Tiger’s attire for press statement a hole-in-one

While time will tell if Tiger Woods’ public statement regarding his adultery was convincing, the disgraced king of golf made excellent fashion choices when he finally faced the public Friday.

Woods, 34, needed to hit the right note sartorially as well as rhetorically for the occasion, the first time he has allowed the public to see him since he crashed his SUV outside his Windermere, Fla. home early Nov. 27. He went into seclusion immediately after the incident, and in ensuing weeks upwards of 20 women went public with sordid stories of sexual trysts and long romantic relationships with the husband and father of two.

It was enough to send the world’s number-one golfer from role model on a pedestal to poster child for infidelity faster than you can say “fore!” After that, we had only one glimpse of him until Friday, courtesy of a photo taken of him reportedly at a sex-rehab clinic in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Woods may not have sounded totally convincing during his tightly scripted, overly rehearsed, no-questions-allowed “press conference” Friday. But he couldn’t have dressed more perfectly. He wore three simple pieces that as an ensemble helped rather than hurt his cause.

The dark blazer said, “I take this moment and the audience seriously.” Dark colors connote serious occasions. Black and navy convey a high level of respect for an occasion and for those taking part in it.

The gray trousers said, “I’m a stable, respectable professional.” Gray pants are the go-to for working professionals, easy and familiar and versatile. Gray represents longevity and strength, it suggests reliability, and it is associated with intellect, resoluteness, and dignity.

The pale blue, open-collar shirt said, “It’s a new day and everything’s going to be okay.” Blue is the most popular color, universally loved and connoting truth, constancy, peace, and serenity. An open collar is a sign of vulnerability and invites the other to relax.

Of course, the average person doesn’t consciously process such visual cues. They are taken in subconsciously, subliminal suggestions that something is wrong - or, in Woods’ case, right - with this picture.

Had Woods been dressed too casually, he would have risked being perceived as arrogant or unrepentant. He would have come across as too slick had he worn a suit or even a necktie. Polish would have reminded the public of his fame and wealth when all they really wanted to see was themselves - a flawed human being standing in the need of another chance.

And so, Woods wore no prints or patterns. No bold colors or jewelry. Nothing to distract from his words or to suggest that he was taking the situation lightly.

His youthful face, clean-shaven as always, said, “You can believe in me.” Time will tell if his wife - and legions of fans -are willing to do so again.

Finally, shoes uglier than original Crocs

Serious singers know that sometimes they have to make the face real ugly to create the best sound. Just ask super-talents like Jennifer Holliday and Rachelle Ferrell. Well, there’s a similar strain of thought in the world of revolutionary footwear manufacturers - that a shoe not only must perform heads and shoulders above the competitors, but it’s got to be ugly, to boot.

So I got a good laugh recently when my friend Patty alerted me to a freakishly hideous shoe out there that manages to make Crocs look like Ferragamos.

They’re called FiveFingers, and they’re made by Vibram. The shoes have patented technology that allows wearers to experience the freedom and feel of going barefoot, but with protection and grip. From ordinary people to a variety of athletes, many wearers claim the shoes provide better balance, greater agility, improved posture. The designs, which cost about $90 a pair, were even named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2007.

But when it comes to aesthetics, the lightweight, insulated footwear leave much to be desired. They look like rubberized feet painted in various colors.

And just when I thought I wouldn’t see anything uglier until at least the next Marc Jacobs or Vivienne Westwood collection, along comes a doosy by Alexander McQueen. His high-heeled “Armadillo” shoes are eerily reminiscent of the animal’s body shape and stand a jaw-dropping 12 inches tall.

They are fascinatingly hideous, the E.T. of the footwear industry. Their price? From around $550 to upwards of $4,000 for exotic-skin styles. Kelis and Lady Gaga have been spotted wearing them.

By a show of hands, who thinks these foot-bending, absurdly priced monstrosities would sell like hotcakes if they were made by Betty Anderson? Who’s Betty Anderson? Precisely my point.

