These items start to glow in the dark within 10 minutes of bright light exposure (sunlight or bright indoor light, fluorescent is best) but they will glow brightest if you can "charge" them for at least an hour under bright light (longer is better). The glow is brightest for the first 3 hours and then will start to fade but it will visibly glow for up to 12 hours. Its best to maybe pop into the bathroom at a club or a lighted area to "recharge" if your glow starts to fade. The piping is all white in regular light and the glow is visible in dim light and darkness. If you want to take pictures of your outfit you will need to turn off the flash and its best to have it fully charged. When you wear this out to a club that has blacklight the glow will be much brighter and intense. The blacklight will actually "super-charge" the trim so if you didn't get a chance to leave the clothing under a bright light for a few hours before you went out it will charge at the club under the blacklight and then glow on its own like it would have if you left it under bright fluorescent lights. Icy blue tends to look more aqua under black light, glowstick green glows yellow green in black light, and glowing green glows even brighter pale green under blacklight.