Style Emergency---What to Wear!I have a client who is a leading authority in their industry – been on every major network and published in almost every accomplished media outlet. A huge opportunity came knocking and with very little notice. My client was contacted by a huge network and the producer wanted a meeting within 3 days. Ahhh, the big question came, “What should I wear?”

While you might not be meeting with a producer to have your own show; your BIG or DEFINING meetings are happening everyday!  Now that you’ve done your happy dance and thought about the endless possibilities, reality sets in—true story, it happens! Then the spinning begins – what do I wear, do I have enough time to lose those few extra pounds, are they going to like me, I need to whiten my teeth…etc. You know what I’m talking about—the head trash begins! Silence the head trash and take action!

The very simple trick to silencing the head trash is to do your homework! While I don’t want to sound like your mother, former teacher or boss, doing your research and being prepared can prove to be the defining factor for you getting your own show, sealing the deal and turning your dreams  into reality.

Before wardrobing my clients to take center stage, be interviewed by the media or arriving for a potential life-altering meeting, you need to know who you are meeting with. No shocker here! What is their position & success rate? How do they dress? What are their hobbies? Who are their friends? In essence, find out as much as possible about them. Again, very basic, but a step I see many people overlook in the midst of their euphoria.

In the case with this particular producer, we could not find out much about her. A few pictures and that’s about it! Some people do not engage in social media and prefer to remain under the radar. Imagine being a producer of a huge network – they don’t want to be accessible to the masses for obvious reasons. So, with little information, we had to focus on what would appeal to a producer—Presence, Personality, Persona!

Some of the conversation with my client included:

  • ›  What attire do you feel the most powerful in? Notice the details – is it a power tie, power suit, specific color, fit of the garment(s), lucky shoes, successes from past meetings…etc.
  • ›  Where is the meeting being held? Do your research on the environment as it can indicate where this person is the most comfortable and give you keen clues into their hobbies and comfort zone.
  • ›  Will you be having a meal over the course of the meeting? If so, it might be good idea to have a small meal before you meet – in these types of POWER meetings, you will be doing quite a bit of talking and minimal eating.

Given this was a first meeting, color can play an important role – you want to be open and let your personality & expertise shine, yet appear that you are a savvy person who is ready to get down to business. Yes, this goes back to your personal brand!  If you dress too casually, you are likely to be dismissed. Of course there are industry specific rules that allow for more flexibility—a chef, a mechanic, tattoo artist, a Mompreneur selling a product to other Moms, a SeaWorld Trainer – point being, if you have not appropriately branded you and your business, you may miss out on those DEFINING opportunities.

Know what your goals are, the desired outcome of the meeting, do your homework, dress with INTENTION and work your magic!