What Sammy Sosa’s skin says about us all

The dramatically lighter skin that baseball great Sammy Sosa has purchased for himself is now a source of controversy. Sports commentator and former basketball star-Charles Barkley has clowned Sosa on camera, going so far as to have a makeup artist apply pale cosmetics to his laughing face while ribbing Sosa to knock off whatever he’s doing that has changed his complexion from caramel to vanilla.

The Dominican Republic native, who turned 41 on Nov. 12, is being hammered by some who say he has succumbed to societal pressures to make himself appear more white - or at least less black. Others speculate that the depigmentation is actually vitiligo kick-started by steroid use.

Sosa, however, claims the lighter, brighter him is a side effect of a cream he’s been using to soften his skin. I suppose he could be unaware of the scores of face potions available that soften skin without bleaching it.

But maybe his critics should lighten up. (I couldn’t resist.) What Sosa has done to himself says much about human nature and the never-ending quest to be “better.” In America alone, hundreds of millions of dollars a year are spent on face lifts, nose jobs, bust enlargements, breast reductions, cheek implants, lip-plumping injections, hair-straightening products, hair-curling products, hair plugs, toupees, tummy tucks, butt reductions, butt lifts, penile implants, wrinkle erasers, false lashes, fake nails and colored contact lenses.

Some people wish they were taller while others want to be shorter. Some crave more curves or muscles, others want to be thinner. Some don’t want their freckles, others apply fake beauty marks. The redhead wants to go blonde and the blonde dyes her locks brown. Someone with pale skin maintains a tan while one with dark skin secretly wishes to be lighter.

Talk to the most drop-dead gorgeous models on the planet and the honest ones will tell you that there’s something about their physical appearance that they don’t like. There’s at least one physical attribute they would change if they could. Most everyone possesses at least one physical feature that we would change if we could.

That’s because there’s some insecurity - and perhaps even self-hatred - in all of us. We alter our appearance, sometimes permanently, because we think it will make us feel better about ourselves. Or we hope it will make us more attractive to others. And then we cover up the feelings of inadequacy with high-sounding words like “augmentation” and “enhancement.”

It’s not hard to see shades of Michael Jackson in this whole Sammy Sosa color-change thing. But when you get down to it, they aren’t the only ones who had issues with the man in the mirror.

No ‘She’ didn’t! Atlanta housewife Shereé’s weak debut

NEW YORK CITY -Contrary to what I had hoped, this is not a glowing review of She by Shereé, the new fashion line by a star of the hit reality TV show Atlanta Housewives.

The 20 womenswear looks that Shereé Whitfield unveiled Sunday for spring 2010 were, she said, inspired by the classic and timeless qualities of the calla lily. But the clothes were neither classic nor timeless. They were throwaway urban streetwear reminiscent of the early days of Baby Phat, minus the strong reference point and before the level of taste improved.

It’s not that the collection was without a point of view.  It just wasn’t consistent with the image Ms. Whitfield tried to project. She aimed for “…bold, strong…sexy…” What came across was shrill, forced, and juvenile. I couldn’t envision her in most of the looks, which is problematic because you can always envision Herrera in Herrera, von Furstenberg in von Furstenberg, Kimora in Baby Phat…you get the point.

There were some signs of promise in the collection. One was a bustier romper in canary yellow, something that a slim, chic college girl might wear to a nightclub.

But more attention should have been given to concept and execution of the entire line. Ms. Whitfield, who usually looks great on Atlanta Housewives, missed a golden opportunity to make a great first impression.

The technical aspects of the presentation deserve brief discussion because they must matter to anyone who wants to be taken seriously by the fashion industry. They are as relevant to image as the clothes themselves.

