Interview with Image Architect Sandy Dumont

Sandy Dumont, also known as the Image Architect, knows how to make you look and feel your best--just by making the right decisions when choosing sunglasses, wardrobe colors and more. By following her image guidelines, you'll find success lurking in all the corners of your life. By visiting her website, TheImageArchitect.com, you'll see that she is a Personal and Corporate Image Consultant and Coach with over thirty years of experience, and she's ready to guide you to make the right choices.

A Day in the Life of the Image Architect

Tell me a bit more about your job as a personal and corporate personal image consultant. What's a typical "day in the life" for you? How did you get to where you are today, an expert in image?

I do two kinds of workshops. One is for individuals who want to get on the fast track and are clever enough to realize that the way they look impacts their credibility, confidence, etc. For these individuals I do an all day Total Image Makeover workshop. It addresses everything about image from had to toe, including body language and comportment. Clients bring as much of their business wardrobe to the session as they wish. Once they are educated (at the end of the session) and we can talk intelligently, we look at the clothing to see how it works. And if it doesn't, whether or not we can save it.

The other workshops are done for company employees. My unique specialty is to get employees to change their attitude by slowly unpeeling layers of habit (that's how we choose clothing very often) and educating them about color and line (style). With a Power Point presentation, they get to see people in Before & After shots. I ask them which one they think is the most qualified, trustworthy, etc. They always choose the After photo. Then they tell me what is wrong with the "other" person in the Before photo. That's the only way people learn. Not from giving them "talking head" information and a dress code. This corporate workshop is done in three weekly segments of four hours each. They learn new things and then get used to them and apply them. They also work in teams for positive reinforcement. By the time the last workshop is presented, people are smiling, standing tall and very happy with their new look.

Choosing Sunglasses for YOUR Look

You're absolutely correct when you say the face is the focal point. What are some of the things you'd take into consideration if you were helping someone who was choosing sunglasses?

The face shape is very important, but also color as well. You can choose colors to make blue eyes look bluer, green eyes look greener. Or you can go another route. Frames that make your red hair noticed more, or your blonde hair, etc. I caution clients not to think of glasses as function, but as a fashion accessory. Therefore, I steer them away from silver or gold frames very often, because they can seem very clinical or functional. I love color with frames to make a powerful statement. It is a great branding tool. Nothing beats being remembered as the woman who wears those awesome red glasses.

What are some of your favorite classic shapes for sunglasses? What makes them stand the test of time, in your opinion? I particularly like "lawyer" glasses - like what the new Superman wore as Clark Kent. They are "tortoise" and have a very classic shape. It is an extremely classy and "old money" style.

Tell me about your experience as a high fashion model. Along the way, did you pick up any great tips you can apply in everyday life for choosing sunglasses, colors, shapes, etc, that can be applied to each person's individual look?

Being a fashion model was one of the most fortunate things to happen to me. I was able to see the "masters" in action. Turning an ordinary outfit into an eye-catching thing. They used "shock of color" to make a statement, for example. I discovered that the most effective way to make a statement was with color or accessories. It still is. Going out without accessories is like a robot look.

Were you ever photographed for a sunglasses advertisement?

Yes and no. Very often sunglasses were added to make a statement, but they were perched atop the head for affect only. Sometimes with beachwear we actually wore sunglasses. Usually black ones, but sometimes white ones. I still think large white sunglasses are one of the most fashionable accessories you could have.

In a nutshell, what are the guidelines to choosing sunglasses based on eye color? Is the key in choosing opposites on the color wheel (for example, do blue eyes need bronze frames?)

Yes, due to Simultaneous Contrast, whereby when you look at any color on the color wheel your eyes generate the opposite color. So, if you wear an orange top, we throw blue on the face. And bluing in the laundry makes whites look white. Same thing with the face. The subtle blue on the face makes the face appear paler than when you wear red. Doesn't sound logical, but now you know the danger of using logic to choose colors! Wearing royal blue will put more color on the face than wearing red or orange. Try it for yourself. Drape a bright orange fabric around your neck. Leave it firmly in place and then cover the orange with royal blue. Lower and raise the blue fabric a few times. You will see amazing things happen. You lose and gain color!

So when you want to make blue eyes look bluer, wear burgundy, rust, orange (and also red) frames. Wear purple (or red-family colors) frames to make green eyes look greener. With brown eyes, you make them look darker with pale frames, and they will look more golden with purple frames. Brown eyes look better with colors that make a nice contrast as opposed to tortoise frames, for example.

What about choosing sunglasses based on hair color? If you want your blonde hair to be noticed more, wear black frames. For red hair, wear green frames. For brown hair, purple sets it off nicely and can bring out golden highlights. People with partly grey hair should avoid silver frames, because they will only accent the grey. Gold frames will clash. Brown frames can sometimes make the hair look dull, so make certain the frames are not thick or heavy. Thin frames are better anyway for everyone.

Your e-book, "Image System for Professional Women (in 10 components)" sounds incredibly intriguing for those of us who strive for success in our careers, or just want to look great. Tell me a little more about how your book will allow women to choose the correct eyewear for themselves.

Right now, there is a chapter on eye makeup where you can use the principles of Simultaneous Contrast to bring out eye color. You can apply those to eyewear. There is not a chapter on picking out sunglasses to enhance blonde hair, red hair, etc. I will put it in the next edition!

Where can your e-book be purchased?

Online at my website: TheImageArchitect.com

Do you have any other tips for us?

Yes, be very wary of choosing colors to "match" your superficial appearance. Blondes wearing pastel pink, for example, or redheads wearing orange or African Americans wearing brown (like brown jungle prints). You are more likely to disappear and blend into your clothes doing this. Think contrast so that YOU will pop.

• Circle Contact Lenses
• Halloween Contact Lenses
• Special FX Theatrical Contact Lenses

• Chanel Sunglasses
• Replica Oakley Sunglasses
• Ray-Ban Sunglasses
• Men's Sunglasses
• Aviator Sunglasses

• Karen Goldman, Director of Product Design for Foster Grant
• Choosing Sunglasses
• Category:Expert Interviews
• Interview with Ophthalmologist Paul Dougherty, M.D.
• Interview with Dr. Connolly About the Dangers of UV