Supper Club Blooper - We DO notice the details

I just received an invitiation to one of the most glam happening places in Singapore - the advertising makes it look chic, exclusive and expensive.  Obviously lots of money have been spent on not just the place, but also the advertising and marketing.

But Supperclub you should know that we DO sweat the small stuff - take a look at the chipped nasty nails in the advertising - the the tagline of POSH - er I don't think so.  Take note and make sure you get the details right for you and your company.

Sharon Connolly, Image Consultant Singapore http://www.maximisegroup.com/
Be Fabulous

Are you sabotaging your chances of success with any of these bloopers!

I love getting the train to work - certainly not because of the joys of public transport! but because I get to observe London on the way to work. Here are my top DO NOT's from my journey in last week. With the UK economy so bad and people fighting to hang on to their jobs I just can't believe how many people are not doing everything they can to elevate themselves above peers at work.

• Chewing gum - freshen breath with a spray or a mint. Gum chewing makes you look chavvy and common.
• Nasty nails. I notices so many nasty claws grabbing rails on the tube. Chipped polish looks awful - keep it neat or don't wear it. Men need to take care of cuticles and keep nails short and clean too. Nail biting looks dreadful too.
• Wrong shoes. Saw loads of smart suits worn with worn out casual shoes. Ladies wearing flip flops with suits. Men wearing scruffy trainers. Make sure the shoes are appropriate for the outfit and clean and polished. Scuffed scraped heels look awful. Leather imitation shoes always look cheap and nasty too - plus your feet will sweat more.
• Cheap bags. Like imitation leather shoes, imitation leather bags look terrible too. Scruffy stitching and bags that just shout "Cheap" ruin a whole outfit. Choose your laptop bag wisely too - don't sling it in your sports rucksack get it a lovely chic padded pouch.
• Too much jewellery. If you count more than 8 pieces on you take some off.
• Poor grooming. Women wearing no make-up and hair pulled back with a scrunchie. Men with dandruff, badly in need of a haircut and a shave.
• Hems hanging down, buttons hanging off. Stains and smells - Yuk!

 Action required? Do a quick audit of your daily work look. Is it time to make a bit more effort? All too often we say "It'll do, it's just for work!" Surely you should take more pride in your work appearance than any other outfit. Impress your boss as he's the one who pays you!

 

What image bloopers do you frequently see? Let me know!

Cool Tips for Hot Weather
Already feeling hot and bothered by the unexpected heatwave? Just a few quick ideas to keep you looking cool in the hot spell.
Tips for Men
• NO short sleeve shirts with ties - just not stylish, don't do it
• Make smart fabric choices. Synthetic clothes will make you sweat more so choose natural fabics on very hot days
• Need inspiration for how to dress this summer - watch Jude Law in Talented Mr Riply for inspiration. Slim clothing lines, rolled up jeans, suede loafer style shoes with no socks for the weekend. How about a chic straw trilby style hat too.
• How about trying some white or stone coloured jeans for a change?.
Tips for Women
• Make make-up stay put. Use powder over your foundation to avoid a shiny face or try a mineral powder foundation - I love Elizabeth Arden
• Use waterproof mascara on your lower lashes to avoid panda eyes at midday - e.l.f. do a great dual ended mascara with regular and waterproof for just £1.50
• Open toes shoes - make sure your toes and feet are pretty and manicured. Trendy trotters are painted in pastel lilacs, blues and greens this summer.
• Start using gradual self tanners to give you a light base tan for exposing bare legs. I like Johnsons Holiday Sun
• Maxi dresses cover all and there are shapes and colours for all body types, try one...yes even if you are short - take a peek in Monsoon or H&M for more budget options
• Huge Flower corsages are back in - pin on your handbag or top to update it.
• Need inspiration for how to dress this summer: Sex and the CIty out next week - need I say more!

The RIGHT jeans in the workplace

I was teaching a course in a high profile city bank today and during my coffee break I noticed the lady standing in front of me at the coffee counter was wearing jeans.  Mmmmm I thought,  "NOT appropriate for this environment" and I assumed she was a visitor as no one else in the bank wears jeans..... but something else was not quite right and at first I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was that was wrong wrong wrong.

With her jeans she had on a great tailored striped shirt.  She was well groomed, good shoes, nice bag, all the ingredients I advocate for smart casual but something was not quite right. 

Then it struck me! 

She was wearing faded brown jeans.  They fitted well, they were the right length but it was the fact that they were brown that made them just look too "casual" for the elusive "smart casual" we all struggle to achieve.

So the stylist on the street's comment and observation for today is that SMART CASUAL jeans are DARK BLUE jeans.  Anything else will just look too scruffy when you try to incorporate it into your work wardrobe.

Be Fabulous!

Permission to wear black

Did you know that over 25% of all clothes purchased are black.  How boring is that! 
A large part of my job is coaxing people out of their drab neutrals in to gorgeous happy colours that light up their complexion and lift their mood as well as their visage;  but that doesn't mean you should NEVER wear black.

