THE GRIPES OF GOTH

Victoria Richards decided to only wear black this month in the run-up to Halloween, But how long would it take for the thrill of copying her hero, Morticia Addams, to wear off?

- Victoria Richards

“Darling, I always wear black. ” So says Morticia Addams - and she’s long been one of my idols. In my gothic opinion, nothing says glamour like Anjelica Huston poured into a black fishtail ballgown with swooping, draping batwing sleeves; or Catherine Zeta-Jones’s version in Wednesday with her killer curves, melancholic pale palour and blood-red lips.

But black doesn’t always have to mean Elvira - take the ubiquitous and iconic “LBD” (little black dress), worn most memorably by Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel and even Princess Diana. This year, black became the IT colour o the cool-girl summer and who can forget how Marlene Dietrich brought new meaning to the word “sexy” in a black top hat and tails in Morocco in 1930 (though I, sadly, was always a lot more like Winona Ryder playing Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice in 1988, with her split fringe, funereal clothes and wide-brimmed hat).

Black - specifically, wearing it - has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. But I also do a healthy amount of “dopamine dressing”, too; which fashion psychologist Shakaila Forbes-Bell says can both boost your mood - and make you feel powerful.

“It’s the psychological theory behind the ‘look good, feel good’ concept,” she says. “So when we feel happy, when things are going well for us, you get that rush of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which makes us feel pleasure. That’s something we constantly seek, because it makes us feel good.”

So, while black is always sophisticated and stylish - could it backfire mood-wise, and even age wise. Some stylists warn women over 40 away from black saying it can emphasise shadows and make the skin look paler. We are meant to “go navy” for a softer, kinder shade. At 44, is there such thing as “too much black”? Or could I make like Morticia and wear nothing else for an entire month? I decided to find out...