Research at California State University reveals that the fair-haired are rejected more often for jobs and paid less for top managerial positions. This may come as no surprise to you if you are aware of the fact that darker colors convey more authority than lighter ones. And this includes hair as well as clothing colors.

But this doesn't mean that all the blondes out there have to dye their hair black in order to get ahead. What it does mean, however, is that you must dress more authoritatively than brunettes. You must have a more high-fashion, sophisticated hairstyle, and you need to wear more authoritative accessories. Above all, your clothing colors and styles must be more dynamic and sophisticated than your dark-haired counterparts.

Unfortunately, the typical blonde does just the opposite. She wears colors that match her superfi cial appearance- colors such as pastel pink, peach, and mauve. And her hairdo is usually soft and feminine looking to go with her soft fairhair appearance. Her earring of choice is often a discreet pearl or gemstone stud. If the Cal State research had included fair-haired subjects who had gone to a good image consultant, I am certain the results would not have been the same.

Think of all the blondes you know. Do they have soft, feminine hairstyles? Do they usually wear pinks and other soft pastels? When I pick up popular magazines with photos of celebrities, it's what I typically see. At the August Emmy Awards in Hollywood, most of the blonde actresses were in pastels. Even though their gowns were spectacular, their personas paled (pun intended) in comparison to their counterparts in purple and red.

If you are fair-haired and wear pastels such as pink, consider this. Pink is, indeed a soft, feminine color, but pink exists in dynamic "power" versions as well as passive pastel shades. Try wearing fuchsia, magenta, or shocking pink for a few days and see what happens. Don't wear your new "power" color with your old makeup, however, or your fuchsia or magenta garment will wear you. Instead, go for harmony with your new colors and wear a brighter shade of pink lipstick. If you can muster up the courage, go for a fuchsia lipstick. Maybelline has a very soft fuchsia, Far East Fuchsia, which is somewhat translucent, so it won't look too strong.

Keep in mind that it takes a week to get used to a "bright" lipstick when you've been wearing the popular browntoned shades. However, it only takes a day to get used to compliments. Pink is pretty. And it is symbolic of love in color psychology, so it is actually the perfect lipstick color for fair-haired women. Brown tones, in fact, do not complement the fair-haired. Many of the original "color" systems advocated pastels and other muted colors for the fair-haired. It sounded so logical that no one doubted that it worked. Experience and practice have shown that pastel hair and skin need contrast in order to be shown off effectively. Pastels do just the opposite. They produce a monotonous, monochromatic boring look. Like Communism, the original color systems sounded great on paper, but in reality, they simply don't produce positive results.

Before you toss all your pastel garments, keep in mind that a necklace or a scarf can be used to create contrast at the neckline and prevent you from blending into your clothing and looking invisible. An expert can help you save most garments in the wrong colors with other exciting ideas as well. For example, consider removing the collar only of your jacket, replacing it with a new collar in a high-contrast color. For example, a pastel pink or soft peach jacket could have a new navy blue collar. Navy blue buttons could replace the old buttons, and then your jacket would look much more interesting.

It should be noted that two popular colors, yellow and white, are often judged to be pastels, but they do not produce the negative results that true pastels do. These colors result in just enough contrast with the fair-haired to make a difference. Cream and ivory are not as effective, nor is a very washed out yellow.

In corporate workshops over the past eighteen months, I have presented photos of four women, and I have asked the audience to identify the one with the most power. Three women have dark hair. One woman is a blonde. The blonde always gets the votes. She is wearing fuchsia lipstick, bold earrings, and a bold necklace. The brunettes are wearing no accessories and very pale lipstick. I rest my case.

 
Sandy Dumont, THE Image Architect is an image consultant and professional speaker based in Virginia Beach, with 30 years of international and national experience helping individuals and Fortune 500 companies improve their image. She conducts customized Branding for People™workshops on a regular basis.
For more information, visit www.theimagearchitect.com or call 757/627-6669. 

To view the original article in Tidewater Women, please visit here

by Sandy Dumont, THE Image Architect © 2006
Originally published in Tidewater Women, October 2006