The holiday season is fast approaching and some wardrobe planning will go a long way toward making the most of your holiday experience. Once you know your holiday plans, the next thing you should get in order is what you’ll wear for your various holiday occasions. If you’re looking for ideas on what to wear for the holidays, I offer these helpful suggestions to take you from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve.
Don’t dismiss first impressions. Right or wrong, they are how we all make snap judgments about each other.
To help you along the sometimes-scary path of making the right impression, I’ve put together a few easy, common sense steps that you may want to follow so that others won’t “snap” you away.
Does that question perplex you or make you laugh as much as it makes me laugh? Well, maybe you don’t know just how much that does make me laugh. And I have to tell you that sometimes it just makes me howl with laughter. Not because some people need so much help that they may be beyond help. That’s just catty. I’m not beyond being catty, by the way. It’s just that as a keen observer of people, it’s more in my giving nature to want to help.
One idea that has popped up this year is to shop your own closet – instead of a store – with your favorite image consultant.
I think shopping your closet is a fantastic way to reinvent the wardrobe, but there is a huge caveat to this concept. You’ve got to have a fairly extensive wardrobe in order to make shopping your closet a sensible pursuit. Based on the way my clients have been shopping with me lately, I don’t think everyone is capable of shopping their closets to reinvent their existing wardrobes.
To be plainly honest, many of my clients are taking this time to develop their wardrobes by focusing on a particular need. While some are building an appropriate work wardrobe, others are realizing a need to develop a personal style for socializing, dating, and for traveling. If an aspect of your wardrobe, either professional or personal, is underdeveloped, the idea of shopping your closet may be just as much as a fantasy as the season’s trendy fall fashions.
So how and when can shopping your closet benefit you? If you are fortunate to have a closet full of clothes but are in the unfortunate position of thinking you have nothing to wear, that’s a prime sign it’s time to shop your closet. You might have underutilized gems lurking around that could become new stars. Combing through your wardrobe to eliminate pieces that drain it of your energy is very helpful. Sometimes all you can see are those items you never want to wear. Yet there they are, staring right back at you like a bad dream.
Psychologically, ridding your closet of unnecessary items can be challenging. Can you afford to let go of things you paid money for? I tend to wonder more deeply whether you can afford to feel drained by a wardrobe that isn’t doing its job for you. So I honor the challenges you might face by this challenge, but I also see and would want to honor the opportunity that this process poses.
When you look at your wardrobe with fresh, new eyes the greatest benefit you can expect is freedom. There’s freedom from limiting items that don’t support your body, messages, and goals. And there’s freedom from doing the same ole, same ole. Try something new with something old, and experience something fresh. Treat yourself to and mix in a few new key items, and more than the wardrobe is transformed – you are offered some sense of renewal.
It’s an exciting time to be taking stock of your wardrobe as it pertains to your image. It always feels wonderful being complimented about how good you’re looking. These days we can all use a pick-me-up. But it’s better still when you open that closet, knowing it’s filled like your own customized boutique, and you see yourself looking back at you, seeing only good choices to wear.
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.
Every single day, there are so many bite-sized TV segments dedicated to this very topic. I watch NBC’s “Today” daily, and without fail, the program producers are prone to throw its female demographic a shopping party at every turn. This frustrates me on two fronts. First, when focusing on “economy shopping,” the outfits shown are so trendy-oh-so. I’d hesitate to suggest the average female shopper rev up her professional image by spending money on anything other than updated wardrobe essentials. Second, what about men?! They’re part of the workforce, too.
So I was excited and flattered when Nina Price, The Professional Competitiveness Coach, asked me to be a part of her upcoming teleseminar series. It’s happening the week of September 14. Each day at 9:00am Pacific, Nina will interview one of 5 experts [including me] about a strategy topic that is part of her upcoming book, “5 Strategies for Staying Employed in Today’s Economy.” Naturally, I’ll be talking with Nina about how people – maybe even you – can successfully rev up their image.
