7 Top Tips For What To Wear

7 Top Tips For What To Wear–

For interviews, dating – anything!

Recently I was asked to be the guest expert speaker on a teleseminar run by the relationship expert George Pirinizi (www.AttractYourIdealPartner.com). I was to talk about what to wear on a first date and to attract a partner, generally. Now, this is not something I often have to consider, but I agreed to speak on the teleseminar and thought about what my top 7 tips would be.

It occurred to me that my 7 top tips would be relevant for dressing for any occasion. The principles remain the same, whatever the circumstances – the only difference is in the items of clothing you would select to wear for the different occasions.

However, it is no good dressing to impress someone and not being yourself. The idea is to enhance ‘you’ by dressing to look the best version of you – the one who knows how to look effortlessly stylish.

So, in reverse order, here are my 7 Top Tips for what to wear – at any time!

7. The “Best-Front-Room” Syndrome

Do you remember the days when most families had a “best room” that was reserved for special guests and Christmas? Or the “best” tea set that was rarely used – every day the family had to make do with mismatched crockery?

Well, too many women adopt this principle with their clothes – keeping a few choice items for “best” and wearing cheaper, less flattering clothes for every day. Don’t.

I don’t see the point in dressing down for work, when that is where you will be seen by most people, and dressing up and looking your best only occasionally. The result of this is that, often, the best clothes go out of fashion and have to the ditched before they have been worn more than once or twice. What a waste.

No, don’t save your fab look for social events, dates and interviews. You are special – treat yourself as such and wear your “best” often – to work, to the pub, shopping, to put the bin out....! You deserve to look your best at all times. You don’t need loads of clothes to look good, just a core of well fitting, flattering items that you can mix and match.

Far better to have to ditch gorgeous clothes because you wore them out than because they went out of fashion before you had the chance to wear them.

6. Less is More

The “decked out like a Christmas tree” look is not elegant or stylish. The general rule is don’t wear more than 3 accessories at any one time. Also, don’t wear earrings and necklaces at the same time. I know they can be bought as sets, but that doesn’t mean you have to wear them together. If you wear earrings, leave your neck unadorned. If you wear a necklace, leave your ears bare.

Take the advice of Coco Chanel – before leaving the house, look in the mirror and remove one item.

Dress simply to look stunning.

5.Mix and Match

Never buy a whole outfit from one collection, it isn’t stylish. Mix and match to let the authentic you shine through. You don’t want people to admire that outfit from XXX. You want them to admire your wonderful sense of style. So mix it up.

I love to wear a gorgeous, expensive, tailored shift dress (which is really quite smart) with a lovely leather biker jacket. It gives a quite unexpected edge to the look.

Also, don’t go for high fashion looks – they rarely suit and rarely look good. They certainly aren’t a good investment of your money.

As Yves Saint Laurent said “Fashion Fades, Style is Eternal”.

Oh yes, and another tip – the neckline/hemline rule.

If your hemline rises, the neckline should rise too.

If your neckline drops so should your hemline.

This avoids the ‘belt’ look when the two meet in the middle! Not stylish.

4. PPPPPP or Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

I imagine you have never heard this uses in relation to dressing. But it is as relevant to what you wear as any other aspect of your life.

·       If you are going out shopping for clothes then take the shoes you will wear with the outfit with you – or borrow from the shop. This is especially important when buying trousers and jeans.

·       If you are buying for a special occasion – date, interview, wedding etc. then buy in advance and wear the outfit around the house to get used to how it feels and works. On a special occasion you want to feel confident and be able to give your attention to the matter in hand, being yourself, not worried about whether the skirt rides up, the zip will split, the front of the blouse is gaping or whatever else proper planning can alleviate.

3. Build on a Strong Foundation

A properly fitting bra is essential. It can alter the way clothes fit and look on you and can change your shape by a size. So get properly fitted as a priority. It isn’t an exact science and you may need to take as many as ten bras of the same size into the fitting room to find one that fits properly. It is worth the effort.

Get re-fitted regularly, at least every twelve to eighteen months.

Now we have all been guilty of buying gorgeous sets of undies for that ‘special occasion’ and wearing really quite ‘manky’ undies every day – it’s that “best-front-room” syndrome again. Don’t do it. You know how wonderful you feel in the good stuff – so wear it every day – for YOU.

2. Extreme care

Take care of your clothes – they are an investment.

I once did a Wardrobe De-Tox session for a woman who had a great many expensive designer dresses and outfits in her wardrobe – well some of them were, others were in a heap in the corner of the room, dirty, in need of mending and unwearable.  Don’t be like that.

Before I put anything into my wardrobe I ensure it is ready to wear again – so I check to see whether items need cleaning, ironing or mending. I have a shoe cleaning basket in the wardrobe and always check my shoes and clean them before replacing them in their box.

If clothes need dry cleaning don’t have them cleaned too often as this will weaken the fabric. But do take care of your clothes and they will take care of you.

When you open your wardrobe door you want to feel inspired not terrified.

1.Dress for your Shape.

There is no perfect shape. Those who appear to have a ‘perfect’ shape will be a fortunate combination of several. Most of us would rather have a different shape and most of us are a combination of two or more shapes, but acceptance is crucial. If you know and accept the shape you are you can begin to use this information to your advantage to dress to flatter your shape and look fab all the time.

You may be an apple, pear, rhubarb, strawberry or hourglass shape (see blog “Dress for your Shape” for details) but as long as you dress to enhance the shape you actually are and follow my other top tips you will always look stylish and draw attention in a positive and authentic way.

If you haven’t already done so, might I suggest that you go to my website, www.successandimagecoach.co.uk  and get yourself a copy of my FREE book “The Ultimate Guide to Personal Rebranding for Professional Females Climbing the Corporate Ladder”. All the information about the different shapes is in there as well as many more expert tips and hints.

So go there NOW and claim your FREE BOOK at www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk

Copyright © 2012, Sue Courtney – Success & Image Ltd. All rights reserved.