Recent Style ‘Kvetch-tions’

A kvetch-tion, a word of my own invention devised by the conjuntion of two words, is one part Yiddish, one part English, and totally Joseph. I created this term to describe the persistent complaints I receive in the form of questions from clients and friends.

Recently I received a string of such kvetch-tions and thought I’d blog about them so everyone could benefit from the inquiries and the thoughtful answers I hoped to provide.

Question #1: A client who cannot purchase a dress shirt without significant alterations because of his slender, fit body and small neck size contemplated ordering shirts from an online supplier. He wanted to know if this is a good shopping strategy.

My answer: Sometimes shopping online for shirts is not so easy. We could order some customized shirts locally. The key is to be able to get your measurements taken accurately, and to choose fabrics that work with your color palette and are appropriate for your personal style needs and goals. It’s just hard to ensure the accuracy of any of this from an online source. Even if a Website guarantees satisfaction, it takes weeks to have something made. If you’re dissatisfied, it will take twice as long to make you happy. Who has time for that?

Question #2: An old friend from Chicago who now lives in suburban New York wrote his question on Facebook. He has a glen plaid suit that is 8-10 years old that he describes as good quality and in great condition. He hasn’t been able to wear it in years but has been losing weight and hopes to be able to wear it again. His question is if the suit is a timeless design.

My answer: Great question. It’s one I get asked a lot. Since the quality is good and the condition is fine, those are typically not the concerns when it comes to a suit’s longevity.

What we are typically concerned with are tandem issues: the garment’s age and its ability to stand up to today’s current styles. Glen plaid is a classic, timeless fabric pattern. So you should be safe there. The four most important areas of concern are: the garment’s overall fit (especially the coat’s shoulders), the coat length, the lapel width, and the button stance.

Newer suits are perhaps a touch shorter than longer, lapels a touch narrower than wider, button stance a touch higher than lower, and shoulders fitting either a touch closer or average — even for a classic fitting suit. “Classic” even seems to get redefined as “fashion” — a fluid notion if ever there was one — shifts.

So even if this particular suit hasn’t been chomped at by the moths and is in seemingly wearable condition, be sure it conveys a message that says “success”. Little things like how a suit fits and how up-to-date are its details convey such important non-verbal messages to people in-the-know. Without uttering a word, your clothes should convey more of a message of who you are than it should convey a rescue plan for a suit that may have possibly passed its prime.

Question #3: A second old Chicago chum got an earful from his wife because he was about to head out of the house in mismatching accessories. His question to me was whether this is a big fashion error.

My answer: Coordinating accessories all depends on the level of footwear. The less formal the footwear, like gym shoes, the less coordinated the belt is expected to be. Conversely, the more formal the shoes, the more coordinated the belt is expected to be. That’s a classic rule you can always count on following to maintain consistency in your look.

Got a kvetch-tion of your own? Send it along and maybe it’ll get answered right here!

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Into the Closet

If the faltering economy is preventing you from looking fashion forward, now is the perfect time to take stock of what’s lurking in your clothes closet. Over the years of auditing clients’ closets, I have been concerned about the crazy consumption on clothing left unworn, or not worn enough to have warranted the purchase in the first place. It’s time to get back into the closet and get your wardrobe organized.

Carol Stephen, owner of Stephen Organizing Services in Sunnyvale, and I dished about the disorganization we both see in our clients’ closets, and therefore in their lives. Without naming names and outing our honored clients, we had a heart-to-heart about helping them both in the closet, and out. “Usually, I don’t see any organization,” Carol said of the spaces clients hire her to manage. “There’s stuff on the floor, on the bed, on exercise equipment. So there’s no underlying structure.” This might tempt a person to reach for the Calgon bath, but it won’t clear the clutter.

Stephen says the top mistake people make with their clothes closets is “they keep stuff because they paid a lot of money” for various clothing items but that “it doesn’t lift their spirits. Usually when they get rid of it they feel a lot better.” I couldn’t agree more. Often people buy something new to lift their spirits – call it retail therapy – but if the item wasn’t purchased to coordinate or to complete a look it tends to hang in the closet with the price tag attached as a constant reminder of buyer’s remorse. Carol, whose positive spirit is as breezy as a day at the beach, encourages clients to rid their closets of these items so “something great can come into their lives.”

