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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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Katy Perry, what were you thinking? This dress makes you look matronly. You need to fire your stylist. I don't mind blue hair, but that hairstyle is also unflattering - it makes your neck look too muscular. Throw that gown away!

Rhiianna, this is your best look yet. Keep that sexy blonde hair. Red is okay for some, but not for you. You look fabulous!!!

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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.

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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.

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Tiger Woods doesn't feel very good about himself, and that's understandable. Instinctively, when a man wants to hide or crawl into a big black hole and disappear, he grows a beard - and occasionally a goatee. Think of Al Gore after the presidential election.

Of course, Tiger is also very vain, so perhaps he looked in the mirror and decided he didn't like the way he looked and shaved it off. I would agree that it makes him look like he has chubby cheeks.

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Fuchsia is a regal color, as Princess Charlene of Monaco proved in grand style. Jewel tones are the rage this year, and none is more flattering to women than fuchsia. It's feminine, flattering and fabulous. What more can you ask for.

One fashion journalist derided the style of the young Princess, but I think her style is elegant. And she dares to wear bold colors, unlike many women who prefer an "understated" look. As   Susan Catherine noted, "Dressing in understated good taste is the same as playing dead."

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There’s been a lot of talk and even furor over Kate Middleton’s sheer and shimmery pantyhose. Some women have taken an oath to never wear pantyhose again, and they are up at arms over the situation. Pantyhose sales are up and women are emulating the stylish Duchess. “Don’t give in,” these “liberated” women cry in unison.

A word to the wise, however. Don’t be too quick to give up your pantyhose, because there are certain advantages to wearing them. This is the case if you’ve got visible “distractions” like spider veins, bulging veins, or skin so pale it looks like skimmed milk (far left photo). These are serious distractions that will cause the eyes to be riveted to your legs, but not for good reason. In reality the shimmery pantyhose that Kate Middleton wore are a bit of a distraction because of their unusual sheen. Legs simply don’t have that much sheen on their own. I’d much rather see the Duchess wearing ultra sheer pantyhose without the shimmer. The more “natural” your legs look, the better.

That's because, ultimately, the human eye is drawn to anything that seems out of the ordinary. Nearly everyone has little laugh lines and a bit of a double chin, so these things are not judged to be unusual and we skim right over them. However, splotchy skin is not the norm, so we’ll take note of imperfections on the skin anywhere, including the legs.

What’s a girl to do? There are several options. Get a tan on your legs at the beach or in a tanning salon; or spray a tan on. It doesn’t have to be more than a shade or two darker. All that’s necessary is to even out the color. At the same time it camouflages any protruding veins.

Ultimately, if your legs look as if you could be wearing pantyhose, you don’t need to wear them. However, if you’ve got major distractions, you’re doing yourself a disservice by not camouflaging your imperfections in some way. You’re not actually “liberated” when you have to worry about whether your broken capillaries or bulging veins are the center of attention when you sit down to meet with your peers.