There’s a saying out there – “clothes make the man.” But I can’t say that I particularly agree with that statement. I don’t think that clothing makes us anything – but I do believe that if you have a message that you want to get out there – or a business you want to grow and expand – your clothing must align with that message or business if you want to be heard and trusted.
Subconsciously we’re always looking for alignment.
We evaluate whether the emotions a person is putting out there matches the words they’re saying. For example I can say I love you, or I can say I love you – one sounds genuine and the other does not. We use the same method when we evaluate the way someone looks to see if their message matches the quality and level of their service.
Keeping this in mind it’s important to be aware of the message we’re putting out there. If you want to create a juicy and audacious life for yourself, then it behooves you to be aware of how you’re being perceived. Now I want to be clear here and say this isn’t about being a certain way to please others to be accepted. No. It’s about creating the dream you want to create being fully aware of the actions you are taking and the reactions you are making.
If you insist in dressing in a corporate environment in a way that’s not appropriate, rather than trying to fight the man so to speak – consider why you’re in resistance to looking corporate. Maybe you really aren’t meant to be there in the first place and the clothing isn’t truly the issue. Perhaps you’re meant to be an entrepreneur and let your image be part of your branding. Maybe that’s a bit of honesty you’ve been avoiding looking at – or maybe not.
Whatever the case may be – it can be challenging to evaluate our wardrobe because when we look at ourselves in the mirror we often don’t see ourselves the way others do – and that can be a problem. That’s why we have stylists and folks who can help us to express our message more effectively, tastefully, and gracefully – or – help us let our freak flag fly.
Women I think, often get comfortable with a particular look.
We style our hair a certain way, use the same makeup colors and before we know it 20 years have flown by and the message we’re putting out there is that we aren’t paying attention to – and caring about ourselves – in the way we could be. And that’s NOT the message we want to put out there in our businesses and lives.
For me at least, living audaciously means being present fully in the now, not in the past. This requires my attention and constant re-evaluation of the direction I want to go and IF the actions I’m taking are getting me there. That includes my image and my branding both on my website and on my person.
So I’m curious – are you sporting an old tiresome look – or are you putting yourself out there without fear or trepidation and does your style reflect your message?
Let me know below! And if you’re interested in upleveling your look keep your eyes open for our next Style Elixir in LA – join me + an Emmy award-winning make-up artist for an audacious weekend of food, fashion + self-expression.
My re-birth was driven by the need to return to work after 17 years of retirement after a diagnosis of disabled. After leaving the public eye in 1996 I got very comfortable in casual living, dress and attitude. At 62 years of age the financial realities of this time necessitated getting a part-time job. I panicked. Invested in hairpieces and wigs, anti-wrinkle cream, new clothes, new make-up, etc. I felt totally fraudulent. But over time people started to comment about how relaxed and happy I looked. They mentioned a new spark in my personality. Somewhere along the transformation I stopped feeling like a fraud and I began to feel like “me”. I am a firm believer in the “act as if” principle that feelings can follow actions. Or was it the sheer act of taking more care of myself after so many years? Although I was once willing to take any job, whether I enjoyed it or not, I found myself looking only for jobs working with the public. As a natural extrovert it is a no brainer. The mind is truly a magnificent transformative tool.
Thank you Sharon! It is the ego mind that feels fraudulent when we change the way we look – but that is not the real us anyway. That is just the program and its rules accessing our new image compared to what it believes about us. The mind will most often align with the old – what it already believes and that makes us feel inauthentic. However – when we come to realize the spiritual aspect of us does not care how we look – we can take the whole idea of image as an artistic endeavor and decide to design an imagine that aligns with what we want to create in our lives. It is an interesting perspective. 🙂 xoxooxox