Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [18]
Shirts. These days, you never know ahead of time when a TV camera crew will turn up at a public event, so it is important for the public person to be ready to be caught by a TV camera. The savvy public person no longer wears a blinding white shirt or even a “television blue” shirt. He wears a soft gray shirt because, when photographed, it will “read” white but won’t blind a camera lens.
Men’s shops often stock a variety of plain gray shirts that are perfect for the sophisticated public person. Gray is a flattering neutral color that is soft, inconspicuous, and retiring. It doesn’t “do” anything—it doesn’t attract attention, and the soft color is more compatible with skin tones. It is also elegant. It looks better with a dark suit because the contrast is not so great. It is excellent with navy, banker’s gray, and other colors.
As mentioned previously, white should not be worn on camera. This is not so much because the cameras cannot handle it, but because white is a dominating, blinding color that appears brighter than your face. Shut your eyes halfway and look critically at yourself in a mirror, and you will see the white shirt before you see your eyes and your face. When you look at a black-and-white photograph in the newspaper, the person in white looks twice as large as the person in black. When you hold a piece of white paper under your chin, you will see that the white color predominates.
Also pay a little attention to your shirt’s collar. The fit of your collar is important to the overall picture you present to those looking at you because it frames the lower part of your face and neck. If you have wrinkles on your neck, you can wear a collar that fits higher in front to cover the wrinkles to some extent.
Not only is a tight-fitting collar uncomfortable, it can draw lines that make your neck look bulkier than it is.
A button-down collar often bulges from the top down to the button and looks less sophisticated.
A smooth, neat collar that fits perfectly around your neck and under your jacket is your best choice.
Shoes and Socks. Always wear long, black socks because bare shins are very unattractive when you cross your legs during a business meeting with no table, on the speaker’s platform, or on a television studio’s set. Your shoes should be black, well fitting, and plain styled. Since you may have to walk long distances or stand on your feet for extended periods of time, your shoes should be comfortable and previously broken in.
Also it should not have to be stated that you should always wear shoes that are shined. It is amazing how simply wearing a pair of scuffed shoes can spoil an otherwise good-looking set of clothes.
If you are about to make a public appearance and notice that your shoes aren’t properly shined, it only takes five minutes to dash into a shoeshine shop. If you are in a strange city and don’t know where to get a quick shine, run into any upscale hotel. They usually provide such a service, often in the barbershop. Shoe repair shops will often shine shoes in a pinch.
If you find on your way to a public appearance that your shoes are shined but you have dried mud on the sides of the soles or heels, go into a men’s restroom and take the mud off with a slightly dampened paper towel.
Neckties. A man’s necktie is his one declaration of independence—his opportunity to express himself. Wear anything you like in your private life, but for your public appearances choose a quiet, neutral tie that does not attract attention away from your face. Any man who faces clients, professional peers, or a business group of any kind should think twice about what his choice of tie says about him. Some executives who appear frequently on TV even carry tried-and-true “television ties” in their briefcases. They put them on when they go on camera, and take them off when the program is over. This may be an extreme example, but it shows the care that should be taken in choosing your tie.
Avoid conspicuous patterns, plaids, stripes, polka dots, bright colors,