How To Create A Personal Image Brand For Men
An image brand will vary from industry to industry and again by the person wearing it. What works in finance up may create negative visual signals in a tech start up.
7 Seconds To Create A First Impression
According to behavioural researcher Vanessa Van Edwards, audiences in 2015 decided whether they liked and trusted a presenter within the first seven seconds, based entirely on nonverbal cues.
Before you have the opportunity to explain who you are, what you do or what you are like, people are already taking in visual information about you.
What Is A Personal Image Brand?
Your personal style and image brand is the visual impression you create through your appearance. It can influence how you are perceived, from meeting clients, presenting to a board or building a business to philanthropy, social events, travel and dating. A personal image brand is a strategic style tool for men at every stage of their career, from those starting out to established professionals, founders, C-suite executives and HNW clients.
Why Create A Personal Style Or Image Brand?
As a men’s personal stylist, I am often asked why investing in image matters. Well, we update our skills, technology and ways of working, so why would our visual brand be any different?
Our careers, lifestyles and circumstances change, yet our wardrobes can remain stuck in a previous version of our lives. You may have started your career dressing one way and now find yourself in a completely different position, or perhaps your work has become more client-facing and the way you dress no longer feels quite right.
Creating a personal image brand gives you the opportunity to step back and consider whether the way you present yourself reflects who you are today, the position you hold and how you want to be perceived. Your clothes are not responsible for your reputation, but they are part of the information people take in before you have said a word.
How Do I Help You Create A Personal Style Brand?
My background was as a fashion designer before moving into personal styling. As a designer, I developed an understanding of fit, body shape, proportion, fabric and garment construction, but there is another side to fashion design that is less well known. Before clothes are made or reach the shops, designers look how the world around them is evolving, from politics and finance to the environment, social media and wider cultural shifts. We do this to understand what will appeal to potentially millions of people.
I now take that same perspective and apply it to the individual, looking at you, your life, your environment and how you want to be perceived.
Taking the overshirt and styling it in multiple ways for different industries shows how versatile a contemporary garment can be. It’s not about the industry dictating what you wear, but how you style it and what works for you.
5-Step Personal Image Strategy For Men
1. Define What You Want Your Image To Communicate
Ask yourself what does my image currently say about me?
What does my image currently say about me?
How do I want people to perceive me?
Does the way I dress match the role I have now?
Before changing your wardrobe, establish what you want your appearance to say about you. Consider your role, personality, ambitions and the qualities you want people to associate with you.
2. Understand Your Frame & Colouring
Look at height, build, proportions, colouring and the relationship between different parts of your body. This gives you a better understanding of the shapes, lengths and silhouettes that work for you.
3. Establish Your Signature Style
Identify the clothes, colours, shapes and level of formality that feel natural to you. The aim is to develop recognisable style rather than simply following trends or copying another man's wardrobe.
4. Align Your Image With Your Professional And Personal Life
Your image needs to work across the situations you actually encounter. Consider your profession, seniority, clients, social life, travel, events and weekends, and how your style needs to adapt between them.
5. Build And Maintain The Wardrobe
Once you know what your image needs to communicate and what works for you, build a wardrobe around it. Identify what you already own, what is missing, what needs replacing and which pieces will give you the most versatility.
How I Can Work With You
As a men’s personal stylist, I work with each individual to help you develop a personal style and image that works for your career, lifestyle and the way you want to be perceived. Whether you are stepping into a more senior role, building a business, becoming more client-facing, changing industries or feel that your wardrobe no longer reflects where you are in life. The aim is to create an image that feels natural, considered and like you but an elevated version.
Thank you for reading!
Lisa