Rumors were circulating Saturday that the two-hour Sunday event had been cancelled. When I emailed the RSVP address that evening to gain clarity - the only contact point provided — I received a response that the show was still on for Sunday. But the time and location had been changed. Did they plan to let guests know? If so, when?

When I arrived at the Red Bull Space in SoHo after a cab ride from Midtown, her front-of-house workers had no run of show or other written information customarily offered. Inside, models posed three at a time on risers as music played and guests milled about, some snapping photos. Around noon, when the event was halfway over, Ms. Whitfield was announced, posed for photos flanked by her models, and then struck a few self-conscious poses alone for a few moments as cameras flashed.

I had to leave then for another show. Unable to arrange an interview with Ms. Whitfield, I sent detailed requests to the email address Sunday evening. As of this writing, I still have not received a reply.

After I left the show venue, someone stumbled into the place with a Kinko’s box full of information sheets, according to a colleague who was there. Also distributed were T-shirts emblazoned with Ms. Whitfield’s now-famous TV line, “Who gone check me, boo?”

In spite of the glaring shortcomings, many of the elements were there for a successful fashion brand launch. They just didn’t come together because apparently no one knew how to pull them together.

But all is not lost. Ms. Whitfield can salvage her brand and her reputation by working with better design and PR teams. She also needs to find her voice as a creative director. Some of today’s biggest names in fashion started with a limp and learned how to gallop, and so can she.

When the clothes clash with the claims

When popular Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger held a blink-and-you-missed-it news conference Thursday to proclaim his innocence of rape charges, his appearance should have been manipulated to agree with what came out of his mouth.

It wasn’t.

By way of background, the public learned this week that a 31-year-old woman has filed a civil lawsuit that names more than a half-dozen people, including Roethlisberger. She alleges that he raped her in a Lake Tahoe hotel penthouse in July 2008, when he was staying there for a celebrity golf tournament. Roethlisberger,27, was served with court papers when he returned to the Nevada resort this month - a year later - for the same tournament.

For the Thursday news conference, his first public comment on the allegations, Roethlisberger wore a chocolate four-button pinstripe suit. Forget, for a moment, the odd choice of dark brown in the middle of the day in the middle of July. The entire look was a disservice to his cause, from the suit and the open-collar striped shirt to the garishly displayed pocket square with contrasting trim and the stubble on his face.

Ben should have sought to project the image of an altar boy on a job interview. Instead, he served up wealthy playboy heading to a weekend in Vegas. Ironically, he looked as if he were dressed for a hot date - not the ideal image to conjure when you stand accused of a sex crime.

Give him credit for attempting to look serious and upstanding. Casual attire would have all but said, “I’m guilty,” even if the truth were otherwise. But there was something slighty disconcerting about Ben’s appearance, a ham-handed conspicuousness to a contrived look. Rather than causing one to consciously hear his words and think, “He’s telling the truth,” it caused one to observe his appearance and subconsciously think, “Something isn’t clicking here.”

Roethlisberger issued a strong denial in his 60-second statement, but he failed to use his attire as a tool to enhance credibility. When accused of a crime, a fellow who maintains his innocence should come across as respectable, responsible, and traditional. Nothing projects that like a two-button navy suit. A collared white shirt reinforces the message, and a conservative necktie conveys professionalism and the sort of polish at odds with a guy who would be inclined to commit a sexual assault. Cleanly shaven jowls and neatly trimmed facial hair beat just-rolled-out-of-bed scruffiness every time.

To say that Ben has a sympathetic audience in Pittsburgh, aka Steeler nation, would be a huge understatement. Public sentiment initially expressed in media interviews in his home city suggest a community as adoring as ever. But those in Nevada who may have to weigh testimony and evidence in a civil proceeding are less likely to have the same bias that could tip the scales of justice toward acquittal.

When you’re making an important statement, it’s always a good idea to make sure your appearance bolsters your message - especially when you’re a public figure who has been accused of a crime and you’re publicly stating your innocence.