Another reason for the closet chaos is that people “hold onto things for the wrong reasons. Sometimes they think – like with shoes – they’re going to break them in. I’ll just wear them a little longer and they’ll get comfortable,” she said while kindly imitating the good intentions of a client. Apparently not enough people know the rule to shop for shoes after 5:00 p.m., when feet are as swollen as they will be after being active all day. Also there’s a correlation between clutter and weight. “People whose weight vary a lot have a lot of different sized things; so it’s harder to organize,” she claims. “When they let go of things, it’s weird, but that’s when they start losing weight. When they get something that’s really gorgeous and appropriate, they can finally see the difference.”

Then there is the issue of holding onto clothing that’s not age appropriate. “They’re missing out on the beauty that is their age,” says Carol, who has lived just long enough to use herself as an example of appropriately maintaining a youthful appearance. “Accessorize at Forever 21, just don’t buy your whole wardrobe there,” she advises women clients, and says everyone needs to let go of the past. I concur with Carol and think it’s helpful to assess what your goals in life are so you can think about how you want to project yourself as you currently are rather than as you were in college.

The key to organizing the wardrobe is to develop a system. Carol warns against purchasing a closet system without first inventorying what you have. Even trying to decide between organizational systems leads to a lot of confusion, she says. Even if all you have to work with at first is a closet rod, at the very least figure out a way to group items by clothing category or color. For a more sophisticated wardrobe, try to group items by wardrobe cluster. Separate items that you won’t wear again until next spring and summer from the ones you need to wear through fall and winter. If all else fails and you’re ready to pull your hair out, seek out the services of one of us well-organized types.

Carol was known by her peers at such companies like Sun Microsystems, Hewlitt Packard, and 3Com to be quite organized. As a technical writer, “I had to be organized for my job. So I started helping my family and friends. Writing is lonely work, especially technical writing. You can get there when it’s dark, see no one all day and get home when it’s dark.” Somehow through the darkness, she saw the light and nuanced her natural talent into a viable vocation. “I’d like to encourage people to just let go of things. Most of the time, they’re not even going to remember that they owned a particular item. The closet does not need to be so stuffed.”

Organizing Tips:
1. Find items rarely or never worn and look for items in the closet to wear with them. If you don’t find good combinations, let them go.
2. Eliminate items that are not the right fit, color, or age appropriateness.
3. Create separate spaces for seasonal clothes.
4. Organize what’s left by style, color, work-related, non-work casual
5. Invest in a closet system once the wardrobe has been inventoried and you know what needs to be organized to make your ‘look’ and your life easier.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Get Your GLOW on

It’s been nearly a year now since joining an organization dedicated to supporting the goals of women business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals. eWomenNetwork is, at it’s core, all about giving members access to one another. Access has created the spark for friendships, supportive partners, and even clients.

Access also brought “The GLOW Project” to me and I watched it with a preconceived question: As a man, will I connect with the messages of 15 women who had to fight their way through adversity. The answer came quickly. YES! I found it to be very moving. It was easy to connect with their experiences because life has not always been so easy for me either.

As a result of watching the movie, and after having the pleasure of interviewing Sandra Yancey, I wrote about this movie in my latest ‘Style’ column in Metro Silicon Valley. If you haven’t read it yet, you can read it here: The Power of GLOW

Consider this an opportunity to take some energy from my lit candle and light your own by sharing your thoughts about the article and your reactions to the film.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Grooming is Good

Today I received an inquiry from a company interested in providing its employees a wardrobe and grooming seminar. It sounded like grooming is a sticking point for some in this company’s office. It’s not yet clear if the offending employees’ poor grooming habits are culturally based; or brought on by ignorance or laziness.

Hopefully the company will hire me because I want to help these employees develop better personal grooming standards and habits. It’s good to give everyone an overview, but the few employees with particularly poor habits should have some 1:1 time with me. It can be wounding for one worker to hear from a colleague that s/he has chronically bad breath, for example. It’s hard to recover when the employees work with each other daily.

