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Camel, tan, brown, khaki - no matter what you call it, this color shouldn't be worn by anyone with greying hair. First of all, the two colors are jarring when seen together.

Secondly, this color very often makes the skin look yellow as well as very washed out. Check it out in the mirror. Put on your camel garment and then drape yourself with a navy blue blazer, for example. When you remove the navy blue garment, you'll see what I mean!

Even men with darker skins need to avoid this "irresistible" color. Let's face, it - it says country weekend, so who wouldn't want that?  Unfortunately, it usually makes your skin look yellow, too.  Doctors agree with Sandy Dumont that yellow skin is a sign of hepatitis, jaundice or old age.

Just like a white leather handbag, skin yellows with age.  Doctors feel concern when they see yellow skin. Designers and makeup artists think yellow skin is normal – even good. We are so accustomed to seeing yellow reflected on faces from our clothing, that we also think it is normal. It isn’t!

You may get compliments for your jacket when you wear a camel sport coat, but YOU don’t get the compliment.  Begin to take note of the times when people tell you that you look good – and the occasions when people tell you they love your suit, jacket, etc.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in my city, Norfolk, Virginia today, and it's so exciting! She'll be speaking to the World Affairs Council, of which I was a member for many years.

This is one of my favorite photos of Mrs. Clinton. She looks dynamic and powerful in red - and also attractive. Love her hair this length, and I wish she would keep it this way.

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A recent survey taken by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) revealed that 56% of the respondents said that they wore black to work most of the time. Eight per cent wore gray, brown or another neutral. Only 1.61% said they wore something bright most of the time.

The four women in the top center  photo above are dressed nearly identically:  black suit, white shirt, and black heels. There is nothing to differentiate one from the other. They could all be members of the secretarial pool or administrative assistants. None of them appear to be executives.

If black is your "uniform" for the office, you need to know a few things so you won't look like a nondescript  robot.

First, wear lipstick when you wear black. Black is the darkest color of all, so it will wear you unless you have even the tiniest amount of "bright" color nearby. It's like lighting one candle in a dark room and, voila, the darkness is gone. When you wear black, the severity is gone. Compare the two women with lipstick in the top photo to the two women in the bottom photo who wear no lipstick. In the bottom photo, the woman in the center stands out. She looks polished, professional and highly credible.  The two women who flank her look washed out and ordinary.

Of course, hair is also a factor when it comes to conveying an image of authority or credibility. If you have long hair, make sure it doesn't hang limply; otherwise, pull it back at the nape of the neck - not in a ponytail.

Second, if you want to augment your power, add a pair of bold earrings, or a bold necklace or brooch.

If black is your office uniform, make certain you look like a general, not a PFC.

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Those blue ties simply don't make a statement - except to say "I don't want to rock the boat."  Those pastel shades of blue are meant to pacify and calm. Furthermore, wearing a blue tie with a blue suit is simply unimaginative. Think about a yellow tie, any color in the red family so your tie pops rather than blending. Or maybe you both want to blend.

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Where's Your Tie?

Like love and marriage, a white dress shirt and a tie go together like a horse and carriage. And you shouldn't have one without the other. Unless you're Tom Ford in a sexy ad.
My advice, Mr. Romney:  plan ahead. If you're at a place where you know you'll get down & dirty and ditch your tie, wear a French blue shirt, a blue and white striped shirt, or a blue and white windowpane plaid shirt. Especially if you want to look cool and friendly. And they will all look classy.

It just doesn't look right to see a formal white shirt without a tie. Remove your tie and suddenly something looks out of sync. Not so with less formal shirts.

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Gwyneth Paltrow and Octavia Spencer both looked spectacular in white. Gwyneth's understated ensemble from Tom Ford was just perfect for her. It's got the look of Old Money. Octavia's gown was both spectacular and classy. These women prove that everyone can wear white if you get the makeup right!

Viola Davis and Glen Close both opted for green. Viola's gown was simply exquisite, and the color set off her beautiful coppery-pink skin. Glen's ensemble was the color of Old Money - Jaguar green and it was sexy and classy, that sweet spot that is best described as sweet and sour - a marriage of  formal Spencer jacket and delicious and feminine fishtale gown.

Tina Fey chose another regal color, deep royal purple - and she looked very elegant in her Carolina Herrera gown. What a bevy of beauties who dared to wear something other than blush pink.

P.S. - Next year, wear a little more lipstick. It makes the FACE pop more.

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Don't Dress to Look Invisible Ever Again

Last night, watching the Oscars in Hollywood, I was struck by the number of beautiful women who made themselves look nearly invisible because of the colors they wore. This is the one night you don't want to look blah. You want to stand out!