Job interviews today are a real test of wills. But the credentials on the resume tell only part of the story. Knowing how to show up for an interview is very important because it shows the right attention to detail was paid. What’s the proper balance? The industry you work for has some norms, a sub-culture you want to respect while making your best case. Show up over dressed, and you’ll look as if you’re covering up for some shortcoming elsewhere. Under dress and you run the risk of being the less attractive of two candidates.
Even with all these considerations to take into account, a job candidate should show up to an interview with a good smile, a flattering hairstyle, clean and pressed clothes, shined shoes, and manicured hands. Your smile is your passport to a less stressful interview because when you smile you can show some easy confidence. A flattering hairstyle is crucial because it frames the face, which helps to put that smile on center stage. Clean and pressed clothes, no matter how informal, show self-respect, respect for the interviewer, and for the occasion. Shined shoes today don’t necessarily call for a spit shine. A matte shine can be totally appropriate in many industries, like high tech. But scuffmarks should be buffed out. Speaking of buffing, manicured hands don’t have to be done by a manicurist if you’re on a zero budget. But nails should be clean and trimmed; and hands should look and feel like they belong to a professional.
It’s a smart idea to practice eye contact along with the handshake, and to videotape yourself while doing a mock interview. Presentation skills like these are so valuable because when you’ve practiced and studied your mannerisms, you know what to do with your eyes, hands, body, and voice. You want to be sure not to stare or avoid looking at the interviewer. A firm handshake with just a pump or two is appropriate, but you want to avoid giving a clamping handshake or the limp and lifeless handshake {I personally despise this]. Your posture should be upright but not uptight, and your body language should be comfortable, but arms should not be flailing about as if you are trying to balance yourself while walking a tightrope. Vocal tone and tempo are also important. The tone should be moderate and you want to avoid speaking too slow resembling a robot or speaking too quickly like the tape is on fast-forward.
There’s so much to cover in just one hour. This is just a taste of what’s to come when Nina Price interviews me on Wednesday, September 16 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific. Join us, won’t you?
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.
Okay, guys, I’m letting you in on a secret. In recent months, I’ve been asked by a number of wives and girlfriends the following question: How can I get my husband/partner/boyfriend to spruce up his image?
Telling a loved one that he is looking like an unmade bed or that he is stuck somewhere in the 70’s can be a little perilous. As a woman, it’s very likely you’ve been told or made to feel this very same thing – either by your significant other or by society in general – and then you do something about it. But, when it comes to men, ‘doing something about it’ doesn’t always come so easily. I have been dressing men for twenty years and have some ideas that may help you be successful in helping your man.
[Solo guys who feel stuck on your own, this is for you, too…]
The first thing to do is assess what needs improvement. Keep the information to yourself at first. Don’t immediately needle your man with all the fine points where he can improve because this will surely overwhelm him. The full-blown approach calls for the support of a professional and should come from an objective third party.
Prioritize the top two or three solutions that would most significantly improve his image. Keep an eye to the simple and easy things. Are his clothes always wrinkled beyond belief? Suggest he take his typically wrinkled clothing items to the dry cleaners instead so that his improved clothing condition improves how he looks. Does he tend to wear his shirts untucked all the time? There’s a time and a place for this. Suggest he tuck in his shirts for a more polished look for work or for social occasions when looking like a beach bum just don’t do. He may think the untucked look hides a paunch, but the truth is that untucked shirts make men look even bulkier. Is he long overdue for a haircut? It’s just amazing what a fresh haircut does for a guy’s disposition. Just be sure he goes to a reputable place so he’s in a good mood afterward! Try to stay clear of cheap franchise “chop shops.”
Look for the least invasive options. Don’t immediately suggest plastic surgeries! Like the abovementioned, these are easy, free-to-low cost solutions that can yield big rewards, especially when you are there telling your man, “Honey, look how improved you look just because you pressed your pants, tucked in your shirt, and got your hair cut.”
