My friend Heidi posted this question on my FB page and I thought it was worth an answer in my blog. Some people may not know this unless they are specifically told. Thanks, Heidi!
Question: saw a woman the other night who had a Calvin Klein tag sewn onto the sleeve of her coat at the wrist; shouldn't one remove such tags after purchase?
Yes, you're right. It absolutely it should have been removed. Either she did not realize this or she thinks it's a status symbol, much like someone who buys a new car and leaves the sticker price in the window for much longer than they should. (Hey look, I spent X dollars on my sweet new ride! Aren't you impressed?" Um, no.)
The only time I have seen anyone unclear about leaving the tag on a jacket was when I was working in men's apparel and a lot of young men - who had never owned a suit before - were confused about what that label was for and whether or not it stayed on the jacket cuff. (The tailor always removed it for them.)
In the working world, understanding the subtle art of a properly put together appearance can help you get hired, fit in, and move ahead. Everyone knows that one fashion faux pas is all it takes to take you out of the running for that job or promotion.
That’s why there are rules. Understanding and implementing the rules of grooming, clothing, and accessories will increase your chances of making a great first impression and will make you known for your high standard of personal excellence.
Your professional appearance is your most powerful business tool. It signals to the world your character, success level, income, and level of sophistication.
Here is a list of what every well-dressed professional should know:
- There is no such thing as a short-sleeve dress shirt. Never, ever wear one with a tie. Unless you are Dwight Schrute.
- On a single-breasted suit or sport coat, always leave the bottom button unbuttoned, though it’s becoming more common to button only the middle button on a 3-button coat.
- The tip of your tie should reach the middle of your belt buckle.
- Collar stays are those little pieces of plastic (or they can be gold or brass-plated) that keep your shirt collar pointy. They get lost easily, so keep a stash of them around.
- Don’t wear a button-down collar shirt with a suit. They clash with the formality of a suit – save them for sport coats or days where you don’t wear a coat.
- Most men choose to steer clear of pocket squares - they’re those little pieces of linen or satin peeking out of the chest pocket of a suit or sport coat. They may be seen as a little pretentious, but if you’re comfortable with them, by all means go for it!
- Always match your shoes and belt.
- Your sock color should tie your pant leg and shoe together. For dark pants, typically match the pant leg. For lighter pants, match your shoe color.
- Your work clothes should only be for work, your evening and weekend clothes should only be used outside the office.
- Your whole appearance will fail without impeccable grooming. Fingernails. Hair. No scruff on your face. Watch the cologne usage.
I have found repeatedly that both men and women are prone to color ruts. I see it in nearly every closet I enter. The most common color offender is the ubiquitous black, of course, but I also see gray and the beige/oatmeal family catching up these days. And do you know what people tell me? "Well, at least I'm not wearing black all the time." True. And what do I tell them? "You're color choice is probably even less flattering than basic black!"
People in my industry aren't going to love this post. Where I was trained, in the image consulting world, there is only one way to wear the right colors - and that is by having your undertone, hair color and eye color analyzed and obtaining a palette of your own personal best colors to choose from.
While I still believe this is the right remedy because of the results I have seen over the years, the truth is that not everyone is going to invest in color analysis. Sometimes they invite me into their closet and out to shop with them and that is the extent of our work together.
I felt like unless I was the one hand-picking colors for them in the store and choosing from colors they already owned, they would go right back to their 'safe' choices.
Regardless of people's coloring, I have found myself recommending the same five colors to them year after year. I picked these colors because wearing a pop of color is better than dreary black, gray or beige. At least three of them can be found in the stores regardless of the season's trends.
These colors are better for the workplace and interpersonal interactions as well as better for the spirit. Wearing color is an immediate shot of energy for you and makes you visually more attractive to others.
These colors work on brunettes, blondes and redheads for different reasons. But they work.
