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Let
Color Work for You
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*A
monthly column devoted to helping women and men
be their best and most confident in any situation.
Topics include dress, body language, attitude and
etiquette.
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Victoria Seitz, PhD
Image Expert |
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Are
you feeling blue or are you feeling green with envy? Color
is probably the most important element in the design of
any product, service, institution and your image. Color
choice reveals personality, marks important events and
distinguishes one entity from another.
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In
shopping for apparel is it often the first thing that catches
our attention. So how can we use color to enhance our image.
Here
are some tips so that you can wear color to your advantage.
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1. |
If you are timid or shy, wear red or strong colors
and others will perceive you as more assertive while you are
still being you. |
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2. |
When considering color for business, conservative is
best - especially when meeting a new client - don't overwhelm
them. |
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3. |
Avoid white except in shirts and blouses for work.
Save the white stuff for your time, particularly white shoes.
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4. |
If you want to wear fashion brights, wear them in small
doses. |
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5. |
Choose muted pastels as opposed to pinks, baby blues
and yellow in business apparel and as a part of your ensemble
rather than the whole outfit. |
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6. |
Black is best for formal attire as in suits and for
evening events. We can't say enough about the little black
cocktail dress for women or the black suit or blazer for men.
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7. |
Navy makes everyone look good and communicates individual
authority. It's great for classic suiting as well as sportswear.
The nautical look has always and will continue to been in
fashion. |
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8. |
Beige and gray elicit a tailored and professional image
and says "I'm one of you." These are great colors to incorporate
into your outfit with prospective clients because you're perceived
as approachable. |
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9. |
Red, green and blue in assorted tints and shades are
suitable for all occasions; however, straight green is not
appropriate for the work place. Try olive, teal, forest/hunter,
or sage. |
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10. |
If you love yellow, try shades or tints of it such
as gold and mustard. |
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11. |
If you want to appear smaller incorporate dark, cool
and dull colors and textures. Dull textures absorb the light
like wool or cotton. Some very slimming colors include black,
navy, olive, violet, charcoal gray, chocolate brown, plum,
eggplant and burgundy. |
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12. |
If you want an area to appear larger choose light,
bright and/or shiny colors and textures. Shiny fabrics reflect
light making an image appear larger. |
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13. |
If you want to appear taller, wear colors from the
same color family such as blue, navy and teal. Otherwise known
as a monochromatic color scheme, color is wavelength and when
wearing two different colors, the eye has to stop briefly
to adjust to the different wavelength. When wearing colors
from the same color family the eye doesn't have to adjust.
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14. |
Find out what colors look best on you. If you happen
to have an olive complexion, as do most people, pure hues
such as red, navy, blue, purple and white look best on you.
If you have a peachy complexion consider camel, periwinkle,
yellow, peach, olives and navy as some of your choices. What
matters most is the color next to your skin around your face
so for men, your shirt is a big factor. For women, they can
wear a blouse that doesn't complement their complexion but
mask it with a scarf around the neck. |
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15. |
Finally, when it comes to color, wear the color that
makes YOU feel good (yes, when you are feeling blue - wear
blue) and ones you receive complements on. It may not be the
best one for your complexion but it is the best one for YOU.
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[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Victoria
Seitz, PhD is a professor of Marketing at California State
University, San Bernardino and is author of Your Executive
Image, AdamsMedia, Inc, 2000 and Power Dressing, DonJon
Publishing, 1991. In addition to teaching, Dr. Seitz was a fashion
coordinator for Burdines, Florida and in retail management for
Saks Fifth Avenue, Phoenix, AZ. Clients of Dr. Seitz have included
Abbott Laboratories, Northern Telecom, Texas Instruments, Yellow
Freight Systems, Sally Beauty Company, the United States Armed
Forces, Travellife magazine, YWCA and Accountants Overload, in
addition to law firms, hotels, newspapers, universities, banks,
credit unions, national and local community and professional organizations
nationwide.
To learn more about Dr. Seitz please visit her website at www.cbpa.csusb.edu/vseitz.
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