Category Archives: Blog

Joseph Rosenfeld Image Mentor’s Blog, check back for articles and tips on developing your best personal image and style!

Don’t Be A Genuine Fake

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A small shop selling leather accessories that mimic the real thing. My advice: refuse the temptation to buy items that are genuine fake.

A small shop selling leather accessories that mimic the real thing. My advice: refuse the temptation to buy items that are genuine fake.

As if I needed a “reminder-to-self”, while enjoying a perfectly lovely trip abroad, I got a clear message that I must refuse to be a genuine fake.  You should, too.

Now, I didn’t need to come to Turkey to figure this out.  But the concept of buying goods that are each brazenly marketed as being a genuine fake, struck me as a genuine affront to all that is good in the world.  For about twenty bucks apiece, I could have filled my wrists and arms with genuine fake brand name watches with nearly identical designs and appearances to the real McCoy’s.  I am sure we have all seen this before on Canal Street in New York, or by some street vendor off Union Square in San Francisco, or just about anywhere else.

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Meet Mary Jaeger, Master Textile Fashion Designer With a Twist

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Textile Examples Designed by Mary Jaeger: Lavender Diamond Rib Collar cape, Mountain Scarf-orange-green, Blue Castle Hat

Textile Examples Designed by Mary Jaeger: Lavender Diamond Rib Collar cape, Mountain Scarf-orange-green, Blue Castle Hat

I first met textile maven Mary Jaeger at last year’s annual New York Fashion Conference.  My craving for wearable textiles has never been the same since.  Mary truly is an extraordinary designer.  Her style is so right for Silicon Valley that we hatched a plan to make her amazing collection available outside of her private TriBeCa studio.  Design conscious people like you need to see the works of Mary Jaeger.

After having accepted a very special invitation to visit Mary in her studio last December, I was hooked!  Walking into her creative space that doubles as a showroom was like entering a rock star’s dream closet full of amazingly designed sculpted and dyed accessories in unusual colors, striking textures, and artistic patterns.

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Pete Cashmore – Profile In Style

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Pete_Cashmore_John_Varvatos

Pete Cashmore wearing a white shirt in a special campaign created by fashion designer John Varvatos.

Pete Cashmore might be the most surprising Silicon Valley public figure to get a profile in style.  Cashmore doesn’t actually reside in Silicon Valley. He does spend some time in San Francisco where his digital media company, Mashable.com, is based.  But when he’s not in San Francisco, he’s most likely either in New York, or back in his native Scotland.  Still, Pete Cashmore is a highly recognizable and well-known Internet entrepreneur, and we can all learn something about personal aesthetics by taking a closer look at him.

Each of us has a unique story to tell about who we are, and Pete Cashmore’s story will shed an interesting light on his personal style choices.

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Spring Style Suggestions – Some Know No Season

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Spring Style Suggestions - Dolce_Gabbana

This Dolce & Gabbana dress helped a client make the right impression on the first day of a conference. There’s nothing quite like having “conference confidence” to stand out in a crowd. It worked!

Nearly every day so far this year, I could be spotted scouring the stores in search of clothing and accessories that would become my spring style suggestions for each client.  The most amazing experience is the moment when people who have entrusted me with managing their images get to see those style suggestions for the very first time.

The big reveal isn’t a private showing of curated art.  These style suggestions are “just” clothes, but aren’t just any clothes.  They are selected to work for each client’s body, coloring, style, comfort, occasion, needs, and messaging.  That makes these wardrobe items some serious style suggestions.

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Makeover Superstar – No matter who you are!

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Jody Watley [ca. 2006] singer/songwriter of Makeover Superstar, and also inspired this post.

Jody Watley [ca. 2006]

I absolutely want each client to become her or his own makeover superstar.  But not one of my clients initially says that this is ultimately what they care about.  And that’s because I’m already thinking ahead, from the perspectives of wanting everyone to far exceed their own goals, and of wanting to be an outstanding service provider.

It is my honor and focus to help each client realize and fulfill their personal image goals.  And while each client has her or his reasons and desires for making changes and improvements, a true measure of success can be assessed when I see that each one of them becomes a makeover superstar.

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Fitness and Nutrition are Keys to a Healthy Self Image

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These photos are of Tony, a man who chronicled the changes to his body over a 3 month period. Top left was Tony at the start of his program. Top right photo was Tony mid way through. And the photo at bottom is Tony's transformed torso to date.

These photos are of Tony, a man who chronicled the changes to his body over a 3 month period. Top left was Tony at the start of his program. Top right photo was Tony mid way through. And the photo at bottom is Tony’s transformed torso to date.

My clients are always telling me that no matter how important fitness and nutrition are to their lives and to maintaining a healthy self-image, it’s not easy to keep up with.  Maybe even you are on a journey to improve strength and body shape.  Keeping fit and eating right are not spectator sports.  You can’t watch someone else do it and have the results rub off on you.  If you are concerned about enhancing your self-image by improving your fitness and nutrition, you have to do the work.

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A New Uniform Style For Men

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Coiffed, yet rugged, the new uniform style for men seems to have taken hold in cities like New York and San Francisco. But is it a look for all men?

Coiffed, yet rugged, the new uniform style for men seems to have taken hold in cities like New York and San Francisco. But is it a look for all men?

If you believe everything you read about men’s fashion, you might have been falsely led to believe that there is a new uniform style for men.  You can spot this trend on a guy with a coiffed hairstyle, juxtaposed by scruffy facial hair, and granddad styled clothes made to look youthful, outdoorsy, and deep in thought.

As you might expect, I do a lot of reading about men’s style.  As well, I do a lot of observing and evaluating people on the street, in stores, and at events.  Some would also argue that I am instrumental in helping to create a cultural shift in how men conceive of their style in Silicon Valley.  And because I’m an independent thinker, I’m skeptical about this new ‘uniform style’ for men.

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Feeling Good Enough Should Not Come at the Expense of Others

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Feeling good enough should not come at the expense of others. Instead, set positive intentions to honor your own outer and inner beauty.

Feeling good enough should not come at the expense of others. Instead, set positive intentions to honor your own outer and inner beauty.

I’m a life long student of self-image.  And if you’re a regular reader of my blog, you probably are, too.  So, whenever I have an opportunity to learn something new, I take it.  Last week, I attended a healthy living class for adult learners at Stanford University focusing on helping others to find ways of feeling good enough about their self-image under the leadership of a licensed clinical social worker and a sexual health instructor.

It was one of the most bizarre classes I’ve ever attended.

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Sheryl Sandberg – A Profile In Style

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On the cover of "Time" magazine upon the release of her new book, Sheryl Sandberg wears a "safe" but well tailored dress.

On the cover of “Time” magazine upon the release of her new book, Sheryl Sandberg wears a “safe” but well tailored dress.

Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg is a force of nature, making waves with her new book, “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.”  She’s also a wife, mother, and now a published author.  The point of her book is that women should not make excuses and justifications because their companies don’t advance women’s positions at work.  To “lean in,” she means that women should give their all to their careers, while also believing in their ability to combine the responsibilities of work and family.

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Working From Home In Sweats

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Just now, while opening up my computer to write this post, I quickly realized that I am working from home in sweats.  I’m actually recovering from an acute case of food poisoning.  Fun times.  I’m not even back on solid foods, yet.  But while in the same sweats I wore to the urgent care doctor yesterday, I just had to write about the notion of working from home in sweats.

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