So if you are stuck in a color rut, the first way to climb out is by adding some new "safe" colors to your closet. If you already own some of these colors but aren't wearing them, you will get extra points if you dig them out and add them to your clothing rotation. You will feel a difference!
We still love The Office. Let's take a close up look at why Dwight K. Schrute
is such a fashion nightmare.
However, he can improve in the following ways(but would he still be as funny??)
1. Don’t forget that your hair matters and it says a lot about you! This may require a change in stylist (if you’ve been going to the same barber for the last 20 years). Be sure to learn the right products to use to care for it (Dwight was voted “worst hair on TV” in one of the online mags recently!)
2. Lose the outdated sideburns – pronto!
3. Long-sleeve shirts belong with a tie – short sleeves are just too casual. Yet some guys dress this way for work every day.
4.Try flat-front pants – they are so much more flattering on most people’s bodies – even a single pleat is better than the double-pleated pants he’s wearing! They make his body look pear-shaped.
5. Grow up and buy an analog watch with a metal band! Gold and silver together give the most options
6.Upgrade your eyeglasses at least every 2-3 years or you’ll look like you’re stuck in a time warp (or like you live in Scranton, PA!).
(Dwight IS doing one thing right – he usually wears the right colors for his skin tone – warm colors - he's an Autumn and that is very intentional on the NBC wardrobe department’s part!)
One of my favorite parts of having this cache of style know-how is that I get to share it with all of you. I love, love, love these little tricks - they are super simple and fly way under the radar so that no one can figure out exactly what you're up to that makes you look so amazing.
Today's secret is to wear your eye color.
You can actually accentuate and intensify the color of your eyes by wearing something close to your face (a necklace, scarf, tie, etc) that closely mimics your eye color.
Not only will you receive more compliments, but you can look more alert and vibrant if you're giving a presentation or going for an interview. Or if you're in the sales arena - especially for you jewelry designers out there, this is a selling strategy that will have immediate impact for your customer - and it might even help you sell more stuff!
Here's how to do it:
Women
Invest in a beautiful necklace with a semi-precious stone or wear beads or a pendant that matches the color of your eyes.
I have pale green eyes – though most people assume they’re blue. When I wear one of my green necklaces – bought specifically to enhance my eye color – the green gets noticed a lot more!
Some of my green necklaces:
Look at all the individual colors in your eyes close-up in a mirror. Ladies with brown-eyeswill see auburn, tan, green, rose brown, gold, etc. When I look at my own eyes, I see green, yellow, gold, aqua, blue, and even light brown! It’s like a stained glass window.
Pick one or more of those colors in a bold piece and wear it near your face for an immediate lift!
Men
A lot of blue-eyed guys buy French blue shirts because they love how ithe color makes their eyes “pop”. (They also like the female attention they receive because of this!) I suggest wearing a tie that is the same as your eye color. I recommend seeking out a plain satin tie or a tone-on-tone stripe or pattern. Let the color speak for itself!
Another trick
Wear the complimentary shade of your eye color for a different kind of impact. Remember the color wheel? The complimentary shade resides directly across from your eye color.
Brown - Purple/Lavender
Blue - Orange & Gold
Green - Reds & Pinks
Hazel (amber) - Blue, lavender, purple
Hazel (green) - Plum or wine
No one will know what you're up to and why you look so extra fabulous, and that's why it's our little secret!
Your wife or girlfriend tells you that you need some new clothes. You go shopping to appease her. You walk out of the dressing room wearing what you think is a perfectly good outfit, but when she sees you, her face contorts into a look of disgust the likes of which you have never seen before.
Hey wait a minute! You are there because SHE insists you buy new clothes. What’s the deal?
Well, guys, there is a secret to this clothes thing that most men don’t know. And most women instinctively know, whether they realize it or not.
The colors and patterns you wear can either wear YOU or YOU can overpower them if you aren’t careful in your selection. The ideal is to create a balance between your personal coloring – your hair, skin and eye color – and the colors you are wearing.
