Wardrobe Games

An acquaintance in Ithaca, New York alerted me to a Wall Street Journal blog post written by a Silicon Valley-based thirtysomething man entitled, “The Perils of Interview Attire.”  Writing about one of my favorite topics – how Silicon Valley engineers are known to have a style all their own – Jon Gray tells of his perilous job interviewing wardrobe experiences.  In Gray’s situations, intentionally wearing an item – or not – moves beyond the physical.  It’s a head-trip.

Among three of Gray’s buddies who have interviewed at startup companies, none have worn ties to job interviews in years, he says.  Welcome to Silicon Valley, home of the dress for success counterculture, where success is measured not by the noose around your neck but based on other factors.  Now you might be thinking with this comment that I’ve gone soft and that the Silicon Valley is an altruistic place where qualifications, merit, degrees, and diplomas are all that count.  Cough. Cough.  Image still matters heavily, but it matters in a different way than in other parts of the country.

In Gray’s post he explained how he went to an interview wearing a suit with no tie, and unbuttoned his dress shirt at the collar.  The company vice president gave him a sartorial thumb’s down, even though the recruiter’s feedback was flying high.  He promised to dress more appropriately for additional interviews.  When he went back to meet with the president and the CEO, he wore a suit, tie, and even shined his shoes for the occasion.  When the CEO showed Gray out of the building he told him to “never wear a tie to an interview at a startup!”

There are all sorts of issues with this story.  One is that he took advice from two sets of colleagues but didn’t get more insight.  A second issue is that he didn’t know more about the startup company’s culture.  A third issue is that after meeting with the company vice president he should have had some ideas of how to dress for subsequent interviews based on how the vice president was dressed and based on the vice president’s feedback about the way he showed up for the interview.  A fourth issue is that the recruiter should have provided better information to Mr. Gray about the way he should dress for subsequent interviews.

Jon Gray got caught in a wardrobe game played by many men in the Silicon Valley counterculture.  How does a guy be an individual and still fit in to the culture of the Valley, and the technology sector culture?

The simple answer is the complex answer:  Guys like Jon Gray have to know themselves and have to know the company they are [going to be] employed by.

As I said in my comment response to Gray’s blog post, “A self-assured man dresses for the purpose of achieving his goals, and goal number one is being able to look at yourself in the mirror knowing you represented yourself properly.”  This answers the part of knowing yourself.  “The idea of dressing appropriately for an occasion means balancing your own needs and goals with the expectations of your audience.”  Without losing your sense of self, you need to know your audience.  “If you don’t know your audience’s expectations, you need to inquire.”  This means, do your due diligence and research a company even if it means parking your car in the lot and watching the comings and goings of the people.

Jon and others might wish for the good old days of rules – as we knew them to be.  In fact, there are ‘rules’ of dress that apply to Jon’s situation but they aren’t the classic rules found in dog-eared copies of published books.  These rules are experiential and are ever-changing.  It only makes sense this is happening here in Silicon Valley, a place where game playing is an art form.

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.

Notable Ways to Color Your Life

Wearing the right colors is something I’ve been aware of since my teenage years and the discovery of The Preppy Handbook. Certain colors and combinations signified the preppy look, and I wanted to look preppy. At the same time, it was obvious some colors did not look so good on me. A pastel-tinted shirt’s low intensity drained my energy. Other colors made me look “blah” while the colors looked stronger than me. This was one of life’s moments when I knew I had an interest in style. Now all these years later, color is central to the work I do as an image consultant to help others develop their personal visual brands.

Recently I did a presentation about how to make an impression with color for a social group of about 25 women. It was a thrill to talk with them about color theory, color types, how to use color to change the way one’s body looks, how to convey different messages by wearing certain colors, and how I identify each client’s essences by reading their color palette. Many of the women have come to see me to develop their customized color palettes, and it’s been a blast showing them what is possible for them with their special combinations of colors.

My clients always inspire me with their unique strengths and energy. I always want each of them to see the strength and energy I see in them as an objective third party and to grow with the help of my suggestions when opportunities are identified.

You might wonder how in the world color can even help you reach your goals. The answer is amazingly simple, and comes by way of this analogy I made up:

Color is a lot like music. In music there are all the notes, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, just like there are all the colors in the prism. Now we all think we should be able to each sing a C note. Guess what? Some of us can’t. This is just like being unable to wear a certain color, regardless of how light or dark the color is. Octave levels in music are like color intensity levels. Not all of us sing at the same octave level either. Some of us sing naturally higher or lower than one another. Not every color intensity level works for everyone. If you were a singer, vocal training and coaching would help you develop a stronger voice, greater awareness of your vocal range, and you’d be in a position to expand your range. The same is true with color. Everybody wears clothes and has messages to convey while wearing them. When you learn and know what colors look best on you, you know more about your visual strengths and how to convey them to everyone else.

So here’s to all the women who have come to work with me on their personal color profiles in the last few weeks: you each inspire me with your strengths, your stories, and your willingness to be open and share. You make me love being an image consultant, and I can’t wait to see how your style develops.

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.

Ladies Eighties Evocation: Fall 2009 Fashion

This is a season of multiple messages, and it’s no wonder, as the designers had a few things on their minds at the time they were designing the fall collections. It was definitely time to escape from the economic woes that were reaching epidemic proportions about this time last year.

As has been the case for the past year now, absent from the runway have been some of the more avant-garde and opulent creations. It’s still awkward to exhibit one’s affluence, even though designer customers still seek out and want to enjoy luxury. This remains a time for austerity through design. Some of the best designs this season – and no doubt priciest – are those created by designers who exercised such restraint by paring down a piece while utilizing fabrics and leathers so refined, perhaps only the wearer is aware of the high quality goods.

