Black clothes that look brown?!?!

[kclee6337]

I have a recital coming up and I wanted to get some new clothes for it. My last recital I wore a black shirt which looks black. anyone seeing it would say its black. However up on stage it looked almost brown, while my pants which were also black. looked black on stage.

My question is why do some black clothes look brown on stage? I want to buy a new shirt to prevent this but I'm scared i'll get something that will turn brown on stage. Is it something in the materials?

My shirt wasn't old or anything it was my first time wearing it so its not like it was faded.

Please help!!!

[j_menz]

Different dyes look different under different lighting conditions.  Black and white are especially prone to this, though all colours may be affected.

The only way to be sure to avoid it is to have everything you want to match made from the same cloth, or to have (intentionally) different colours for the shirt and pants.