To wear or skip pantyhose is the most hotly debated topic I cover in professional dress. It’s human nature to want to be ultimately comfortable and to also follow what others are doing; however, this is an area where you should really stop to think about your environment, superiors/peers and your goals. Something you may not know is that study after study shows that women who wear hosiery are viewed as more capable than their bare legged peers. They also typically earn more money. Why, you may ask? A couple of reasons…Hosiery gives a more finished look to professional clothes; they give you a barrier so that you’re showing less skin (another pro dress guideline,) and they send out a non-verbal (subconscious) message that you take care of the details. Those are pretty darn good arguments for pantyhose! The cons? Of course, they uncomfortable and especially hot in warm weather. (I probably didn’t need to point this out, right?) The other con to wearing pantyhose is that a lot of people view them as frumpy and old fashioned—No one has ever told me they’d like to be perceived as either of those! I think this may have a lot to do with the (Read more...)

Even though most of the women I saw in Paris were dressed in a business casual mode, a few days into my trip, I saw a few women in suits. They were traditional pantsuits with an interesting twist. The women tied sweaters around their necks as was the popular ‘80’s style here in the U.S.

The sweaters they were sporting around their necks appeared to be very slim styles made of very smooth, lightweight knits, probably cotton/silk blends. The few that I saw were light colors and were very carefully placed, folded and tucked just so, so that the sweater lied flat in a slim column down the center of the back. (I’m guessing this is one of those “accessories” like a scarf that takes quite a bit of work at first, then it’s easy.)

At first I was pretty lukewarm about the trend, but then I got to thinking about it. It’s really quite genius. Let’s say you work in the corporate world and conservative dark suits are your norm. In a sense, the sweater becomes your accessory, allowing you a bit of color and femininity to your ensemble.

If you’re able

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Last week, I gave a workshop with a good friend of mine, Patrice Barber, of Taylor Made Wealth Coaching. It was titled The Millionaire Mindset--Look like a Million, Think like a Millionaire. For my portion of the workshop, I shared my Top 10 Professional Shopping tips, and how to create a wardrobe that can make you look like a million bucks. The main premise of the workshop was that if you want to look like a million bucks and become like a millionaire, you have to plan. It doesn't just happen.

If you'd like to find out when the next workshop will be, click here to sign up for my e-Style Tip of the Month. (I'll also have my website remodel done in a couple of months, hopefully. There will be all kinds of great info on it continually!)

One of my tips was to pay attention to quality. You're never going to look like a million bucks by shopping for your clothes at Target. Besides, do you really want someone to recognize your outfit they saw when they were grocery shopping?

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