Since i came to the uk, i have been seeing people on the streets of london wearing no color other than black. this was intriguing me so much that i started to look for answers, started clicking pictures of people on the busiest streets of london, observing people. Consequently i came up with my research question:

WHY DOES THE COLOR "black" CONSTITUTE A MAJOR PART OF THE WARDROBE OF PEOPLE IN U.K.?

üEnvironmental conditions- heat absorbent color

üDifferent cultural associations

üCan be combined with any color

üWidely accepted color

üAvailability in retail stores

üClassic color- goes well for most occasions

üSuits any body type

üFashion forecast- latest trend

üBlack clothes can be easily teamed up with any color accessory

üMakes one look good- safe color to wear

üDoesn’t get soiled easily 

RESEARCH STRATEGY

A. INTERNET:

•Questionnaires and Surveys – to know people’s personal opinions and views

           1. What percentage of your wardrobe consists of black clothes?

           2. Do you prefer black over any other color while choosing your daily wear?

           3. Do you think black is the safest color to wear at most occasions?

•Websites

                  a) Historical and current research – origin, importance of black in the past and present

                   b) Cultural analysis

                   c) Psychological research

•Blogs

•Articles

•Trend Research- past, present and future

B. Books on color psychology, fashion trends, historical research on fashion, etc.

C. Taking photographs of people at various places.

D. Recording people on the streets and observing their clothes.

E. Experiment : Giving people a varied selection of  garments and testing their wardrobe choices.   

It was very difficult for me to be able to click pictures at the oxford street because of people walking too fast and always in a rush. There were so many people who refused to get clicked, while there were some who loved to get clicked and a couple even gave their e-mail id to me to mail them their picture. When I couldn't take pictures the way I wanted to, I  decided that taking a video of the street would be the best idea to capture as many people as I could. So I recorded a number of videos and narrowed down to some of the best I could keep for further reserach on this topic.