This is a technique used masterfully by the wardrobe stylists at ESPN. They dress such a variety of skin tones – for the camera, which is extremely difficult - and they make everyone look marvelous. (My heart goes out to John Kruk – I don’t know a wardrobe expert alive who could make that poor guy look better!)
Here’s how it works:
We are all born with a God-given set of traits. One of these is our coloring. We’re not going to focus on whether you are brown-haired, salt-and-pepper, black-haired or a redhead. Or what your eye color is. Instead we are going to focus on working with the contrast level you were born with – this means how your eye color, hair color, and skin tone work together and how they relate to the clothing you choose.
In the example below, the colors the model is wearing on the left are too washed out for his medium coloring and dark hair. In this case, the anemic outfit looks blah and fades into the background because it has no visual interest (i.e., color contrast) to strike a balance with his coloring.
In the picture to the right, there is a much better balance between the model’s features and what he’s wearing (a combination of light and dark). This is the visual harmony to look for when you are getting dressed.
Below, I have used three models: Daniel Craig is the example of Low Contrast Light – he has blonde hair, light skin and blue eyes. Taye Diggs is Low Contrast Deep – because of his deeper skin tone, hair, and eye color. Despite the fact that they are both low contrast, you can see there is quite a difference between the clothing the two would select to flatter them.
Our last example is Danny Ocean, George Clooney. He is a phenomenal example of a High Contrast male. He has dark hair and eyes and considerably lighter skin. There is a reason he looks so good in a tux. His coloring naturally favors high contrast ensembles like black and white.
It is important to note that if chosen unwisely, the colors, contrast and patterns you wear can be at worst visually distracting – hurting the viewer’s eye - or they can even make you look pale and unhealthy!
By keeping color combinations and contrast levels that flatter you close to your face, you will be able to create a sense of balance between you and your clothes. The human eye is attracted to this kind ovisual harmony and it will make you more attractive to current and potential clients and to the opposite sex as well!
Keep in mind that as we age, we lose pigmentation not only in our hair (going gray), but our skin and eyes fade too. As you start to become more “distinguished”, the colors you wear should get a little lighter as well – as if you’re gently and slowly moving closer to the lighter colors that Daniel Craig wears so well.
Can you see yourself in one of these examples? Or are you a combination of two? You may very well be.
It's funny - when a reporter from the News-Herald contacted me for this article he referenced a recent statistic from the Wall Street Journal, which said that in 2007, it was reported that only 6% of men were wearing ties to work. That very same number had been weighing heavily on my mind since I had heard it the week before.
My first concern was: What are the other 94% wearing? And my second thought was how it would affect women's clothing selection, since that is the theme of my book. The last thing we need in the American workplace is more dress code confusion!
I dropped by Borders today to pick up Penelope Trunk's new book, Brazen Careerist (yes, Penelope, I finally bought it!). I also found a little diamond in the bargain section: Lloyd Boston's Make Over Your Man for $3.99!
(Lloyd is a fabulous fashion expert)
I know for sure that I won't get to read it for a looooong time, but I am adding it to my library anyway. A men's book is in the works for me down the road. Oh, and a men's newsletter is coming this week as well. How could I forget?
(Duh, silly, I forgot because I haven't worked on anything for it yet! Bad KK!! But I have literally been too busy!)
Also, I am quoted in Henry Gomez's column on the cover of BusinessMonday (I know he will be looking in here for a mention).
“Quite honestly, I can’t resist the urge to gossip,” said Kristen Kaleal, a Cleveland image consultant and style expert who works with companies to address such issues.
Grrrrr >:{ I don't remember saying that! But I probably did. I have selective amnesia. And I know someone else who likes to gossip, but I won't name names.....
...or clothes that that make me want to do permanent harm to myself.
