Looking for a job? Hoping to get promoted?  Want to get noticed by that special someone?  It won’t happen if your style is "basic" and you look like everyone else. Don't buy into outdated information that tells you to wear a conservative suit and accessories.

In today’s economy, we want a self starter; someone who is pro active; a mover and shaker who is worth her weight in gold.

The woman on the left wears the ubiquitous blazer-style suit. It is very ordinary in terms of both style and color. Pastels do not convey power; they make you look wimpy and passive. A single strand of pearls make you look even more demure. Save them for Sunday School.

When choosing a suit, look for a style that is distinctive and in a style that flatters a woman’s hourglass figure. Dark colors convey authority, and you have many more options than a man has. Black, charcoal and navy are “their” colors, but you can branch out into deep shades of royal purple and royal blue. True red and cherry red, fuchsia, magenta and dark emerald green or racing green are also good color choices.

Kim Kardashian looks elegant and toned in her beautiful white pantsuit, worn on her recent European trip. It makes her waist look slim, and the padded shoulders of the white top balance her hips and show off an hourglass figure. This is the kind of look she might consider adopting. It's covertly sexy rather than overtly sexy and it looks very classy.

By contrast, the wrap dress makes her waistline look larger and her bosom look more matronly than sexy. This is possibly the most unflattering garment I've seen her wear.

President Obama was in top form last night, and particularly in the arena of image. This is the way the President should dress at all times. The dark suit conveys power and authority, the white shirt is formality but also very elegant and refined. And there is only one tie that is more powerful than a red tie, and that is a dark red tie!

By contrast, Vice President Biden's image was a washout; and the baby blue tie of Speaker  Boehner was definitely low impact and not suited for an occasion  as significant as the State of the Union address.

It's time this boring tie was retired forever. Send it back where it belongs:  the country club dinner or the Deep South where pastels are de rigeur.

It''s no wonder this color has been dubbed Royal Blue.  It is one of the loveliest colors Mrs. Obama has worn, and she looked exquisite last night at the State of the Union address. I'd like to see the neckline an inch or two lower, however, as the proportions would be more harmonious and flattering.

The man on the left is older, giving him a slight edge, because of implied experience. However, he wears an invisible tie, taking away any edge he may have had. A man’s tie is his power tool, and it’s also what distinguishes him from other men in suits and ties. The white shirt and “matching” tie look blah and make him appear indistinguishable.

In reality, neither man looks powerful. The younger man wears a pastel pink tie, and while it’s not invisible, it doesn’t suggest power or authority. He has a “fashion” look as opposed to a “boardroom” look. He could be a museum curator or work in an art gallery. It’s a refined and pleasant look, but it suggests an artistic streak rather than a power look. The darker the color, the higher the authority, so the pale grey suit needs a power tie to convey any authority.

Anyone who is a serious presidential candidates ought to wear a white shirt in a political debate, and both candidates did. However, wearing a blah blue tie that blends in with a man's suit is not a good choice. It suggests passivity rather than power. A red tie is symbolic of energy, enterprise, courage and action. On the negative side, it can also be impulsiveness, so Newt might need to consider wearing a yellow tie at the next debate. Yellow is symbolic of mental energy, so it's good for thinking on your feet.

My advice to Romney:  to look more powerful, wear a dark red tie tie that is close to burgundy. For a formal TV debate, I would suggest small repeating patterns like tiny dots in an off white color or blue. Solid-color ties often look unimaginative. For less formal occasions burgundy with stripes would be appropriate.Lastly, I'd suggest he let his hair grow just a bit fuller at the sides. It is trimmed so closely that it makes his face appear quite thin. There would be better balance and harmony with fuller hair at the sides.

Candidate Rick Santorum's Grandpa Sweater

Rick Santorum needs an image consultant. No matter where you live, no matter how cold it is, you don't want to wear an "old fuddy duddy" granddpa garment like the one above if you want to be taken seriously.  Not only is the sweater wimpy, the color is also.

While this style still lingers on in parts of Europe, it simply isn't a look men should emulate. Any serious political candidate needs to look presidential, and this is the polar opposite of a presidential look.

There are a lot of things wrong with this picture, but here's the most serious error of all, and it has to do with focal point. The face must always remain the focal point, and something is wrong if we're compelled to look down at your feet.

The woman on the left wears boots that look so dated and clumsy that they catch the eye. The woman on the right wears bright yellow shoes that don't seem to belong to the rest of her outfit, so they also catch the eye and will command attention intermittently. Not a good idea if you're engaged in serious communication or negotiations.

What else is wrong?

Look at the woman on the left and you’ll see that she wears no makeup, no accessories and has stringy, unprofessional hair. Her skirt is too long, so it makes her look dowdy, and her blouse is uninteresting and powerless. Additionally, boots often look cumbersome when worn with a skirted  business suit. Check your mirror to see whether or not your boots become the focal point or if your face does.

The woman on the right looks professional and dynamic, even though the outfit she’s wearing is literally “a dime a dozen.”  When that’s the case always set yourself apart from others by having great accessories – a brooch, bold earrings or a bold Omega necklace, for example. This woman’s hair looks very professional, and the woman on the left could take a cue from her and pull her hair back when she’s having a bad hair day or a bad cut. Black classic pumps would be better than the yellow ones.

This man has a lot going for him. He is handsome as well as slim and toned, so he looks great in his dark navy blue suit and slim-fit shirt in French Blue. However, there are a few things that need tweaking.

First of all, the belt buckle is too large and sporty looking. A classic belt that is worn with a business suit (see photo above) should be more discrete than the one our executive wears, and it catches the eye because it’s so shiny and large. On the positive side, his tie falls at just the right distance. However, he’s committed a classic faux pas with his tie.

Our executive’s tie would be more effective if it had a pattern, because a gentleman never wears a solid color tie when his suit and shirt are also in solids. It comes across as unimaginative and smacks of a uniform of some kind rather than the look of an executive. Of course, he could wear a blue and white striped shirt and solve the “blandness” problem.

The best solution, however, is a tie in a contrasting color; yellow with blue stripes or small repeating patterns. Another good choice would be a tie in the red family, including, magenta, burgundy, plum or raspberry (see raspberry tie in photo above).

Lastly, in terms of body language, this “gunslinger” pose can be construed as confrontational; but it can also have an element of suggestiveness. It depends upon whether you are a man or a woman who is encountering this man.

Kate Middleton, the enchanting wife of Prince William, has a very good eye for style, and she knows what suits her. Nevertheless, every now and then she picks something that doesn’t flatter her perfect hourglass figure. Most often, Kate shows off her tiny waist. However, the suit on the right makes her figure appear so straight that she looks almost boyish.

Kate is known to prefer garments with V-necklines, perhaps because they accentuate her slim waistline. However, the rounded cowl collar of the two-piece suit looks matronly. The “sloping” hemline of the skirt also misses the mark, because it creates a rounded arc, which makes the young Duchess appear bow legged.

Cowl collars are difficult for women of most ages. If you’re past forty, you definitely want to avoid them, because of their inherent matronly look. Wearing a cowl collar if you’re under thirty may result in looking as if you’ve borrowed your mother’s jacket. If you’ve got jackets with cowl collars, have your seamstress remove the collar and turn your jacket into a collarless V-neck design.

If your legs are as slim and shapely as Kate Middleton’s, stick to pencil skirts so you can show them off. Fuller skirts slim the legs, and they’re a good choice for women who want their legs to look slimmer.