If you want to own the room when you enter it, it's not by wearing clothes that match your superficial appearance that you'll do it. The secret? Contrast. Pastels have little or no contrast with pale skin. White and true yellow are not pastels, so they enable you to pop.

Bright colors alone are not the secret. Some bright colors are flashy and some are classy. Ordinarily, orange is in the flashy arena, but Michele Williams chose a refined style; plus her innocent pixie look and demure jewelry keeps her in the classy and refined arena.

Of course, black is the ultimate color for contrast, and Melanie Griffiths proves that the old color analysis books and systems were wrong when they said blondes can't wear black. But, yes, Melanie - you, too, would look even better with a little brighter shade of lipstick. I'd recommend a clear bright fuchsia.

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Last night at the Oscars, as expected, I saw many celebrities and stars wearing pale "blush" colors, and they aren't doing themselves any favors. When you have pale skin, you make yourself look even paler. And when you forgo lipstick for the so-called "natural" look of today, you even begin to look sickly.

Too many celebrities are still buying into the old theory that you wear colors that match or harmonize with your superficial appearance. You'll see three redheads above, and one with red highlights. Everyone of them except Emma Stone, in cherry red, looks pale, pasty, passive and close to invisible. Pardon the pun, but they pale in comparison to Stone in her luscious cherry red gown. It's an old wives tale that redheads can't wear red and should stick to orange. Orange is usually their worst color, because it makes the complexion pale even more.

That why Kristin Wigg and Melissa McCarthy (at left) look so terribly pale. They are wearing the most pastel versions of orange -  dusky peach/apricot. Beatrice Bejo, far right,  wears a lovely shade of seafoam green, but it's too pale to begin to make decent contrast with her skin - and her face is nearly colorless. A bit of lipstick would have helped a lot for all three women in pastels.

And incidentally, if you wear a strong color, it will wear you if you don't wear lipstick!  Lipstick is to women what a power tie is to men.

Stay tuned and I'll open your eyes to more Hollywood color mistakes.

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Apparently, fashion Guru Tim Gunn hasn't updated himself about color. A lot of famous designers are in the same boat, so it's no surprise.

The first rule of color is that you never match your clothing to your superficial appearance, or you'll blend into your garments and look washed out. So, if you have grey or silver hair, never wear grey garments. You'll look   - well, grey. Compare the two photos of Tim Gunn; you’ll see that he looks pretty pasty on the left. This look suggests anemic rather than terrific. He's much better in the photo on the right.

However, I would suggest glasses with thin black frames to really show off his silver hair; plus, they would look far more sophisticated. His current glasses look a bit clinical.

If your hair is grey rather than silver, wearing grey is even worse. You'll run the risk of looking old and grey, sad and grey, tired and grey. You could say that grey is born negative, because it inspires expressions such as a “grey area” or a “grey lie” -  neither of which is positive.

If you checked out the red carpet during the Oscars, you saw many actresses matching their superficial appearance, as Tim Gunn did -  wearing garments that matched their hair/eye/skin - as was suggested in early books on color. That information has been superseded through extensive research and experience. Check out my blog tomorrow to see what I mean.

Here’s what you (and Tim) need to know.

Think CONTRAST. If you have silver or grey, wear a navy blue or black suit, and then you’ll be judged worldly, sophisticated and elegant. Don’t wear a brown, tan, camel or beige suit or jacket ever, because it will make the hair look drab. It just doesn’t go with silver hair, because brown is country weekend, while silver hair needs a distinguished, elegant color  to bring out its sophistication. For example, black tuxedos and silver hair are just made for each other!

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It may seem unfair when the press takes hundreds of words to talk about Secretary Clinton's hair. When it comes to image, the devil is in the details. You get one thing wrong and that's all they notice. That having been said, the sum total is greater than all its parts. And that sum total is the YOU that is projected to the world at a glance. When you get all those little details right, all they notice is you and how wonderful you look. They don't notice your hair unless it just doesn't seem right. They don't notice your suits unless they could be a little more flattering.  It's not fair, but that's the way humans are. It goes back to our DNA from caveman days. Whenever things are out of sync or just not like they usually are, we're on high alert.

So what's a woman to do? My advice is to get a perfectly-cut, understated hairdo that complements the shape of the face. My favorite style for Mrs. Clinton was the modified bob that was curled under slightly. It frames the face in a gentle "C" curve, so the face looks oval.

The problem with a flip is that it always makes the face look fuller. That's because of the round line formed by the flip. When it comes to long hair, age doesn't matter. However, the flip always looks a little cutesie to me. Mrs. Clinton has lovely hair and it should be shown off. Long hair is fine, except in a flip. I think she's better in medium-length hair because it suits her face shape better.