How can I be authentic in what I wear but still fit in?

Being known, liked and trusted is vital for building positive, professional relationships. Personal image is the gateway to building these three. In her talk delivered for Women in Management London, Joanna Gaudoin outlined the aspects of personal image as appearance, body language and voice, which in turn have an impact on internal confidence.

Opinions are formed very rapidly and we will be judged based on the first impression we make – she said it takes 7 positive occurrences to change a negative first impression. Paying attention to the 3 key aspects is recommended as personal image evolves. Online, virtually or in person – no matter what the touchpoint is, personal image is impactful. In this article Gaudoin suggests the following for being authentic while making a positive professional impression

Authenticity is a buzz word of the moment but unlike many that come and go, it’s an important one in my view. There are a plethora of topics that could be discussed under the heading of authenticity but in this article we will explore what that means in terms of your appearance.

Working environments, particularly office ones look very different to 30, even 15 years ago. Not just the technology and the environment but the people too and I don’t mean simply the fashion.

The time was when a suit was the office ‘uniform’. In some ways it made life simpler but in another way very dull and certainly gave very little room for someone to be ‘authentic’, as the word ‘uniform’ would imply.

However, even in this more relaxed working environment, people, especially women feel the need to conform and fit in. Wanting to fit in is human instinct to a large extent (although there are some who actively don’t want to), none of us want to have the social fear of being disliked and rejected.

It is also true that we do need to be ‘appropriate’ for our work role; turning up in a formal, traditional suit if we work in a creative industry is not generally a good thing to do. Equally, turning up in really relaxed clothes as a solicitor is not typically positive.

As well as being appropriate, it is important that we can feel like ourselves too, we perform at our best when we feel like us – authentic. It’s also not good to just blend in so we look just like our colleagues where we lack personality and differentiation – standing out positively is to be encouraged, particularly with increased seniority. Even if it is a more relaxed uniform compared to 30 years ago!

                            Annie Armitage

So how can we be appropriate and be ourselves?

• The starting point is to think about what’s right for our day – that of course takes into account of our role, what we are doing on a given day, who we are meeting etc.
• Unless we need to be really formal, wearing interesting colours is great – we generally look better in them if they suit us and our choices on a given day can reflect who we are and how we are feeling that day.
• Accessories are a great way to reflect our personality and feel authentic without being too over the top, if that’s not appropriate. Think about what jewellery, scarf, shoes or bag could help you feel more like you – what reflects your ‘wardrobe personality’ and helps you feel more authentic. Someone that would select a necklace in the shop East is likely to have a very different authentic style from someone buying one in Marks & Spencer.
• Remember, not everyone has to see it for you to feel good and like you, for example by wearing a more interesting suit jacket lining.

The benefit of being authentic is two-fold: you’ll feel more like you so will perform better at work and it will help you to differentiate yourself at work, as long as this isn’t for a negative reason then this is a double positive. So, open your wardrobe, get rid of anything you absolutely hate wearing and start thinking about how you could incorporate more of you into your work wardrobe.

Joanna Gaudoin runs Inside Out, she helps professional people be their best selves in how they engage with others by working with them on their image and impact – appearance, body language and voice – for every work scenario. She delivers training workshops, works with clients privately and speaks at events to help people achieve greater professional success. Find out more about her www.insideoutimage.co.uk or on LinkedIn. If you’d like to receive her free 6 part ‘Boost Your Personal Impact’ Guide and monthly ‘Image for Success’ Update, click here.