The next level of assessment goes deeper. Is his personal look as current as his vehicle? If not, he’s definitely got an opportunity for improvement. Often, men who don’t maintain an updated wardrobe, eyeglasses, or accessories don’t do so out of laziness or because of a perceived lack of movement in men’s fashion styles.
Chances are your man relies on you to tell him when something is out of style. Showing him solutions is often why many women aren’t able to be as dedicated to helping their man because it’s a job – and most women all ready have one in addition to being a mother and a wife, and a life full of too many responsibilities. That’s where I can help both you and your man in my role as an image consultant.
Aside from getting an updated look, don’t forget about the great image boosting activities you can both enjoy together. Eating healthy together and exercising together is fantastically rewarding because you support each other by having healthier habits and routines. These activities are known to improve attitude, energy, behavior, focus, shininess of hair, glow of skin, and best of all an overall improvement to general health, well-being, and image.
So to the guys who read my blog but never comment, there are a million reasons to fall in love, though getting nagged on isn’t one of them. But if you look sharp you’ll not be concerned with such things!
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.
A couple months ago I was interviewed for a spot on Monster.com about what aging men should do to appear competitive in the job market. Published late last week, I’m grateful for the exposure the piece provided. Since the article also included information about sprucing up the resume and using social media sites, the author could never have included all the tips and tricks I shared with her.
The tips the author did cover in the article are:
• Update your interviewing clothes if you haven’t been shopping in a while
• Maintain a modern hairstyle and visit a hair stylist before that interview
• Boost your confidence and mental acuity through physical fitness
I thought I’d give you a few more tips to help you score that job.
Use clothing to power you up or power you down.
The overall effect of your clothing and accessories’ style, fit, and color has an effect on your interviewer. You want to ensure it’s the right effect. Are you known as a go-getter? The right outfit will help support that attitude. But if the position you seek is executive level, you may have to power down the look that conveys you’re a doer deep down so you can show up to the interview looking like a director. So for instance, lots of color and pattern appears active to the eye and is emblematic of an active personality. But opting for an interview outfit with few colors directs the focus onto you and shows you as a person in control.
If you’re the quieter type, powering up your look is a great way to boost your self-confidence. Do a practice interview in a shirt and khakis and then put on your interview suit and accessories and get feedback about how you sound. Undoubtedly you’ll hear that you sounded better when you looked better. Why? Most likely, subconsciously, you felt better. Popping your outfit with a color accenting your eye or red skin tone, along with wearing a garment with strong a strong angular line will give you a bolder, more energetic appearance.
Visit your tailor if your clothing doesn’t fit.
Let’s face it. Not all of us have fared so well economically lately. As tempting as it is to just purchase new clothing for the job interview, it’s not always practical. So if your cash receivables are as tight as the fit of your suit pants, a visit to the tailor may ease the stress of unemployment and you’ll feel better at the interview, too.
Maybe you don’t wear a suit so often. One of the worst effects of wearing a garment you’re unfamiliar with is wearing one that’s not familiar with you either. By making sure it fits well before you need to wear it, you’ll sit properly and comfortably during the interview and you won’t be fidgeting over your clothes or wondering just how much your stomach protruded over the waistline of your trousers.
Don’t try to compete on looks with the 20-somethings.
Hey, your train left the station some time ago. Don’t get off track by looking back at what should have been because you notice a newer locomotive leaving the garage.
Looking age appropriate, while maintaining a modern, up-to-date style, is so important. You don’t want to be typecast as being ‘older,’ which happens when your clothing and hairstyle is outmoded. This points to the symbiotic relationship between you and your clothes. Old clothes equal an old “you.” New clothes equal a new “you.” So at the very least get your old clothes updated, as I all ready suggested.
If you do act on my advice and go on the hunt for something new, be sure it’s updated to reflect who you are today, not who you once were, or who you wish you could once again be. Avoid looking collegiate to appear younger. ‘Over compensating’ is a poor decision. Don’t dress for the job you’ve presently got or the job you’ve just had. Move forward in your mind and manifest it through your style.
