Obama's tan suit controversy: was tan not in his season?

Remember the Obama tan suit controversy? Sure, some of the controversy was political, and some of it we can chalk up to a slow news cycle (those were the days), but could it have been avoided if tan were one of his best, rather than worst, colors?

Let's see what Obama's season is, and we'll see the difference between his best and worst colors, using virtual drapes. Although virtual drapes can be less informative than in-person drapes, we can still get a good idea of someone's general season and best colors using this approach.

Obama in cool versus warm colors

Using the virtual drapes from Vivaldi Color Lab, I draped Obama first with cool colors (top row), and then warm colors (bottom row). Do you see a difference?

The difference here is quite noticeable! Although some people can wear both cool and warm colors fairly well, such as Taylor Swift in silver and gold, Obama definitely shines in primarily cool tones.

Obama looks energetic and full of life in the cool colors from the top row, while the warm colors from the bottom row have a dulling effect that makes him look tired. He blends into the background of the warm colors, but stands out in the cool colors.

Obama's best colors: cool winter

Obama is clearly cool toned, and he is a winter season (his features are too bright to be a summer season).

Overall, his best colors come from the cool winter palette, which makes sense as coolness is his primary characteristic. Other great colors on him include navy and black from the neighboring deep winter palette.

His best colors are ideal for a president, as presidents often wear formal suits in winter colors, such as navy, black, and charcoal.

Obama's worst colors: warm autumn

Since Obama shines in very cool toned colors, his worst colors are very warm toned colors, specifically those from the warm autumn season.

These rustic colors dull him down, and they just don't seem to suit him, as they are not harmonious with his complexion. Do you see the difference between these drapes and his "best color" drapes?

Notice how the first tan color here, which would be a perfect match for an autumn season, is not in harmony with his features? The tan dulls him down and casts a yellow hue on his face.

It does make you wonder if the tan suit controversy could have been prevented if his stylist had known about color analysis!

Best and worst colors: side-by-side comparison

Here we can directly compare Obama's best colors (top row) to his worst colors (bottom row). His best colors skew towards the cool and dark end of the spectrum, whereas his worst colors will have the opposite characteristics (warm and light).