While judges and juries are the final arbiters of innocence and guilt in most societies, the court of public opinion is often the determining - if not the last - word on whether one who stands accused is exonerated and exalted or toppled from a pedestal with irreparable damage. Consider that although a jury decided a few years ago that Michael Jackson was not guilty of charges of sexual molestation, it became clear that he had won the court battle but lost the war for his reputation.

So, perception often trumps fact, and perceptions often are formed in the subconscious by visual cues and social norms. What else can explain the American mythology surrounding the presidential electability of candidates who are modest in height and have facial hair?

Roethlisberger has an Atlanta-based sports lawyer, David Cornwell, working to ensure a favorable outcome for him. But if the case goes to trial, hiring a smart stylist would be one of the best moves the two-time Super Bowl champion has ever made.

Michael Jackson’s face and fashion were as captivating as his music

The public may never know what Michael Jackson wore at his funeral, how he was dressed in the closed, rose-covered golden casket in which he was memorialized and buried Tuesday.

Was the King of Pop wearing a leather motorcycle jacket? A bespoke suit and skinny necktie? One of his sparkling military-style jackets? Black loafers and white socks? A single sequined glove?

We may never know. But we do know that in life, he was a force of nature whose style, sense of fashion and visual transformation were as captivating as his singing and dancing.

During Jackson’s decades in show business, he set fashion trends with a number of signature accessories: aviator sunglasses, black fedoras, dark loafers with white socks, that famous glove. His wardrobe was influenced by and reflected a fascination with fantasy, sci-fi, cinema, theater, cartoons, royalty and the military.

He revealed something of himself, the yin and the yang of sequins and buckles, leather and gauze, high-water tuxedo pants and white V-neck undershirts. He combined the tough with the delicate, hard with soft, macho with feminine, extravagant with ordinary. In the process, he reflected every social class and none, every ethnicity and none, both genders and neither.

When Jackson performed at the Motown 25 anniversary special in 1983 and set the world abuzz with the moonwalk - a dance move actually done as far back as the 1950s - he complemented his sequined white glove with a sparkling black jacket that his sister Latoya later said was actually a gift from her to their mother. A week ago, one celebrity news magazine included a pictorial on several articles of clothing that Jackson had recently worn that were adapted from womenswear runway looks by designers such as Balmain.

If Jackson’s fashion choices began to blur gender lines in recent years, his face became a study in androgyny. It morphed dramatically over the last 30 years with an estimated 50-plus cosmetic procedures on nose, eyes, cheeks, lips, chin.

As hair trends changed over the decades, Jackson went from afro to Jheri curl to perms. Few knew that he wore wigs in recent years due to hair loss and a large mass of scar tissue on his scalp that resulted from his hair catching fire during taping of a Pepsi commercial in 1984. The rate at which Jackson’s hair got straighter over the years was eclipsed only by the speed at which his skin got lighter. He claimed vitiligo, but others pointed to skin-bleaching creams he used for many years.

Glancing at a head shot of a pale, heavily made-up Jackson at the age of 50, it wasn’t clear whether he was male or female, black or white. Perhaps no one in the history of celebrity had engineered a more total visual transformation, one that became more jarring and tragic as time went on. By the sad end, he had achieved a look that no one could quite understand.

Part of the explanation lies in Jackson’s own insecurities and self-hatred, in the pressure on people of color to conform to a European standard of beauty and especially on darker-skinned celebrities to become more widely accepted. Part of the explanation lies, too, in Western cultures’ obsession with the myth of eternal youth. Celebrities are under greater pressure than the rest of us to look immortally young, and their efforts fuel the multibillion-dollar industries of physical augmentation and anti-aging skincare.

In the final analysis, Jackson’s face and fashion reflected a failure to achieve his goal of transcending the limits of gender, race, age and time. He crafted an image that was, in many ways, as universal as his music. But ultimately, the face that he left this world with was not one that even he appeared to love.

