Mourning Dress - Black Clothing Worn During Bereavement

The Infanta Margarita

From Bellatory:

For over 500 years, wearing black signified bereavement. In Europe and America, black was the color of mourning, worn at funerals and for some time after the death of a loved one. Originally a custom for royalty and aristocracy who were experiencing grief, mourning dress eventually became a fashion statement worn by people who wished to imitate the elite. 

Wearing black clothing has often taken on a social significance. During the Middle Ages, wealthy Spanish gentlemen wore black velvet to display status as black dyes were expensive. 

In the mid 20th century, beatniks in the United States wore black to separate themselves from the herd, as a sort of counterculture trademark. More recently, certain groups of young people wore black to distinguish themselves as Goths. 

Black clothing has long been associated with the clergy and asceticism. 

And Johnny Cash called himself The Man in Black in a song in which he claims to wear black for political and social reasons, for the poor, and people living troubled lives. (Read more.)