February Dressing to Impress

Daywear – How to create a great image & impression

‘What shall I wear today?’. The dilemma of which suit, shirt, jacket, dress has been proven to be one of the most stressful parts of our day.  It can sometimes set us on a negative path – if we don’t feel good in what we wear we will be aware of this throughout the day, this is called Enclothed Cognition.  What we wear also has an impact on how we feel and how we behave.  Who doesn’t feel more formal and authoritative in a suit?  And that works with colour, too.  Black encourages introversion.  And subsequently we hold ourselves differently, even talk differently depending on what we wear.

‘I wear the same thing!’ is another phrase I often hear from my clients who are aware of their self-imposed uniform – the same colours, same style, same look.  For men in the corporate world this is often dark grey or navy suits, white or pale blue shirts & black shoes.  Women generally in business go for black or grey (dresses, trousers, skirts) with blouses but still have a similar narrow palette of colour and for a whole unspeakable reason, ‘to be taken more seriously’ – but that’s a whole other article!

Uniforms are there for a reason and aside from identification they cognitively create a consistency; and support the connection of behaviour, i.e. there are rules which we will all follow. Like it or not we are programmed to judge and assess visually first, then energetically then orally.  What we see sends many messages to our conscious and subconscious so can we step away from the same suit? How do we encourage creativity and expressions of authenticity?

Make that big jump of wearing a trouser suit rather than black dress, maybe in green?  The first step is to desire to be different and be prepared to stand out not ‘blend’ in.  For even the most qualified, confident and capable this can be a big step, we get use to ‘blending’ in!

The second step is to stand out naturally – wear a ‘green trouser suit’, but make sure it’s the right green for you; or invest in a 3-piece tailor made suit but get the perfect navy that will bring out your complexion (dark navy isn’t the right one for the average skin tone in the UK, marine navy is!)

And then step 3 – be bold, and dress to express, not impress!  By creating a new image that reflects who you are, your personality and your creativity you will feel more compatible and at ease.  Our uniqueness matters, and it is time we began to express this through our clothes.

So, tomorrow grab that pink tie, not the blue one.  Add a red top to your outfit, not a grey one.  Be bold, be bright and you will improve your visual personal brand, people will notice as well as remember you and you can help stop this endemic attitude of blending in!!

For help with creating a new look to your workwear contact me at info@jobaldwintrott.com or call +447867728656  For more information go to my website – www.jobaldwintrott.com