A natural for cream

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley spoke at an award ceremony for volunteers last week. She wore cream: http://youtu.be/t5i0YdCv1AA?t=1m20s

Light creamy colors can be difficult to pull off, especially on camera. But this jacket looks great. Why?

1. Cream can make some people look washed out, but the governor's skin tone naturally lends itself to this color.

2. The texture and color variation that this tweed fabric lends to the look, along with the organic folds of the draped collar, prevent the light color from looking severe or reflective.

3. This video was taken in a natural setting, without glaring television studio lights.

Haley shines on

Gov. Nikki Haley visited a Bridgestone tire plant last week. She wore black and white: (http://youtu.be/gSguCfO4HF8)

This much shine is very difficult to pull off in the daytime, and I don't think it works here.

She made a valiant attempt at dressing down the blazer with a plain black top and her customary cross, but all we see is the sheen on the blazer. In fact, the sharp color contrast between the black and the white makes the jacket stand out even more than it otherwise would. If you're incorporating a shiny or sparkly piece into your outfit, a tone-on-tone color palette will do a better job of balancing it out.

Haley attacked by stripes

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley visited a Bosch facility in her state last week. She wore a striped blazer (sorry, the sound on this isn't great):


Oh my there is a lot going on with this jacket. We're not having our usual "patterns on television" problem, but it's making me dizzy just the same.
 

• The stripes are variable widths and have serrated edges, which makes the pattern much busier than a smooth edged, even width stripe would be.  The stripes on the sleeves are also not matched up with the stripes where it joins to the body, which is additionally jarring.

• The lapel features silver studs about the size of a nickel, adding an additional set of focal points.

• To this she further adds her usual jewelry: a cross and a US/SC flag pin.

All these details just completely take over. It's really hard to look at anything else.

In the height

Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina spoke to the Columbia Tea Party last week. She wore a teal jacket:

The governor has chosen well from this spring's palette of popular colors with this soft green.

What's most notable about this jacket, though, is the design details; epaulets and flap pockets on the chest could be overwhelming for some. It works here because of Haley's specific proportions - she is tall and has an average size bust. Women with larger busts or shorter statures may well find this style difficult to carry off.

Twinkling texture

Nikki Haley held a press conference last week to announce her transition team. She wore a textured tweed jacket:


The texture and color variation of this jacket create excellent visual interest without being distracting. And it's neutral enough to be worn many times without looking like a "repeat" - something that's harder to accomplish with a print.

I would have liked a little color added to this look, either in a scarf or maybe an earring. But it's a great look overall. 

A little shimmery eye shadow goes a long way

Nikki Haley won the Republican nomination for Governor in South Carolina this week. She appeared on CNN with John King on Wednesday:

This warm tomato red is a power color for her. She looks fantastic. This is why women in politics started wearing The Red Jacket in the first place.

It's her eyeshadow that concerns me a bit. It reflects so much light, it's distracting from her eyes. It's true that a woman with dark eyes and strong eyebrows has to be careful to stay away from eyeshadow that's too dark in a daytime look, but if you go too far in the other direction, this is the result. White and light colored shadows might not look shimmery in the pan or on the brush, but they reflect more light than medium shades simply because they are lighter. Combine that with intensely bright studio lights and you have a shimmery distraction.

Color for color

Nikki Haley is headed into a runoff after yesterday's Republican primary for South Carolina Governor. At a recent appearance at a Tea Party rally, she gave us a great example of how women of color should wear pastels:

She chose a shade of peach that is warm like her complexion and just a little bit lighter than her skin color. These two elements combine to make her skin look creamy and radiant. She looks healthy - a major bonus for any candidate, especially one whose youth and vibrancy are assets to be emphasized.