Dress for Personal Brand Success
Being intentional about your personal style elevates your personal brand's communication.
In business, you’re so often led to believe that what you wear shouldn’t matter. Your skills speak for themselves. But, what if you instead allowed your personal style to reinforce what you represent?
At age 19, I walked into a beautiful clothing store to offer my resume. The store I was already working in was closing. And I still had roughly 18 months of my undergraduate degree left. So, I estimated that was how long I’d likely stay in any new retail role. They did hire me. And I stayed for over 11 years.
I fell in love with being on the shop floor. And continued in the stylist role throughout my studies and career during this time. Even when working full time (and studying again), I would work Friday nights and across the weekend.
Without realising it at the time, I was learning two key personal branding lessons on the shop floor:
1. What you wear does matter.
2. Everyone has a story if you choose to listen to it.
I watched customers enter anxious about whatever life event lay ahead. And leave empowered, feeling a step closer to the best version of themselves. The version they wanted to express to the world around them.
So, here are a few of my tips for making personal style a priority for your personal brand:
Tip #1. Make every second of first impressions count
We’re also often told “don’t judge a book by its cover.” But, we do. And here’s the science behind why it matters for your personal brand.
In 2006, Princeton Psychologists, Janine Willis and Alexander Todoro, published some compelling conclusions about the speed at which our first impressions are formed. They deduced they are created in an alarming tenth of a second.
Participants involved in the experiments were shown photographs of strangers’ faces. Their research found that longer exposure to the photographs only increased their confidence in their initial judgements. With trustworthiness showing the highest correlation.
It suggested an accelerated and accurate ability to judge trustworthiness has been evolutionarily hardwired into humans. It forms a crucial component of our natural survival mechanism.
Research on this does vary. Some believe it takes up to 30 seconds to form first impressions. Others agree on a seven-second average. But, I recommend that the tenth-of-a-second benchmark helps keep you alert. While the research wasn’t based on personal style, it still reminds us that the “cover” of our book matters when it comes to first impressions.
So, remember your first impressions:
Sends an immediate cue that creates an instant impression of your brand.
Causes an assumption about what you represent.
Causes experiences with you to be filtered through that assumption.
Tip #2. Communicate using your style personality
In my previous blog, I discussed Professor Albert Mehrabian's contribution toward the commonly termed ‘communication pie’.
The Mehrabian model deduced impressions are overwhelmingly formed by non-verbal communication and tone rather than spoken words.
His work established the 7-38-55 rule, which breaks down the following:
Non-verbal communication: 55%
Tone: 38%
Words: 7%
If non-verbal communication accounts for 55% then, like with body language, I believe our personal style also speaks volumes.
The styling industry regularly refers to ‘style personalities’. In its simplest form, this can be defined as the way you express yourself through the way you dress. This seemingly external focus is actually inextricably internal. It’s the outward expression of yourself.
The cited core personalities often depend on the stylist, but here’s an edit of my top references. You will most likely identify with at least two of these types, with one likely appearing more dominant:
Natural
Classic
Elegant
Romantic
Sexy
Creative
Dramatic
As a continuation of this personal brand personality series, I’ll be discussing these further next week.
Of course, you’re free to experiment with your personal style. But, as the saying goes ‘you confuse, you lose’. Consistency builds recognition and trust.
Tip #3. Define your consistent colours
Colours are an essential part of a brand identity. In a noisy marketplace, their consistent use helps build brand recognition. Just think Tiffany and Co blue, Cadbury purple or Coca-Cola red.
Colours also send cues. They evoke different emotions and meanings. I’ll be deep-diving into this in an upcoming blog.
For now, I suggest defining your personal brand colours to include:
Your main colour palette
A neutral (it may also be your main palette)
An accent colour
Let the power of colour consistency elevate your visual identity.
Tip #4. Reduce decision fatigue
It is widely quoted that the average adult makes an estimated 35,000 decisions per day. This creates a psychological phenomenon known as ‘decision fatigue’. This occurs when the quality of your decision-making reduces over a long period. This is because of its taxing impact on your brain.
One mitigation strategy is to streamline your clothing choices. A clearly defined personal style can reduce your daily fatigue. Saving you time and energy. You’ll have your mental filters ready. Keeping you sharp for even more important decision-making.
Tip #5. Add your signature style
Even through his minimalist personal style, Steve Jobs expressed his creative genius. His signature black skivvy, sneakers and jeans spoke volumes. When it comes to your own personal brand, what features are unique to you? Even the smallest of details, applied consistently, can form a lasting impression.
The next time you think your personal style has no bearing on your work, remember, it’s communicating for you.
So, what do you want it saying?
PS. See my earlier blogs for more on this personal brand personality series.