The rule I give to my clients,  is not to buy "boring" black clothes. 

Black is slimming, lots of great clothes are only available in black so don't take your colour rules too far and give yourself permission to enjoy wearing black.  BUT  I would recommend that the clothes that you buy in black should be "special."  For example choose something with a great neckline, a luxurious fabric, sequins or sparkles, a great shape, anything interesting, just not a plain old black T-shirt or jumper.

If black is not your best colour you might just need to add some great jewellery or perhaps wear a little more make-up than you usually do (most men can actually get away with black anyway) but if your colour analysis has bannished black from your wardrobe, live dangerously and break the rules every so often.
If you have not had a colour analysis and want to find out what colours suit you best then visit http://www.maximisegroup.co.uk/colouranalysis.html to find how the colours you wear can make you look younger, slimmer and more alive.  I use the colour analysis system by Colour Me Beautiful who have the best tonal colour swatches available....(we've moved on from the seasonal colour swatches now).

What have you been told in a colour analysis - is black banished from your wardrobe and do you miss it.  Join the discussion.

Is your online Image as fabulous as your offline image?

2 House of Fraser Events announced Click here to book before 20th Feb for earlybird rates

Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Myspace...social networking has now become a huge part of our everyday lives. When teaching my Image Impact Worskhops these are the key messages I get across to my delegates.

Be VERY aware of what information is available online about you. Google your name and your company name regularly. You can actually create Google Alerts to be notified as soon as any information containing your name is posted online. If someone has posted information about you that may be damaging to your online image contact them immediately and ask them to remove it.Ensure that photographs displayed online are appropriate. Be sure to use professional headshots on Linked-in, Ecademy and any other business networking sites are a must. See John Cassidy's blog article about getting a great headshot. 

Ensure that your profile details are up to date. Potential employers, and customers WILL Google you and see information about you. A lapsted profile is the equivalent of wearing a cerise jacket with padded shoulders and gold buttons to a rock concert. There are now over 31 Billion searches on Google every month!


Check the security settings in all your social networking applications. If you only use Facebook for social activity make sure that you don't appear in search engines or the information displayed is limited to only friends. You can now categorise your contacts and decide who see's what so that is an option you can use to separate work and non work contacts.


Note: A complete absence of an online footprint is also a red flag: a) what do you have to hide? and b) do you not know how to use all this stuff.

If in doubt ensure you have a linked-in profile for your professional connections and use Facebook for personal use only. Do however, create a facebook fanpage for your company or services and keep it up to date.

Some Interesting Facebook Statistics, in case you doubt its influence on our lives!

Facebook has more than 400 million active users

50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
More than 35 million users update their status each day
More than 60 million status updates posted each day
More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
More than 3.5 million events created each month
More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans
Average User Figures Average user has 130 friends on the site
Average user sends 8 friend requests per month
Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook
Average user clicks the Like button on 9 pieces of content each month
Average user writes 25 comments on Facebook content each month
Average user becomes a fan of 4 Pages each month
Average user is invited to 3 events per month
Average user is a member of 13 groups

IMPORTANT: If you are a Job Seeker, or seeking promotion:

A survey, which questioned human resource managers at the top 100 companies in the UK, US, Germany and France, found that 70 per cent admitted to rejecting a candidate because of their online behavior.

But HR bosses also said that a strong image online could actually help job hunters to land their dream job. Peter Cullen, of Microsoft, said: "Your online reputation is not something to be scared of, it's something to be proactively managed. "These days, it's essential that web-users cultivate the kind of online reputation that they would want an employer to see." Facebook faux pas include drunken photographs, bad language, and messages complaining about work life.

If you are a Business interested in attracting new clients or maintaining client relationships:

Do you have a Facebook fan page or following on Twitter. Facebook and Twitter are excellent ways of spreading your message, talking to your client base, getting testimonial's and generally keeping in touch.

A fan page allows you to keep your Facebook business activity separate from your social activity. If you are already using social media to promote your business, ensure that you update it regularly and be consistent. Ensure that your social messages are in line with your brand.

At Work: Many companies restrict access to social media completely or during certain times at work. Interestingly IBM and Google have policies encouraging staff to post updates and collaborate online via social media, they have the foresight to know that online news can travel fast and it's a great way of them attracting customers and employees.

Simply for the love of fashion

Don't care about what people think about you online? Well indulge yourself by signing up to your favourite brands Facebook pages. Sign up for pages from your favourite retailers. I'm a fan of Coast, Monsoon, Bobbi Brown, Phase Eight, Nine West, Sephora, MAC, YSL, Estee Lauder, Make-up Forever, Moet and Chandon - to name but a few. I get discount vouchers, and invites to exclusive events and previews of new collections daily.
  Lastly I'm back in the UK for one month from 12th March. I do have some dates left so if you would like colour, style, wardrobe weeding or shopping please do drop me an email. I hope to see lots of you looking fabulous at my House of Fraser events at High Wycombe and Reading too.

 2 House of Fraser Events announced Click here to book