By Tashia Rahl

Many men and women call me to advise them on what to wear for this very romantic day… technically – evening. People often want to take their image to a new height on this day…of course, some women prefer to wear red or pink – my advice is to only employ these colors if they flatter your skin and hair [both] and that you actually see the color representing your personality. Red is indeed a power-love color but not necessarily to the extent that it will alter your essential nature ~

Here’s the bottom line: give 5 minutes of thought to the following [men & women!]

• What color are your eyes..? – wearing a shirt/top/dress that brings out your eye color is what truly brings out an important part of your face and how you communicate.

• Is your skin tone ‘flat’ or ‘bright’…contrast it with the hue of color. For instance, my husband has Irish skin…quite dry. His more flattering hues and fabrics are brighter and shinier than dark deflated neutrals. Hues depict shades of brightness… dull blues contain grey, and brighter blues have less grey [more ‘red’] making the blue “bright”. On top of that, there are dull threads and ‘less dull’ threads: fabrics with sheen. [not saying to wear shiny fabric, boys]

• What color are your teeth? If they’re a little on the yellow or grey side, avoid greys and yellows in the shirts/tops/dresses that frame your face. Contrast instead with dark colors: navy, royal, emerald, red, violet etc..

• Posture: this can make or break how you present yourself to the world! What is more unpleasant than being with someone who basically is telling the world…[think Eeyore from Winnie the pooh voice] ‘woe is me, I’m not special, I’m miserable…’ People don’t think about it but poor posture conveys how you feel about yourself …and the date that you have chosen!!! So, hold your head up high, lengthen your neck, throw those shoulders back and walk as if that book on your head could never fall!

• Necklines…I could go on for two pages. Starting with a plain button-down shirt – if your neck is short and thick – avoid high neck bands [the part between the collar and the shirt-body]…also avoid spread collars and anything that is even nominally tight. If you have a thin long neck, maybe opt for a crewneck or collared light-weight sweater.. If you have a really big chest cavity or bust, avoid crewnecks…and fyi boatnecks will widen out your shoulders and chest. If you are broad, in general, opt for narrow v-neck lines as opposed to wide scoop necks. Just know that there are options; and if you pay attention, you will see that each either complements, or, act as a detriment to your features.

It goes without saying that good hygiene is the most important part of the image. That means if you have smelly feet: consider a spray; smoke: consider a break; etc…

Tashia Maitland-Rahl is a professional fashion stylist who dresses men, women, & kids for the lifestyles they live here in south Florida and across the globe. Her company the HLN company, inc believes in dressing people from the inside out – beginning with the existing wardrobe. You can learn more about her at www.theHLNcompany.com