"It's amazing what the right color can do for a person's look," says Marcia Levake, owner of Marcia Levake's Image Centre, 4030 S. Howell Ave. "While one shade can make your skin look pasty and red, another can make it look creamy and flawless." For hip Milwaukee residents to look their personal best, they must pay attention to what colors look best on them. That's why color consultants, also known as "image" consultants, are popping up all around Milwaukee.

When trying on clothing, look in the mirror and think: Does this color really look good on me? Does this green bring out my eyes or dull my skin tone? Does this orange bring out the richness of my skin or make my face look red? While you can be a good judge of these questions, you won't always be right. For a complete evaluation of what colors look best on you, visit a color consultant.

Color consultants analyze hair, eyes and skin to find their customers' best colors. According to Marcia, wearing the wrong clothes can make under-eye circles appear darker, hair appear "mousy" by hiding natural highlights, and distort the skin tone's appearance. "The right color can harmonize your whole look," she says. "A bad color can block off your head, arms, and legs from your torso."

The color wheel idea first came about when image consultants used a "wheel" of colors to match the right colors to a person's skin tone. Now that wheel has evolved into colored fabric samples that are draped over customers to find the perfect colors for them by analyzing skin, hair and eye colors. According to Wendy Helmers, a certified image consultant for At 1st Glance, 1725 S. 57th St., West Allis, Wis., and a National Trainer, the Color Me Beautiful method she uses on clients allows her to find the right colors for them every time. "I use test fabric drapes in the colors of the different seasons and place them under the face," she says. "Then I pay particular attention to how the color reflects off the face. I can analyze which colors make the face look heavy and older, and which ones make it look young and healthy."

Generally, which season you are is determined by your natural skin, hair and eye colors. The summer color palette is made up of colors from cool pastels to cool medium shades, such as blue-greens and watermelon. The opposite of the summer palette, the winter palette, is made up of jewel tones and bold colors like red, blue and true greens. For fall, the earth tone shades of falling leaves look best, such as brown, olive green, rusty red and beige. Spring is represented by a lighter version of the fall selections, but the colors are bright and clear, not muted. Try peach, camel and ivory.

Two popular colors -- black and white -- aren't always "black and white" when it comes to incorporating them into your wardrobe. People with a summer color palette, for example, should generally avoid black. And, while variations of white, such as off-white and pearl, work well in the fall and spring palettes, actual white only works well in the winter palette.

No matter how much you love a certain color, the chance of it being popular every season is pretty slim. The reason? Members of the International Color Authority meet twice a year to decide what colors are hot for what season up to two years in advance, according to Cala Creek, a consumer information Web site. Seasonal fashion colors reflect the moods of the nation and world. The economic condition, state of war and peace, and environmental issues are all reflected in the colors shown.

According to Linda Bunning, assistant manager of the Cotton Works library at Cotton Incorporated -- a non-profit organization specializing in color and cotton fabrics based in New York -- seasonal colors are chosen in a collective process. "Inspiration comes from all over the world, but usually is a continuation of the popular colors from the season before," she says. "By showing a new shade of a color a new color combination, the designers mix things up."

In 2000, designers began moving away from neutrals and into brighter colors. "People got really tired of drab colors -- like gray -- and wanted to spice things up a bit," says Linda. "It's like a circle. Once a color is popular it needs to come full circle through different seasons before it's popular again."

As much as we try to deny it, Americans, as part of our culture, heavily rely on looks. So, put your best face forward. Visit a color consultant, which runs about $30 for a consultation and $55 for an in-depth color analysis, or simply pay attention to the colors you wear and the way they make you look and feel. "When you look good on the outside you feel good on the inside," says Wendy. "First impressions are 55 percent based on looks, so it's important to look your best."