Wear Blue When You Mean Business

Psychologists who study the effects of color in the workplace agree that the color blue can be used to great effect when matters  take a serious turn.   Rather than functioning as a  soothing element in office decor, blue works best when worn. Darker shades of blue, it seems, convey a sense of cool, but fair authority.

One expert in the field of color psychology  prescribes blue  to managers and executives  who must deal with crafty or childish employees or brainy, creative types who tend to be temperamental. Blue imparts to its wearer an air of clarity and firmness. It is a very helpful tool in the current era of  too much work and too little job security. Given that taxing reality, it is not surprising that psychologists are finding more workers to be secretly resentful of those in authority. In addition, manners and social skills, among members of society at large, are a little shaky due to over- exposure to solitary pastimes like watching television and browsing the internet.  For all of these reasons, bosses need to gain an edge when  dealing with sensitive and possibly explosive workplace issues.  Color use in wardrobe is a positive, nonthreatening way to exude wisdom and good judgment in a  potentially tense environment. However, our experts caution blue wearers, who mean business, to choose shades closest to navy, and  to always  select clean tailored styles of clothing. Color should also be worn as close to the face as possible. Unfortunately, for most men this means the donning of the old standby — the blue blazer.   This fashion warhorse  conveys one last point: color familiarity breeds, if not contempt, then certainly an unaffected psyche. Save blue for red flag situations.