Designing and managing your image is the secret science to your success.
Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.
Looks do count. So does your cash. But do you have to give up one in order to keep another? My experience says it’s all about finding a balance. Here are some quick tips to help guys manage their moolah and machismo:
• Men tend to overuse product, whether it’s gel or cologne. Scale back the amount of product applied and extend the value of the product purchased.
• Use quality products because they won’t need to be reapplied.
• Use a fragranced soap or deodorant in lieu of cologne if you’re on a budget.
• Store fragrances out of the sunlight and make sure to use them because they have a limited shelf life.
• A regimen of the right shaving products means using less of each product and treats your skin better, causing fewer problems.
• Using a better razor extends the number of uses per cartridge; just be careful not to wear it out and cause cuts by being overly budget conscious.
• Before investing in a more expensive product, ask to sample it first to make sure the product’s ingredients work with your body chemistry.
And a bonus, overall grooming suggestion:
• Grooming is very important to maintaining a credible reputation these days. Without a good reputation, it may be a lot harder to earn, let alone save, money.
Looks do count. So does your cash. But do you have to give up one in order to keep another? My experience says it’s all about finding a balance. Here are some quick tips to help guys manage their moolah and machismo:
• Men tend to overuse product, whether it’s gel or cologne. Scale back the amount of product applied and extend the value of the product purchased.
• Use quality products because they won’t need to be reapplied.
• Use a fragranced soap or deodorant in lieu of cologne if you’re on a budget.
• Store fragrances out of the sunlight and make sure to use them because they have a limited shelf life.
• A regimen of the right shaving products means using less of each product and treats your skin better, causing fewer problems.
• Using a better razor extends the number of uses per cartridge; just be careful not to wear it out and cause cuts by being overly budget conscious.
• Before investing in a more expensive product, ask to sample it first to make sure the product’s ingredients work with your body chemistry.
And a bonus, overall grooming suggestion:
• Grooming is very important to maintaining a credible reputation these days. Without a good reputation, it may be a lot harder to earn, let alone save, money.
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.
Ties are available in all sorts of colors, patterns, textures, and motifs. These are some spring 2009 neckwear trends I thought would be fun to share.
Think Pink
[Pictured: Armani dress shirt
Armani, XMI, Etro neckwear
Carrot & Gibbs bowtie]
Lavender Liaisons
[Pictured: Canali shirt
Robert Talbott Seven Fold, David Donahue, Canali neckwear]
“Teal Totaling”
[Pictured: Canali shirt
Robert Talbott Seven Fold, XMI, Canali neckwear]
Earth & Sky
[Pictured: Canali shirt
Robert Talbott, Robert Talbott Seven Fold, Etro neckwear]
The Total Spring 2009 Trend Package
[Dress shirts and ties available at Nordstrom]
A tie is a tailored man’s signature piece of apparel. If you are suiting up for your workweek, for a job interview, or for a special social occasion, the ties you select to complete the ensembles make much more of a statement than the suits you select.
The tie is more important than the suit
If an average person were given the opportunity to observe several men wearing various navy suits, she or he would not easily distinguish one suit’s unique qualities from another. Ask a well-to-do gentleman his reason for purchasing a featherweight, handmade garment. It won’t be because he intends to impress as much as he desires comfort. Otherwise, style is subjective based on the tastes and budget of the wearer. A savvy retail sales professional is good at pairing the appropriate suit to his customer. Theoretically, so long as the navy suit fits well, it doesn’t really matter if the maker is Kiton or DKNY to the average onlooker. The label is on the inside anyway.
The modern day tie is the piece of clothing that provides insight about its wearer.
Consider your characteristics
When selecting neckwear for yourself, consider your personality and personal coloring so the ties provide insight about their wearer. But selecting neckwear that also coordinates to your tailored clothing and dress shirt raises the bar of your selection expertise. Sharp retail sales professionals have honed their skills to make selecting and coordinating neckwear an impressive art form. This is how and where I developed the creative ability to select killer combinations that at once complimented my clients’ physical characteristics and their clothing preferences.