Ruching [fabric that is typically gathered into a ruffle or pleats] is easily one of the most important designer details of the season. Simple to look at, complex in design, ruching is a design motif that gives the look of “a little bit more” during a time when people are thinking of living with “a little bit less.” With this visual element, designers are signifying that life and fashion do go on and that their customers should still aspire to live in comfort. A little fashion along the way will help get over the tough times.

This season, the designers are time traveling us back to the eighties and the women’s power look. Though designers are telling their clientele it’s time to return to classic styling and tailoring, referencing the eighties as a point of stimulation, resulted in the creation of fashions in the present tense that will serve today’s modern sensibilities. Power messages this season are most prevalent in silhouette, primarily anything triangular with strong shoulders and a belted waist.

The power punch continues with an emphasis on looking tough. Motorcycle jackets, studded leather accessories, and even fringed bags will give a girl of any age that rebel spirit. Sometimes the toughness turns a bit more utilitarian, as in dressing in country tweed fabrics.

Many designers used pops of fluorescent color to highlight their collections, especially the use of ‘caution’ orange, a color most women won’t wear unless they’re incarcerated! Speaking of caution, beware of the trend to show lots of skin this season, or perhaps to shroud it beneath a swathe of mesh or lace. Sure, you’ll see it in the magazines this fall, but it could cost you at the office. Reserve looks like these for evenings out.

As more designers are consolidating their efforts, combining themes between women’s and men’s collections, it’s doubtful that some styles seen as feminine by today’s standards will become a hit on the men’s side anytime soon. So this season, look for puffy accents, in sleeves and skirts. And for evening, stand tall in a tulle dress. Fashion will rescue the damsel in distress.

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.

Fall Fashion: Fortification for Men

Fall is fast approaching and the stores are filling with fresh fall fashions. Unlike past seasons when designers mused of men’s fall from masculinity, this season shows new signs of strength – and of survival – for the modern man.

Internationally celebrated designers created the current collections during the worst economic downturn in recent history, and it shows. The resulting designs aren’t a public pity party about the current value of the world’s currencies or about loss of wealth. Rather, designers seem to be cheerleading their customers to victory with timeless, if iconic, menswear pieces to rebuild their images as the new modern man: a tough guy who’s emotionally stable, yet tinged with the mid-century ethos of doing the right thing for the good of all. It’s a tall order, but so is the return of prosperity after emerging from an economic emergency.

Whatever the crisis leveled on the average man, it consolidated the efforts of the designers who dress them. Men are now focused on keeping a job or getting one. Designers know this, and as if an economic bomb dropped on Western civilization, they reacted to the resultant new way of living by preparing collections to help men achieve their goals. As a man this season, wearing certain key items will keep you looking current in your quest to get made, laid, or paid.

When it comes to tailored clothes, keep it classic. The double-breasted suit made a strong catwalk comeback because its strong-shouldered silhouette says, “I’m serious about business.” While the season’s tailored items are all about sartorial structure, suited for corporate dragon slaying, slouchy sweaters convey calm, cool collectedness once the workday has ended. Try an atypically long cardigan or sweater-jacket, or put on a familiar Fair Isle crewneck, something well worn that Grandma would have knit for you.

Contemporary wingtip shoes smartly compliment a strong suit. Whether black, cordovan, or brown choose a pair with a sturdy leather sole and a toebox that’s right for your personal style. Choose carefully to look current, or risk looking like an outdated and overbearing curmudgeon.

Footwear fashions extend to boots, too. Menswear retail buyers think men need to take a hike or a ride – as long as he’s in Americana Style boots. Motorcycle and suede desert boots are great for more than biking or traipsing through sand dunes. Moreover, with wear and weather they become evermore comfortable. Another great thing about this season’s boot selection is that if chosen well, one could be worn with a suit. Just promise not to wreck them because doing so would eliminate them as a wearable option with a suit.

Outerwear is so important for fall, and the peacoat is a must have. Peacoats give this great look of structured strength on the exterior, a nod to military might. Once indoors and when unbuttoned or removed, a modern man can wow everyone with his softer side. Get your motor running by showing your tough side with a leather motorcycle jacket. From stiff to soft grades of leather, you can look like a total badass or a bit more the strong, sensitive type.

It’s a season of gray goods, which is good for the men who look great in gray garb. A great thing about gray is that there’s a gray suited for most people, from greenish cement gray, to cool bluish gray, to dark charcoal. So complex are some fabrics, some grays are even toasted, ranging from khaki or taupe in their lighter form, to blatant brown-gray blends. Gray has been on the recent fashion scene making the statement of cool ease, but this fall it represents steely strength. From suits to sweaters and everything else that completes a man’s wardrobe, gray makes this strong steadfast statement, and compliments the season’s perky palette.

Designers like Paul Smith, known for his prolific use of color, played with a palette of yellow and red, contrasting with a gray theme. Relying on varying twill textures, his collection took on a town and country attitude. At super luxe fashion house Hermes, gold and red was also de rigueur, juxtaposed against the passivity of gray and navy, and the fighting spirit of khaki. Dolce & Gabbana used lots of black and white with touches of ink, berry, and red hues, perfect for the self-indulgent narcissist to show off to everyone else and say, “Look at me!”

This is just the point of men’s fall fashions. It’s a time to bolster visual appearance so others pay attention to the new well-tailored man with dreams and goals of prosperity. Clothes, such as what are available this fall, certainly do help to make and transform the man.

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.