Skills are a really important component to achieving success. But poor grooming habits are barriers to achieving success, regardless of the skill level. If someone can outgrow poor habits then it is possible to reach one’s full potential.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

The Third Season Trifecta: Traditions, Trends, and Trials

With the world in such a state of monetary mystification, political perplexity, and societal shake-ups, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll be yearning for change, whether in your hand or on your body. Change is fashion’s raison d’être and this season proves to be as good as any to embody the concept. Let’s take a journey through fall’s fashion maze, a full range of mainstays and mayhem. Some will be eminently wearable, while others will be costumes beyond compare. Through the sublime and the silly, we’ll make sense of fall’s fashions for men.

Traditions, as fashion trends, are always rife with retrospection. Jean Paul Gautier, Junya Watanabe, and Lanvin each sent looks down their runways, redefining look of The Gent as rite of passage. Young men, topped off in bowler derby hats and wearing tailored coats, cravats, and chunky soled shoes, were caricatures of grown-ups from a by-gone era. Other designers, like Michael Kors, Valentino, and Paul Smith, made the vest one of their best accessories. Whether it’s a knit sleeveless cardigan worn with a tweed jacket, the third piece of a superb suit, or a contrasting colored and lapelled piece layered to foppish effect, the vest’s been treated with an attitude adjustment that should make it popular for lesbians and lads alike.

Viktor & Rolf even took a traditional tone, and reworked the white tuxedo shirt into one that could be worn in a non-traditional manner. The thought process even paid new attention to the bow tie. Burberry Prorsum went metallic, Neil Barrett did a classic black bow and white shirt with skiwear, and Ralph Lauren’s guy looked like a sexy paper delivery boy, complete with sneakers.

Designers create trends to transmit themes and entice customers to try (and buy) something new. This fall’s fads should influence men to look fearless. Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, and Z Zegna showed shaggy and sheared coats in bold designs, and with broad shoulders. The sweater, nearly non-existent for numerous seasons, has made a huge reappearance in a wide array of styles: from fresh and fluffy, flamboyant fisherman looks to classic ski looks for the most fearless of downhill skiers. We could all use a dose of fearless fashion this fall.

Along with fearlessness, boldness continues with this season’s punchy plaids. Costume National showed a bold plaid coat over a somber gray outfit. D & G took the hunter’s approach with a Scottish plaid jacket with over-the-top plaid pants, while Paul Smith put his best plaid forward, toning down a plaid vest and pant with an earthy, solid, tweed jacket. Less colorful, but bold nonetheless, the edgy black-on-black look emerges from the shadows this season. Black leather, velvet, silk, wool, and cashmere have been mixed masterfully, creatively showing bright and dull, flat and textured, monochromatic effects in looks ranging from the Nancy Boy to Gangsta.

And now for trials. These would be this season’s edgiest lines for men. Trials are truly experimental, envelope-pushing fashions that shed light on what’s happening in the world. Often they belong on mannequins rather than on men. The slim styles shown by lines like D Squared have a narrow audience. Collections from Bottega Veneta and Yohji Yamamoto are going baggy, bucking the bonier styles, showing the opposing extreme. The pattern mixing shown by Etro and Dries van Noten are creative, complex, and memorable. Though not likely to be worn by many, plenty would consider sending them up a flag pole or two. Two rabble-rousing designers defied convention. Raf Simons, and particularly Muccia Prada, brought gender-bending clothes to the runway, complete with a bikini bottom peeking out of a pair of pants and a bralette!

Whatever your desire, the designers have successfully updated what modern men’s clothes should look like. The choices available this season make it easy to play it safe, take a chance, or throw all caution to the wind.

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Spoke at West Valley College Today

Today I had the pleasure of speaking to students and faculty at West Valley College in Saratoga, CA. The topic of the presentation was “Interviewing Success: It’s all About You”. During the one-hour talk, I wove together the importance of appearance, behavior, and communication during the entire interview process. Questions from participants included:

• what core items should someone just starting out make sure he owns?

• can a job candidate wear fragrance?

• can you go to a job interview without wearing a business suit?