Consider your intended message
Then there is the matter of expressing the messages your neckwear conveys to onlookers through color, texture, and pattern. What attitudes or emotions do you wish to convey to your audience? And what actions or results do you desire, demand, or expect as a result of meeting with this audience? A well-chosen tie may act like a window into your psyche, providing such great information before you utter a word and be the last word of your message and lingering impression once your meeting has concluded.
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.
A terrific friend from my teenage years wrote me for some advice. His query was such a good one I thought I’d share it and the answer it provoked:
Any suggestions on how I can avoid the “interview suit” look?
Surely, there are many men who also don’t don a suit on a daily basis and wonder the same as my friend.
It can feel foreign to suit up for an interview. Thankfully, interviewing is not an everyday occurrence, unless you are a perpetual interviewee. Eventually you will be hired and the process will conclude. But until then, the key to interviewing, and dressing successfully for them, is to shift your mindset and treat an interview like a special occasion.
Interviews and special occasions have a lot in common. In both cases you want to put your best foot forward: A freshly steamed or pressed and appropriately fitting suit. Nicely styled hair. A shaved face free of nicks, cuts, and blotches. Clean, trimmed, and buffed fingernails. Shined shoes. While it sounds like preparing for a walk down the aisle, your visual interviewing goal is to give the employer a positive and memorable connection with your visual brand.
Wearing a suit to an interview is the respectable, businesslike thing to do, even if wearing a suit isn’t what you are accustomed to doing. Don’t go crazy trying to get creative or overly self-expressive when dressing for your interviews. If your clothing leaves more of an impression than you do, your clothing will have overcompensated, giving employers pause for the overstatement. You are the star of the show, and the wardrobe plays a supporting role.
Selecting the dress shirt to accompany the suit you wear is worthy of special note. Wearing a white shirt is a safe bet, but be sure to wear the appropriate white for you. Here’s a tip to determine how to do this: look for a white shirt to match the brightness of your teeth. If your white shirt overpowers your smile, the white is too bright. By neutralizing the variance between smile and shirt, you increase the focus on your personal communication center. White shirts can range from bright white to bone to ecru. Choose the one best suited to you. Solid, classic colored shirts will support you during an interview.
The tie you wear is worthy of at least the same attention, if not more. Ties are the
single greatest piece of communicative clothing men have to wear. Think of them as your personal visual signature. Ties are crucial to the outfit, even though you’ll spend far more on a suit than on a tie any day. Most onlookers won’t remember details about your suit, but they can recall your tie, especially if it’s a bad one! I recommend not wearing too small a motif, nor too large for that matter. Keep the pattern professional looking; avoid wearing anything hand-painted, no matter your industry or profession. One of my favorite tips is to incorporate your eye color in your tie so it brings the interview’s attention to your communication center and keep the focus on you. Again, let the focus be on you and not so much on your clothing.
As an example if you have brown hair and hazel eyes and decide to wear a charcoal suit, I’d recommend wearing the appropriate white, most likely a bone colored shirt. And the tie I’d look for as your image consultant, either in your closet, or at a decent store within your budget, would incorporate some olive to play off your hazel eyes and some gray to play off the charcoal suit. It could also have some bone in it to play off the bone color shirt. And I’d make sure the pattern is moderately sized and classic, either a stripe or geometric pattern based on your personal style preference. For a very clean and modern approach, the tie could be a woven solid selection.
Prepare for your upcoming interviews like they’re special occasions and you’ll put the focus on your dynamic qualities and abilities.
Just yesterday I was interviewed about how men age 40 and up could improve their look for job interviews. It may be about a month before the article is published. But hopefully this helps those of you, like my good old friend, who needs help today. When the article is published, I’ll post a link to it here. Stay tuned.
Designing your image is the secret science to your success.
Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.