6 ways to wow with the colors of your clothes

(AP/Marcus Schreiber)

The colors you wear are critically important to the image you convey to others. It impacts how great you look-- whether you look healthy and bright or tired and washed out. It also impacts your mood. Bright colors make you feel lighter, darker ones can bring your mood down.

Here are a six key suggestions and facts about color to get the most impact from it when pulling your outfits together:

1. Color can help you immediately establish presence or diminish it. When dressing, ask yourself: are the colors I’m wearing flattering and enhancing? A quick way to know whether a color is too strong for you is to observe whether you notice the color before you notice your face. If so, the color is wearing you (literally). You want to be wearing the color. You always want your face, not your blouse or shirt to be the focal point.
2. Certain colors are perceived a certain way just because of how we are programmed to think about them because colors have their own energies. Yellow is innately a happy, vivacious, fun and playful color. Blue is more calming, trustworthy, conservative, professional. Green is balancing and restorative and makes the wearer seem warm and approachable. Red is commanding, bold, confident, seductive and passionate. Purple is unique, unconventional and regal. Orange is adventurous, creative and fun.The model in the photo above wears her red dress by designer Anja Gockel well so she looks confident and alluring. This is the power of color.
3. How to tell if a color is great on you? Notice if the colors in your eyes ‘pop’, or if you look enlivened or rejuvenated in the color. Or, easier still, what colors do you get the most compliments on when you wear it?
4. Changing the colors in the clothes you wear is the quickest and cheapest way to change the way you look. It costs you no more to wear an outfit in your ‘wow’ color than in your wrong color.
5. Understand each color’s energy and wear strategically to achieve the goals you want. I recently advised a client to wear a red jacket to her annual performance review because she had a challenge with conveying assertiveness and confidence. She took my advice (and then some!) and had an amazing review. She felt the difference is wearing her ‘power’ red in a jacket and thus acted accordingly.
6. Many people think they can’t wear red and this is such a mistake! Red is such a powerful color, both authoritative and alluring at the same time. Red lipstick, red dresses, red shoes, red ties—there is a reason why red is chosen by those who want to project command. It is an irresistible color and you do yourself an injustice if you skip this color in your wardrobe. Plus it is a little known fact that red can work with ANY neutral in your closet! Just be careful to find the hue that is enhancing on you. More on this in a later post.

(AP/Marcus Schreiber)