SUCCEED WITH STYLE: Are You Dressed Appropriately?

SUCCEED WITH STYLE: Are You Dressed Appropriately?

How many times have you been invited to a special event and think to yourself, “Oh no! I have nothing to wear!”? Panic sets in and you wait until the last minute to shop. As a result you spend too much money on an outfit you “kinda” like but don’t really love.

Then on top of it all you end up not feeling your absolute best when in fact you could have rocked your look with a little planning. Recently I had that feeling when a friend wanted to surprise me with a birthday celebration. I had no idea what the plan was except that I was told to “dress to the nines”. Of course I had to ask, “What does that mean?”

Should I wear a cocktail dress or just a fancy business dress? Not knowing where we were going threw me a bit, as I am always sensitive to the environment and what’s expected. I decided I would dress somewhere in between. I wore a dress that could be worn to a cocktail party or evening event but then I paired it with an edgy jacket. That way, I could tone it down if necessary.

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The outfit ended up being perfect. We went to one of the high end, more formal restaurants in Providence, one of my all-time favorites. However, I was a bit surprised to see flip flops, tee shirts, hooded sweatshirts and baseball caps at a place where you used to see only suits and beautifully dressed women. Times certainly have changed.

Nevertheless, if you want to stand out from the crowd, have exceptional presence and always look appropriate, follow these simple rules.

1. It’s always better to overdress than under dress. You can always take your jacket off and look more casual instantly. It is a lot harder to dress up a casual outfit.

2. Make time to shop for the perfect outfit or outfits so when the invites start rolling in, you are ready to go.

3. Focus on darker colors like Black, Jade, Plum and Charcoal as these are more formal and elegant.

4. Invest in quality fabrics.

5. Select clothes with texture and interesting details or embellishments. A little black dress is great but it is fun to mix it up a bit.

6. Buy a fantastic sandal or pump that can be paired with a simple dress.

7. Guys- Invest a stylish black blazer. It is the quickest way to dress up any outfit including jeans.

Margaret Batting is the Corporate Style expert for GoLocalProv.com. Margaret is the owner and president of Elevé Image Consulting and the only certified image consultant and personal brand strategist in Rhode Island. She travels the country as the national corporate image consultant for CareerBuilder. For more information, visit www.eleve-style.com.