Though in many ways larger than life, Michael Jackson was just another human being with his share of weaknesses, frailties and limitations. The difference is that his were exposed on a global stage. With that in mind, one can only hope that his contributions to music, the arts, charities, and humanitarian efforts will be remembered long after what he looked like is forgotten.

A style state of emergency for the first lady

We recently commented in these pages that Michelle Obama appears to be spinning out of sartorial control.

We regret to report that her descent into fashion confusion seems to be accelerating.

Consider the photo of her in London’s Daily Mail as she left Westminster Abbey on Tuesday. No need for us to describe it when you can see it here for yourself in this story. It was all wrong, from the frumpy layered cardigans to the belted kindergarten tunic over black pants.

When the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority made Mrs. Obama an honorary sister last year, it would have been great if the sisters also had conferred on her some of their exquisite taste and impeccable style.

Bad as it was, the abbey outfit wasn’t her only fashion transgression in recent days. Rewind back to last week, when she was on program but ended up not attending the annual celebration in Washington, D.C. honoring civil-rights legend Dorothy Height, who is 97 years old.

In a videotaped message to the immaculately dressed assembly, Mrs. Obama wore what appeared to be a casual look. The informal garb added insult to injury, and Mrs. Height could hardly hide her disappointment that neither the president nor his wife had come.

As usual, Mrs. Height was lovely in one of her trademark hats. One can only hope that she lives to attend the event next year and that the Obamas seize the opportunity to redeem themselves.

In the meantime, Mrs. Obama’s inner circle needs to declare a fashion state of emergency and bring in someone who can deliver a style stimulus package fit for a first lady. Now, that’s a bailout the American public is likely to get behind.

Would a teacher dress code help curb violence in public schools?

Hardly a day goes by that some tragic incident at a public school isn’t reported in the news. Violent behavior has caused some schools to resemble prisons, with violent acts against teachers on the rise.

Many children don’t respect order and authority at home, and they bring the same bad attitude to school. In some cases, the line has blurred between teacher and student to the degree that some pupils regard their instructors as peers rather than as authority figures.

Could part of the problem be that too many teachers look too much like students? It’s not just the fresh-out-of-college teachers who in some cases look as young as their students. Many veteran teachers dress so casually that their appearance doesn’t command respect or project authority.

More than ever, teachers need every tool at their disposal to deal with an increasingly troubled and troublesome student body. Children who have little or no accountability, boundaries and rules at home are acting at school as if they’ve lost their minds. Some effective tools are a no-nonsense demeanor among faculty, a zero-tolerance policy against violence, and a vigilant and proactive administration.

Another tool that has been overlooked is fashion. Male teachers wearing suits, sport coats and ties sends a more authoritative message than polo shirts and wash-and-wear khakis. Female teachers in suits and dresses are likely to be perceived differently by students than those in capris and sleeveless tops.

Casual may be comfortable, but it sends a message that the occasion for which one is dressing isn’t very important. There’s some evidence that school uniforms promote better behavior among students. Maybe the educational environment would be a little safer if all educators projected a professional image with more serious fashion choices for the classroom.

Please, not this summer! The season’s 10 don’t-go-there antistyle statements

Summer is vacation season, but there are fashion places you don’t wanna go. And nobody wants to go there with you. Not sure what we’re talking about? Think of some of the sights you see every summer - sometimes throughout the year, though more prevalent in warm weather - and how seeing them is like shaking hot sauce in your eyes.

Unfortunately, and tragically, not everyone has someone in his or her life who will pull that person aside and help to prevent a style transgression of epic proportion. Though summer technically isn’t here yet, we thought we’d take advantage of rising temperatures to issue our list of summer Don’t You Dares. So, on behalf of the majority of the public upon whom hot-weather fashion disasters are annually visited, here are 10 taboos:

Muffin tops. Woe to the one who first gave one of our favorite baked goods a bad name. It’s inviting for a muffin to bloat over the top of its cup during baking. But midriff running over and running amok is just sad. Sometimes you find yourself in a place where your stomach and love handles are out of control. We understand. Just cover it up with an amply long top and pants with a waistband that fits just a little looser. Belly shirts and midriff-baring tops are not your friends.