• are there acceptable exceptions in Silicon Valley?

After the presentation I received a great compliment from a man who appreciated how the presentation showed the interconnectedness of appearance, behavior, and communication. Another appreciative comment was about how I explained how dressing better affects the bottom line of the interviewing process. Who really wants to leave money on the table?

It’s very enjoyable speaking with people who are interested in improving themselves. My feeling is that for many, it’s just about dressing a little better. But for the most engaged participants, it’s about more than clothing, a tool to help convey a strong, positive self-image. But without good business and social skills, good communication and body language, the clothes would just be surface matter. I was so happy everyone ‘got it’ today!

Designing and managing your image is the secret science of your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men, women, and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.

Fall 2008 Women’s Runway Wrap-Up: Recession Proof

A year ago, fashion designers in Milan, Paris, and New York all must have been advised by the same crystal ball that foretold tough economic times. The collections, presented in February and early March, are right on target for the state of our world, showing great insight into the psyche and savvy of many a designer’s mind, as well as our very own. Ultimately, the fashions fall into two factions. Most designers put forth practical designs as proof of the recession, while a minority of others opted for opulence for their recession-proof clientele. Let’s take a look.

The first fashion shows took place in New York, an equally fitting place for a financial meltdown as it is for fashion materialism. Three collections stand out as examples of the New York state of mind. At Ralph Lauren, urban urgings gave way to exurban escapism. Who saw the gritty economic graffiti on the proverbial brick wall when Ralph created these get-out-of-town looks? Inspired by his own Colorado ranch, he deftly drew upon plaids and paillettes to merge the “Rocky Mountain High” and high-rise city attitudes. In stark, recession proof contrast, Oscar de la Renta was showing rich, opulent, fur-trimmed cashmeres and complementing wools, including a fitted pleated skirt, a mainstay for this season. The first-rate clothing, worthy of First Ladies, carries a price tag worthy of a bailout. BCBG Max Azria shows signs of what’s to come from Europe: fresh, flirty and feminine looks awash in neutral tones. Body consciousness is inconspicuously introduced, save for belts and slightly skimming silhouettes.

Across the Atlantic, the Milanese designers channeled inspiration from the 1970’s and the 1990’s to create very different looks to get us through tough times. At Prada, a lace remnant was the foundation for an entirely feminine cache of clothes. The dark neutral palette was punctuated by pale blue and metallic. Lace was layered to offer transparency through a garment while covering up the body’s shape, creating a harmonious contradiction. The look is feminine, yet not overtly sexy, and reminiscent of the austere times of the early 1990’s. Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana took to the London streets of the 1970’s. Gucci resurrected and glammed up its London rock chick with Russian tapestry textiles, chains, fringe, and charm-like baubles worthy of a ruble-rich Russian rock star. Dolce & Gabbana gave their girls touches of town tailoring tinged with country chic checks and texture. The resulting looks ranged from boyish Bohemian to rustic romanticism, perfect for London, circa 1970’s, or for today’s toned-down times.

The Paris shows continue to prove it’s a place of inspiration, if not outright optimism. At Dior, John Galliano set the tone with cheery bright color, in uncharacteristically understated get-ups that seem to channel Jackie Kennedy. Galliano’s girls showed his theatrical side with temperamentally heavy eye makeup. But the abundance of paillettes and embroidery make it a party-ready collection. Over at Louis Vuitton, American designer Marc Jacobs made girl dresses for grownups. The collection was sober yet sophisticated, echoing the elegance of a sculptural silhouette and a perfectly fitting full skirt with a waistband fit to a T. Even luxe Lanvin took a practical approach. Albert Elbaz showed restraint in a tight color palette of black, navy, and metallics. His nifty use of grosgrain ribbon as a fabric simultaneously showed restraint and opulence, and huge jewelry helped to hammer home a bit of escapism, making us forget about everyday reality.

Especially entertaining during difficult days, the fantasy that is fashion can keep us rooted in reality and enable us to escape. So while we may be tempted to tighten our belts when it comes to buying fashions, it still pays to find some femininity this season and wear it for all it’s worth.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.