b3\_2steve30jun30,0,3717159.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed](http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b3_2steve30jun30,0,3717159.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed) > [@](#): > > Adorned in a sea of black tuxedos and dresses (evidently black is the new black), the high society, creme de la creme and movers and shakers of Quakertown gathered Saturday night at the train station at Broad and Front streets for the Celebration Ball, one of the highlights of the borough’s ongoing 150th anniversary celebration. [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story\_page/0,5744,15832229%5E38856,00.html](http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15832229%255E38856,00.html) > [@](#): > > Curtis’s classics Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill appeal to the optimists in the Allen audience. Especially women who would like something more in a man than jokes about how black is the new black, but only when it applies to outlooks, not attire. [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/r/?page=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/news/news\_story.php(que)id=121564](http://www.computerandvideogames.com/r/?page=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/news/news_story.php(que)id=121564) > [@](#): > > So will your standard black PSP be looking out of date anytime soon? Well, as Sony told us these reports remain speculation at the moment, but we wouldn’t bet against them. Anyway, black is the new black. And imagine the fingerprints on a silver PSP… > **[Yahoo Finance - Stock Market Live, Quotes, Business & Finance News](https://finance.yahoo.com/)** > > At Yahoo Finance, you get free stock quotes, up-to-date news, portfolio management resources, international market data, social interaction and mortgage rates that help you manage your financial life. > [@](#): > > This Fall, black is the new black, old Hollywood flair is back and skirts are getting even more voluminous. But cleavage is always a girl’s best accessory and Maidenform has taken it to the extreme. No nips required, no tucks necessary. Maidenform introduces the new EXTREME push, the latest level in its Feeling Sexy™ push-up bra collection. > **[Trusted Reviews | Independent tech news and reviews](https://www.trustedreviews.com/)** > > Tech news and expert reviews of the latest mobile phones, laptops, cameras, gadgets and home appliances. We'll help you buy the right product for you > [@](#): > > Plextor: Black Is The New Black > Black is back, baby! That’s the word from Plextor today as it roles out two new drives that abandon its usual silver finish. Black is the old cliché, baby! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/16 "2005-07-17T21:24:14Z")
Thanks **delphica** for that thorough answer. I hadn’t realized that it originally refered to evening gowns. Doing a bit of googling, I find that green is the most common “new black” (8980 googlits), followed by pink (8540) red (6540) black (5880) and grey/gray (1130). But just about every color I tried (except periwinkle) had at least a couple hits. Of course, most of those were jokes, but then everything of the form “X is the new Y” is sort of a joke these days. > [@Eve](#): > > [P.S. In Civil Rights circles, “Gay is the new Black” Maybe so, but straight seems to be the new gay… OK, followup question: What’s the origin of the phrase? Who was the first to declare “X is the new black”? And what was the X they so declared? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/17 "2005-07-17T22:05:24Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > [P.S. In Civil Rights circles, “Gay is the new Black”] You know, I always click your links… ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/18 "2005-07-18T04:01:52Z")
It’s an oxymoron is what it is. Black is what it is because it is the default, the perpetual standby, the bedrock that remains solid while the whining breeze of fashion flitters round it. A statement by fashionistas that some particular shade is the new black is a self defeating statement. If it’s new, it ain’t black. Some use the statement with knowing irony, some trendoids seem to think it meaningful, which may well tell you something about them. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/19 "2005-07-18T11:07:47Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Whoa, dude! Are you prescient, or what? > > Just searched and found an article from the NYTimes, 2001, by Penelope Green. Entitled…wait for it… > **Black Is the New Black**. I want my baaaaaybeeee baaaaaack. well **someone** had to say it ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862/20 "2005-07-18T12:29:31Z")
So…this Autumn we shall all be wearing nasty 70s wallpaper colours. Or not. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-black/312862.md?page=2)