What to Wear When You're Changing the World
My son recently read _A Soldier's Story_ by General Omar Bradley and he was so excited about it I got myself a copy from the library. (My son is not too much into extended phone conversations so reading what he's reading helps me stay more connected to him.) The movie "Patton" is based on this book and reading the book makes the movie so much more interesting. What impressed me about Patton is this. Upon taking charge of a large group of American soliders after they had experienced a resounding defeat at the hands of the Germans in North Africa, the first thing he did was to enforce a higher standard of the dress code. Seriously, there is a severe problem with morale and he's making sure the soldiers are wearing ties and helmets (even the cooks and doctors!)
Now this is not an endorsement for General Patton, or not, but certainly he did recognize the effect of dress on morale and leadership. He fined soldiers $25 for dress-code infractions and officers double that (note this was in 1943, when $25 was a big chunk of change for a soldier!), none of which made him popular with the ranks.
What Patton wanted to change was the way the soldiers saw themselves. And the way they dressed was a big part of that.
It's a big part of that for you, too. But that doesn't mean you need to run to Neiman-Marcus to get a new wardrobe. Not at all.
(An interesting aside is that a recent study by Inc. magazine revealed that one of the top annoyances of business owners is sloppy dressing among their employees. You've all seen example of casual Friday casualties.)
What you wear reflects what you believe about yourself and how you see yourself acting in the world.
One way to dress well wihout having to put a lot of time into deciding what to wear is to develop your signature style, almost a uniform for your work.
Think about what you would select if you could choose a personal uniform to wear every day?
My friend and optometrist, Shalini, wears spectacular high heels and dresses to work, even though she's on her feet much of the day. She always looks fantastic: feminine and professional.
Some people use a signature color. For business coach Shirlie Taylor, her color is purple. She normally wears purple and has purple swag.
Photographer Tanya Boggs carries off a natural-yet-professional look with earthy colors and soft silouettes.
For some dapper business owners here Charleston, the bowtie is their signature.
Personally, I use a stylist because I need help to get out of the frumpy professor default look that's so comfortable, and yet so not who I want to be in the world. I can promise you most people you see on television regularly have stylists, but you can certainly develop your style on your own.
Here are some questions to help you put together a signature look.
What are your favorite colors?
What kind of dressing appeals to you?
What silouette looks good on you? If you're not sure, get expert help. In Charleston you can count on Mackenzie Image Consulting or Charleston Style Conscierge.
The next thing to consider is this.....how can you magnify your look?
Some ideas you can try:
- Always wear something in your favorite color.
- Like preppy? Wear a bow tie.
- Like French chic? Wear wild cufflinks on your French-cuffed shirt.
- Normally wear glasses? Wear your glasses.
- Love dressing up? Dress up.
- Love the beach look? Wear your shorts and flip flops, if that's authentic for you.
- Making a presentation? That is a SPECIAL occasion. Dress for it!
And for heaven's sake make sure you're standing up straight!
What's your signature look?
Got any stories to share about what to wear when making a presentation or just out making calls? Leave a comment and let us know.
