ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN)  -- Dressed head to toe in black, designer Isaac Mizrahi is wearing an outfit that seems to contradict his personality -- and his usual fashion flair.





Isaac Mizrahi has earned four awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.





"I always start with color when I'm designing things. Always. If the color is right, I feel better," he touts on his Web site.





But Mizrahi has an explanation for his less than colorful attire on a recent visit to CNN Center in Atlanta.





"We have this very quick trip, and we have to go right back and there's no time to pack and we can't check luggage ... so I focused it to black, gray and white."





It's just one more style tip you can pick up from Mizrahi's new book "How to Have Style" (Gotham). Despite the slightly audacious title, Mizrahi, who has won four awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, has earned the right to tell women how to dress.





For five years, the New York fashion designer has been selling low-priced clothing and home furnishings at Target. But with his new book comes a new job -- as the creative director of Liz Claiborne.





CNN talked to Mizrahi about his love for theater, the most common fashion mistakes and why bad flowers are never OK. The following is an edited version of that interview:





CNN: You started in acting at the High School of the Performing Arts. How do you combine that love and your love for design?





Isaac Mizrahi: Well, you know what, I think it's all theater. I think that fashion is a form of entertainment. And I think that these days, as a fashion designer, it's almost like you represent a political party or something.





Like women say, "Oh, that's a brand name I associate with because I've worn it before. I love it. It seems to fulfill who I am really easily." Whatever it is, she knows that it just makes her life really easy so she associates with it, you know? And in the end, I am like this personality that represents that.  Watch Mizrahi talk about his new book »





But more than that, I have designs [in] the entertainment business. There's a movie called "Unzipped" about me that was a really successful movie. I had two TV series. I design costumes constantly for theater and ballet and opera. So to me it's all one big world. It's seamless to me.





CNN: What's your daily schedule like? It has to be crazy with all that you do.





Mizrahi: It changes every day, and I really like that. There's a base to it. I wake up, I go swimming every day, and I eat the same breakfast almost every single day. But when I get to work is when it changes up.





Some days I work in the showroom; some days I work in the design room; some days I actually work in my own private studio, where I just do sketches and sketches and sketches. Other days I work in the TV studio taping segments and my Web show.





I don't really love travel. I feel like it really disrupts what I love doing most, which is this creation, you know what I mean? When I finally let myself enjoy it, I can enjoy traveling. But it takes a great agony for me to separate from New York City and my studios and the people that I work with.





CNN: Say you're walking down the street. What's the most common style error that you see in people?





Mizrahi: I see a lot, a lot, a lot of bad hair. I would say that's the most common style error I see is bad hair.





You know people have excuses for bad shoes -- because you know some people have back problems, it is the street and they're walking and walking and walking -- but
Designer Isaac Mizrahi moving from Target to creative director at where? what is most common style mistake? What did he say Mizrahi says he believes what is the most common style mistake?
Liz Claiborne. bad hair. "I always start with color when I'm designing things. Always. If the color is right, I feel better," bad hair.
question: Designer Isaac Mizrahi moving from Target to creative director at where?, answer: Liz Claiborne. | question: what is most common style mistake?, answer: bad hair. | question: What did he say, answer: "I always start with color when I'm designing things. Always. If the color is right, I feel better," | question: Mizrahi says he believes what is the most common style mistake?, answer: bad hair.