You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover

I recently read a blog discussing style advice for career women as given by a personal stylist employed by Nordstrom. I’m not going to comment on my opinion of her advice since for the purpose of this blog I’m more interested in the first blog comment: “what a bunch of fluff...you can't tell a book by its cover.”This is one of my all-time favorite cop-out comments. It’s true. You can’t know just from looking at the cover of a book whether or not the book will be good. That’s what the title is for, to entice you to purchase and read the book. When it comes to your career and especially to an interview, your appearance does matter. Whether you wish it to be so or not, your appearance tells people something about you, it speaks before you do. The question is, what do you want it to say? If you show up looking sloppy do you think a potential employer will believe you when you say you’re a very organized person with amazing attention to detail? If you’ve been at a job for years and a higher paying position opens up but it means being in front of potential clients, should your boss consider you for the job if your appearance is not business appropriate? When you’re selling your house your realtor will tell you that curb appeal can draw a potential buyer in, or turn them away. If you’re building a business a graphic designer will tell you the importance of having a website and business card that properly convey your company’s message. And yes, to sell a book the cover and title must convince the reader to look inside. When it comes to your professional appearance, before you ever utter a word or hand over a resume, your appearance should convey a quiet message of confidence, competence and attention to detail. Here are some quick tips to consider: - Stand up straight! If your mother isn’t here to tell you then I will. It doesn’t cost a thing and it does wonders for your overall appearance and feeling of confidence. - Polish your shoes - Trim any loose threads from your clothing - To give a suit a quick steam hang it in the bathroom with you when you take a shower - Keep a travel size lint roller in your bag and do a quick roll over your outfit before you go in to a meeting

I can’t give all my tips away for free! But I’d love to hear your comments or questions, click the comments (or 'no comments' if you're the first) link below. Let me hear from you!! Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up to my seasonal trend report mailing list. Just drop me a line to: jodi@stylesuccess.net or visit my website www.stylesuccess.net

A Truly Unique Gift

Do you want to spoil your significant other for Valentine's Day, their birthday or an anniversary but you're out of fresh ideas?  Give your loved one a day with their very own personal stylist!  What could be better than being treated like a celebrity for a day?  What beats trying on clothes that you're sure will look great on you and having someone compliment you all day long? 

A lot of men and women hate shopping.  Some hate it because it's overwhelming to weed through the thousands of garments on the racks while others hate it because they try on a bunch of ill fitting clothes and end up feeling depressed about their body.  There is none of that stress with a personal stylist.  A good personal stylist will do all the work for you.  They will only pick items that flatter you, they'll do all the holding and lugging of hangers, they'll track down the illusive salesperson for questions and sizes, and they'll pull together the outfits so you don't have to lift a finger.  To top it all off the stylist can be responsible for the payment of the items so the recipient doesn't even have to look at a single price tag.  I guarantee they will feel like a king or queen for a day!

If you really want to go big and give the whole package, here's an idea for a full day event:

To start, the stylist arrives in a chauffeured car to pick up your celebrity client.  Since it will probably be morning, you can have coffee and something to nibble on in the car.

Next they will be whisked off to several stores.  If your stylist does their homework they might have already set aside some outfits based off of a picture and description of your loved one that you've provided.  They will have spoken to the salesperson and let them know that you have a VIP client coming and they should be treated as such.

Once the outfits have been chosen your loved one is taken to a salon to have their hair and grooming done: nails and makeup for a woman; shave and grooming for a man.

Once they are all clean and groomed they put on one of their new outfits and are driven to a beautiful restaurant, or other spot, where you are waiting for them to enjoy the rest of your evening together.

It will be a day of pampering and spoiling that your significant other will never forget!