Gave a talk on "Dress for Success" at a Speechcraft Workshop organized by Buona Vista Toastmasters Club and received compliments from my club members as well as the participants. It was really enjoyable and I'm already thinking of doing a sequel to the talk.
I realised that this topic about Image and Personal Grooming is a huge topic and there are many areas to explore. Impressionistic Branding is an up and coming "IN" thing which is what differentiates anyone from everyone else and it should not be overlooked and taken for granted.
However, I realise that it takes 2 hands to clap and when it comes to dressing. People can be as stubborn as a mule! Well, the first criteria for dressing for success is that desire. If there is no desire to change, it can't work, no matter how many times I coach them.
And the other criteria for dressing for success is the eye for details. And my goodness, when it comes to colours, not everybody is gifted with differentiating colours with the slightest different in tone or texture. Well, can't help it for people who are born colour-blind. But worse, for people who are born with poor taste. I think that such things are really beyond me.
I remember one ex-colleague ever told me that she thinks that VPL is sexy. And my jaw just dropped, almost right to the floor. Well, for those who are uninitiated, VPL stands for "Visible Panty Line" and it is one of the top 10 image destroyers for ladies. And I'm surprised of the number of working ladies out there who are not aware what is VPL and happily walking around with one. And worse still, believe that it is sexy. Gosh. I really can't stomach that.
But then, if you observe people walking on the streets, which is one of the things I love to observe while I'm shopping, is that you will be amazed that there are people who wear the ugliest things in Orchard Road, which I believe must be their favourite pieces. People's taste do vary quite a lot! Then again, people appreciate art differently. And I must say, whoever came up with the phrase "Beauty is in the eyes of the Beholder" is a genius.
3 comments:
Sometimes during weekends, I like to wear something that screams "I-need-help-on-what-to-wear!", just for the look on the saleperson's face.:P
totally agree with that phrase of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps things are a lot more fun that way. :) I also like the phrase "one man's meat is another's poison". I think it just shows how many million worlds there are out there (in the minds of the millions of different people).
I find my dressing depending a great deal on my mood, but also on my limitations of what I have in my wardrobe as well. Have been pretty tired of standard "smart" formal wear.
@mrdes: There are a lot of people who think like you on the streets!
@sweeteepye: beauty is truly subjective! Well, there are times when I just want to be creative for the sake of being creative to wear a combination I've never tried! Office wear can become boring at times. As much as I want to look creative, I want to look professional. That's the conflict point.
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