Personal branding is not, primarily, about fashion. Creating a personal brand begins with cultivating a deep understanding of who you are and what you value. It gets developed around what you’re trying to achieve and how you want, or need, to be perceived in order to get the job done.
So, don’t start at the closet door. Start with a long, but hopefully kind, look at yourself. Who are you? What do you care about most? And who do you want to attract into your life to help you make the difference you are out to make?
Then, go to the closet. Do you like what you see? If not, you can learn to use the basic principles of shape, proportion, scale, color, line, texture, and contrast -- the timeless elements of art -- to take the guesswork out of selecting clothes for your body type and your intentional image.
Here are the problems we see most often when women lack confidence around their personal style.
-
Lisa’s body today isn’t the body she used to have and she has no idea how to shop for this body. She’s begun to notice that -- outside of her company, where she's known and respected -- she tends to get dismissed, or at least that’s how it feels.
-
Kiesha hates to shop. She has long defaulted to basic black. Like the late Steve Jobs, famous for having dozens of the same outfit, she’s never at a loss for what to wear. But she also never stands out in a crowd, and sometimes gets mistaken for an intern rather than the company founder.
-
Carla could never fit into anything off the rack, so everything she buys tends to be a little too big or a little too small; too long or too short. She thinks she looks cheap, but she has no idea what to do about it. What do other women do?
What to Do? Envision yourself in “artful” terms!
Learn to apply the 7 Principles of Art to the way you dress and you can look beautiful every day, for every occasion. It’s a technique that takes the pressure out of shopping and provides a framework for choosing the absolute best looks for your age, body type, and style.
If you understand your proportions, color, scale, and the shape of your face, you easily find your “fit,” as well as the stuff you look great in effortlessly. And when you show up with confidence, others see you as confident; and that one thing changes everything! You’ll immediately feel the difference.
To really feel amazing and polished, work with all seven of the elements. But, if you can conquer only three: color, proportion, and shape, you will be way ahead of most people and others will start to notice.
Research confirms that it only takes seven seconds to make a first impression! While the same span applies to men, it is especially important for women in powerful roles to command those first seven seconds. That first impression is vital to our success and it’s a huge relief when we realize we can control it, 100%!
Will you show up with confidence, in a way that expresses who you are, with a style that immediately communicates what you stand for? That’s real power!
Cyndy Porter is the author of Success Thru Style, an exceptional manual for finding the style that best suits you and your business or personal goals. She speaks often at local conferences, does personal consultations and has begun training instructors to help others create their own personal brand. Call her at 703-919-5244, drop an email to cyndy@successthrustyle.com, or see http://www.successthrustyle.com.
