A story with a moral,
and tips for how you, regardless of environment, can
dress with confidence.
One summer, my significant other and I were
vacationing in a quaint little beach town.
After our third day of heat and sand we, fried by
the sun, decided to go for a walk and visit the
shops that lined the boardwalk.
We
found a cute little jewelry shop, with really big
prices.
My
husband-to-be spotted a necklace he thought I had to
have, and so young, sandy, stubble-faced, and
dressed in junkwear, he approached the counter.
The saleswoman pretended not to see him, and when he
finally got her attention long enough to inquire
about the piece, she was bold enough to respond
simply by saying "it's expensive," before turning
her attention to another customer who despite her
beachwear, was clad ears, neck, wrists, ankles and
fingers, in gold.
My
husband, not accustomed to such treatment, became
assertive, got the saleswoman's attention and
finally completed the purchase.
As
he handed over his platinum card, the woman smiled a
saccharin smile, and apologized, mumbling something
about how hard it was to tell who was who with all
the beachwear.
Meanwhile, the woman, adorned head to foot in gold,
never spent a cent.
So
what's the moral of the story you ask?
It's this: It doesn't matter what you wear-you're
still you underneath!
In
fact, many a millionaire has been stumbled onto
wearing nothing more than old jeans and a tee shirt.
So
with that, here are a few tips you'll be glad to
have for dressing with confidence.
Each tip is meant to remind you that you always have
a choice whether or not to be concerned about how
you dress, and that the ultimate question is, are
you comfortable with what you wear?
1. Find your unique
style, your signature look…or don't
What's your natural style? Look through magazines
and find clothes that reflect your current style.
Are you one for colors? Or, are you a basic black
dresser?
Whatever your natural style, browsing fashion
magazines can give you a sense for how you might
jazz up your personal style, while remaining true to
"your look."
2. Wear clothes that
flatter you…or don't
What are you most comfortable in? What do you get
most complements on? Take a trip to a department
store-have a sales rep show you some suggestions to
flatter your figure, height, and coloring. And,
don't be shy about taking up their time-it's what
they get paid to do!
Ask a good friend
(whose style you admire) for some advice. Have
him/her go through your closet and pick out the
"discard these" clothes as well as the "these are
great" ones. It will be a fun, bonding exercise for
you both to boot!
3. Wear bold colors, or, wear neutrals and black
My mother in law is
always pressuring me to wear bright colors. But,
it's not my style and I'm comfortable with that.
What's your tendency?
Do you wear neutrals
and black because you don't like color, or is it
because you don't feel confident in color?
If it's the latter,
then get out to the store right away and engage that
sales rep.
Let him/her find you colors that you can easily
blend into your current wardrobe and skin coloring.
Try them on and give it a shot.
Incorporating even just one piece of color can
sometimes liven up a neutral or all black outfit-try
a handbag, a scarf, or a pair of outrageous shoes.
See how you feel.
4. Dress to be
comfortable...or don't
Maybe stilettos are your thing. Maybe they're not.
Whatever your preference, know that style doesn't
always have to negate comfort.
Lucky for us, in this case, you can truly have your
cake and eat it too!
Whenever you buy clothing, really test it to make
sure it suits you style-wise as well as
comfort-wise.
And, if you find it isn't comfortable once you're
back home-don't worry. Most stores do have a return
policy!
5. Bottom line: wear what you want,
when you want, and how you want because underneath
it all…you guessed it…you're still you
!
Only you can determine what your style is.
Sure, beauty advisors, image consultants, sales reps
and eyeglass sales personnel can share their
expertise and make recommendations based on their
experience.
But, at the end of the day, you have to be
comfortable with your decision for what to wear and
how.
There's an actress Chloe something-or-other, who is
always captured wearing an outfit consisting of some
rather interesting combinations.
She is adored for her style, even though her
combinations are somewhat unconventional.
So
given that style is rather a subjective issue, what
I think is more important about that fact that her
style is adored, is that it is primarily based on
the sense that in choosing to dress as she does, she
exudes a significant degree of confidence.
And I think it is
this confidence that makes her style work.
So, wear whatever
makes you feel good, simply because it makes you
feel good (as long as it doesn't get you in trouble)
and you can hold your head high with the confidence
that you're doing exactly as you please!
