Black is the smock most men reach for second, and then wear most.
The first one people buy tends to be something with pattern in it. The black one is what ends up in the bag for the funeral, the evening event, the winter wedding in a cold country, and eventually most Wednesdays. It asks nothing of the rest of your wardrobe.
A word on what "black" means in hand-woven cotton. It is not the flat jet you get from a dyed synthetic. Cotton takes dye unevenly by nature, and a hand-woven black cloth carries a slight depth to it, closer to a dark charcoal in daylight and properly black indoors. That variation is the fabric telling you it was dyed in a vat, not printed.
Black is also the ground color that shows off contrast work better than any other. Three of our four black pieces prove it in different ways.
Black Fugu Smock, $169. Heritage Classic. Plain, no contrast, no embroidery. The workhorse of the catalogue and the one to own if you own one.
Black & White Fugu Smock, $189. Signature Profile. The check is at its most legible on a black ground, so this is where you actually see the strip construction from a distance.
Black & Yellow Fugu Smock, $199. Signature Profile. Yellow against black is a northern combination that photographs far better than it sounds. It is the piece people ask about.
Black & Gold Fugu Smock, $239. Presidential Elite. Amber-gold in a kente-style check with white embroidery motifs scattered through it. Ceremonial. This is a groom's smock or a chief's guest's smock, and it takes 10 to 21 days to weave.
On dark ground colors generally: they hold their look longer. Sun fades everything eventually, but a black smock dried in shade will look the same in five years, which is not something you can say for the pale end of the range.
All One Size, fitting a 36 to 52 inch chest, free custom sizing outside it. Flat $15 worldwide, free over $350. See our size guide for full details, browse our batakari page for the naming and construction story, or read up on fugu smocks for weddings and how to care for a fugu smock.