Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [9]
Another client of mine, a near genius in real estate investing, was finding himself more and more in demand as a speaker to a wide variety of business, investor, and consumer groups. A terrific speaker, he lacked self-confidence only in his appearance—particularly in his choice of clothing for his speaking engagements.
When he first came to me for advice, he was accustomed to dressing in the flamboyant manner of some salespersons, including wearing a flashy diamond ring, a bright pocket square, an out-of-style tie, and a striped shirt with a solid white collar. Also, his suits tended to be ill-fitting, unpressed, and made out of synthetic fabrics.
It was obvious to me that his choice in clothes was not on the high level of his business expertise.
By simply telling him the basic points contained in this chapter on dressing well and rather conservatively, he was able to project a professional image to his audiences. He did this by purchasing a couple of good wool suits (one in navy and one in gray), new shirts (solid colored, with no stripes this time around), and ties (in the currently correct width, in subtle patterns only). The diamond ring and bright pocket squares went into a drawer, where they remain until this day.
When you shop for that perfect suit or dress, “photograph” yourself from top to bottom in a full-length mirror. Look at yourself from the sides, front, and back. Be honest with yourself about your good and bad points. From your past experiences, you already know some of the things that work best for you.
Take women, for example. Since you may be sitting as well as standing—on a platform or dais, perhaps—you should wear a skirt that looks good when you sit down. A tight skirt hikes up above the knees and wrinkles across the front. You should have at least an inch of leeway in the fabric on each side of your hips. Also, try to imagine how it will look to your audience, which may be sitting on a level below you. Avoid split skirts that fall open when you are seated, since often no amount of tugging and fussing will pull the slit closed.
Your hemline is a personal thing. It should not move up and down each season with the dictates of fashion. Depending on your height, weight, build, the shape of your legs, and your own personal style, there is a becoming hem length that works best for you. A hemline several inches below the knee is usually the most becoming and has the additional advantage of not going out of style.
Now for the men. Your suit must not only appear to be of as good a quality as you can possibly afford, but it must be of an attractive fabric and color, hang well on your body shape, and be of the proper size. When you sit down, the hem of your pants should not ride up above your socks so that skin is showing. Your shoes should always be shined. Your shirt should fit you and not be too small (heavy-set men, take note—there is nothing worse than a shirt that buckles open between buttons once you sit down). Your tie, if patterned, should be discretely patterned and colored. If you are color-blind, you should have someone else choose ties for you.
Some of these tips may seem obvious to you, but in the space or just a few months not long ago, I observed the following men: a prominent economist giving a speech wearing one black shoe and one brown shoe, neither shined; a U.S. congressman appearing before a group of his constituents wearing socks that were too short and too old (he kept having to bend over and pull them up); a salesman giving a sales pitch wearing a kelly green polyester-blend suit and a green-and-red patterned tie; and a singer performing on stage wearing a black leather jacket decorated with food stains and dandruff.
These rules—among many others—should be the basic good-taste dressing rules for all men. But