Ribbed sleeveless tees (commonly referred to as “wife-beaters”) worn without a shirt. It’s okay for a 6-year-old jumping through a backyard lawn sprinkler, but not okay for a grown man - or woman - moving about in public. It belongs under something.

Busted feet. This is for those who wear sandals and especially flip-flops. You don’t have to look like a magazine ad for a spa pedicure. Soap and lotion used on the regular are cheap and go a long way in preventing dry, callousy feet that look like you were kicking flour. Keep toenails trimmed - use an instrument rather than picking and biting, guys - and ladies who prefer polish should keep it fresh and unchipped or remove it.

Banged-up nails. Clipping and filing take only a few minutes. If you like your fingernails polished, keep them that way, chipless and smooth. If you tend to have maintenance issues, go natural. An exfoliating hand wash and hand cream will help hands look as healthy and well maintained as fingertips.

Beat-up bags. You know when there are big cracks in the leather straps of your purse, when the straw has begun coming loose from that favorite summer bag, when the fabric is stained on that roomy cloth tote. If you can’t get it repaired, get rid of it.

Run-over heels. There’s nothing wrong with liking a pair of shoes and wanting to wear them as long as possible. But you can’t go around with heels that sit on an angle because they’re run-over and worn down. It’s also bad for your bones and posture. It doesn’t cost much to get heels replaced. If you’re real hard on heels, consider adding nylon or metal taps to preserve the life of the shoe’s heels. They’re relatively inexpensive. If the heels on your pumps show curling leather or fabric, or they’re worn down to the nail, they need to be repaired or retired.

Purposely visible underwear. This look goes from merely childish to majorly offensive when accompanied by plumber’s butt, which occurs when one squats or bends forward and the top part of where the derriere separates is visible. (That’s the most delicate way we can describe the look.) If any passerby can describe your underwear or can see that you’re wearing a thong, you’re out of line.

Camel toe. This garment-fit crisis says “too much information” like nothing else. Ladies, it just means that your shorts should be longer and looser and you need to wear panties. ‘Nuff said about that.

Socks with sandals. You have to choose. Socks defeat the purpose of sandals, which are designed to allow the feet to breathe in warm weather. If you’re afraid of germs or think you have ugly feet, then sandals aren’t for you. This doesn’t apply to women wearing hosiery with strappy heels. That doesn’t look silly. White athletic socks with sandal-style footwear does.

Strapless at church. Don’t even think about it. People attend church to worship, not to be confronted by décolletage, no matter how stunning it is. Save strapless tops and dresses for the nightclub or hot dates, along with one-shoulder pieces and anything that shows cleavage. If you aren’t sure whether something crosses the line, don’t wear it. Go with clothing that’s unquestionably tasteful and appropriate.

Competing for Esquire’s Best Dressed Regular Guy

In my decade as a newspaper fashion editor, scores of aspiring style writers contacted me to pick my modest brain. One of them, Kamau Hosten, was so serious about my advice that he flew himself to New York for fashion week several seasons ago. I was glad to orient him to the scene, and he continued to write good men’s fashion stories - and dress to kill - when he returned to Ocala, Fla. Now Kamau is among 25 semifinalists in Esquire magazine’s 2009 Best Dressed Real Man Contest. I hope you’ll go to Esquire’s Web site and vote for him to appear in the September issue as the publicly selected “fan favorite” - who will join four other finalists selected by Esquire editors. All five will appear on a segment of the Today show, where the grand prize winner will be announced. You can view and vote at http://www.esquirebdrm.com/ up to 30 times a day through May 31.

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