Dress for success

I occasionally shop at a certain store here in town that specializes in natural remedies and organic food. The workers there reflect the store specialty by generally being very "granola" in their appearance in both style and cosmetics.

So I was surprised to be greeted by a familiar face with her newly shaved head with a heavy side fringe dyed Royal Purple that practically screamed "hello" at me. Wow! Apparently, her fiance is a few hours away from graduating from a local Beauty School and has been playing in the paint pots of hair color. As we discussed him and his talent, I found myself thinking  something like "No matter how talented, that person might be, if my hairstylist stood above me in rainbow colored hair, I doubt I could take anything they said seriously, let alone trust them to dig in. ( -- Unless you get me on that not-so-rare-anymore day when I'm game for just about anything that may cause my mother to wince and my husband to think I have gone out of my mind. Just for the heck of it. And then the next day I'm pretty glad the moment has passed.)

Which brings me to my point today. What does your personal appearance say about your desire to succeed? Do you wear on your head and on your body the look that will attract the kind of clients you want to work for? If you had a job interview today, would you get the job? (Technically, every client who sits down for you is your boss.)

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As a color educator for a major company, my supervisor insisted that I never pack or wear jeans for any travel or appearances. As a representative for this company you were expected to always look the part, showcasing your very best appearance at all times.

 

Another place I worked had this dress policy: If your old crush from high school walked in the door today, would you greet him with "I'm All That and a bag of chips!" confidence or would you be looking for the nearest exit, hoping to not be recognized? If it is the latter, why do you come to work looking like that?

One of my first mentors ever was a girl who came to work in torn jeans, flip flops, no make up, and absolutely straight hair. Her clientele? You would not believe it based on the advice I written so far. The shop's most glamorous, big hair, and if I may say big spenders were all in her chair. And they all left looking like a million bucks-- hair teased and sprayed into perfect clouds of famous fluff. You could wait MONTHS to get your turn in her chair. What??? She will assure you that she DID THE DRESS FOR SUCCESS THING for years while she built her clientele. She carefully dressed each morning in super firm bangs and high heels to collect her glamorous and high paying clientele. Once her talent and reputation spoke for her she relaxed her personal style and laughed all the way to the bank.

Think about your professional appearance  Are you wearing what you are selling?  Take care to be the kind of look you want your clientele to be.  Its as important as any ad you would pay for.



What is your success style?