Tailoring for Women

Appearance comes in two forms; how we see ourselves, and how others see us.  And one impacts on the other.  One is more to do with self expression, the other with fitting in.  The important thing is not to mix the two up or the consequences, at an extreme level, can be severe.

We read how there are countries where wearing the wrong sort of clothes can have devastating results; in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern India  women receive harsh punishments for openly wearing western clothes rather than the burqah or sari.   We don’t  have to journey as far as that to find  in our own backyard similar adverse reactions to styles of dress.  In Lancashire (UK) in 2007 a young couple dressed as ‘moshers’ or Goths were set upon by a group of teenagers and murdered because they stood out from the crowd.

The way in which we dress can provoke life influencing decisions from others and it is interesting to note that as we chart our way through one of the most challenging periods of financial uncertainty in modern times, this is having a corresponding effect on how people dress.  The pervasive ‘dress down’ styles which were becoming increasingly popular in City offices have, according to my clients who know such things, been supplanted by the more formal aspects of business wear in the interest of job preservation.

Paradoxically, this doesn’t just mean a visit to the ‘off the peg’ purveyors of business wear,  but a move towards something which allows for a closer reflection of personality and  tradition.  With job prospects under threat those first vital seconds, when appearance counts for more than words (Mehrabian. 1997), are becoming almost a new battleground for gaining an edge.  Remember the old cliché…”how do you dress in a recession…up!”, whilst at the same time fluctuations in the stock market apparently influence the height of hemlines.

Leveraging one’s appearance with regard to clothes has to take on board a number of different elements; colour, pattern, texture, style, detail, fit and proportion.  Of these, convention insists that colour, pattern, texture and style fit within fairly tight constraints.  This leaves detail, fit and proportion as the principal variables.

Detail by way of linings, button configurations, pockets, lapels, ventings, can all be used to create a sense of differentiation from others, but again these have to be subtle.  Perhaps the area which can create the most impact is with the fit and proportion.  ‘Fit’ refers to the way in which a garment follows the natural curves of the body, ‘proportion’ deals with the overall balance of a garment and can be influenced by all the other elements.  In some ways there is a sense of  Gestalt about the balance of all these different elements.

From the research that has been undertaken into the psychology of clothing, and my own observation of professional  women in all walks of life, from the concert platform to the boardroom, I would suggest three simple guiding principles.

1. Be aware of what is custom and practice in the environment in which you are going to be moving.

2. The right accessories, or subtle accents on a garment, can make an impact, and a little goes a long way.

3. Well cut garments suited to your proportions say much more about you than the latest fashion trend.

Let’s leave the final words with  Coco Chanel  “Dress sharply and they notice the dress. Dress impeccably and they notice the woman”

Photos: Thanks to Kimball Andrew Schmidt

Colour analysis is something that came into vogue in the 1980′s with the publishing of two books, one by Carole Jackson (Color me Beautiful) and the other, with a confusingly similar title (“Color me Beautiful’s” Looking your Best) by Mary Spillane. They rely on the theory known as ‘simultaneous contrast’ that was first propounded by the chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul in the 19th century when he noticed how colours, when placed in combination, will influence the way in which they are perceived.

So for instance in this example, the grey rectangle in the upper section appears to be lighter than that in the lower, although they are in reality the same.

The system you are most likely to come into contact with is that of Mary Spillane’s  Colour Me Beautiful organisation (CMB) which is now a global concern and operates through a number of franchises.  Others you may come across are the Wright System by Angela Wright,  and that developed by Barbara Jacques for her Academy of Colour and Style.

The CMB system, which accomodates all ethnic types, analyses a client from a colour palette that is divided  into four separate ‘seasons’: winter palettes are bright, cool and contrasting; spring palettes are predominantly tints that are warm and clear; summer palettes are tonal, cool and muted; and autumn palettes are mostly warm and rich shades. All are based on the three dimensions of colour: hue, saturation and value.  These are co-ordinated with the natural colouring of your hair, skin and eyes in order to determine which colours of clothes and make-up are most complimentary.  This is not to say that there are inherently good or bad colours, it is more a matter of emphasis in that some colours look well when matched with the right person and less impactful on the wrong person.

There are two important considerations in deciding whether you should wear warm or cool shades. The first is your complexion. Skin tone is a combination of melanin, keratin, and haemoglobin. It is melanin which gives the skin its brown tones; keratin gives the yellow tones, and haemoglobin gives the red tones.

The second most important consideration is the intensity or saturation of each colour in a range. Some people respond better to strongly contrasting and vivid colours, while others seem to be dominated by them.  A simple solution to this is to wear softer shades with subtle patterns that place an emphasis on face and personality. In most cases however people can play safe by wearing a garment which is of medium colour value.

Once you have established your basic colour palette you may well be able to reach over into tones from other other ‘seasons’, but first you need to establish your primary ‘season’ and how it works with your complexion.

This is a subtle but extremely effective fundamental for the way in which you start to build your wardrobe and a number of ‘colourists’ I have worked with in the past are still active with their corporate clients despite the downturn.  Here is an interesting, practical and simple standby that I picked up from them and it is that in a pinch, the correctly matched shade of lipstick alone can make a dramatic change in lifting your appearance.

Just a brief post to let you know about an article we wrote for one of the specialist Human Resource (HR) websites; Changeboard.  It is devoted to how our appearance can influence the perceptions of others and came via one of our Canary Wharf clients.  It also started the thought that perhaps we should  contribute a little more to the debate around this subject.  So…..from the end of November we will be starting a series of posts about the ways in which we can all maximise our personal impact in the way we present ourselves.