I found this on one of the style blogs I usually read. I asked Dan his thoughts about it, and of course I knew what his response would be. He is Mr. Anti-Fashion. Basically a caveman in a black "Geek" shirt and navy blazer.
Some of the shorts and polos, I probably would not wear….but I dig the rest of the collection especially the blazers and bow ties.
I knew it....
Personally, I do not understand the appeal of Lilly Pulitzer for women, but this men's collection makes me want to stab my eyes out, throw them in Lake Erie and let them get eaten by a walleye.
Using "man bags" to fight terrorism! I suppose we could carry this rationale through and pretty much rationalize anything as LONG AS IT FIGHTS TERRORISM.
LML hates terrorism, KK, and whatever means may be used to help us stamp out such virulent hatred.....man bags, included.
KK:
I think each of our men in Iraq and Afghanistan should have a stylish man bag for fighting the War on Terror.
In fact, I am partial to this sleek and masculine style. >
Our women in uniform, well, they probably already have sexy bags to carry their rations, grenades, etc. Sexiness, no doubt, is first and foremost on the minds of the designers of military gear. Especially in times of war....
Tonight was clearly the most interesting Midtown Brews ever. The Great Lakes Geek Dan Hanson attended for the first, and possibly last, time. There was a guy that sounded exactly like Martin Short's Ed Grimley character, Jeff Friedman got stuck in the freight elevator, and something funny happened with a water bottle.
Dan’s greatest fear is being called a metrosexual. No worries, Dan, that will never, ever happen. But it sure was funny when I saw his man purse! He stated it is a “Jack Bauer Gear Bag” and showed me the pouches in which he would put cool gadgets, if he indeed had any.
Perhaps I should steal this idea and market the first official Counter-Terrorism Man Bag. Finally a good excuse for a man to carry a stylish bag - fighting terrorism!
A friend of mine – a male friend – recently told me he reads our little newsletter, the Image Insider, written by me, Kelly, and Wendy. I was quite surprised to hear that. I asked him what he thought of it. His response was that there are too many rules. He said I’m always talking about rules. And I realized that he is absolutely right.
I am not, nor have I ever been one who likes or follows rules. I’m a little like the Laverne and Shirley theme, “Read us any rule, we’ll break it”. (Ironically, Laverne and Shirley were the names of my first two goldfish - I was 4)
I thought it was funny that a man was telling me that I have too many rules. Menswear has more rules than the NFL rule book. It’s an issue of Mars and Venus. Men like quantitative analysis, structure, and strictly the facts. Women are generally more warm and fuzzy in how we process information. In the case of personal style, it’s women who can benefit considerably from having a set of guidelines to follow.
There is such a variety of women – in size, age, shape, color and attitude - and we have so many choices in clothing and accessories - we really need guiding principles to help us look our best without buying everything in sight and without going broke.
Personally, I had a large walk-in closet bursting at the seams. I had different wardrobes – in pink, brown, peach, tan, brown, black, etc – complete with accessories. I also had about 5 people living in my closet – I had wardrobe multiple personality disorder! I had romantic skirts and dresses, a couple of leather jackets and skirts, lots of suits, and oxford shirts and khakis (which I hate – why on earth did I have them??). I was all over the place - I was romantic, I was ultra-conservative, I was….a biker chick? Maybe not. But the leather jackets weren’t consistent with anything else in my closet.
I learned "The Rules of Appearance" and I changed forever. There is one personality living in my closet now - the me I am comfortable with. Mostly classic, a little funky at times. My wardrobe harmonizes because I buy in the same color families and only buy what works for me.
There is a certain magic in knowing that you look good - it doesn't matter whether you're male or female. When you know you are doing everything right and you look your personal best you gain confidence and get an immediate self esteem boost. With the rest of the world tearing apart how much we value ourselves, isn't this more important than ever?
Having the right items in your closet – that you know make you look great – along with the right information (i.e., “Rules”) produces a consistently pulled together person.
When you know the rules and know how to apply them, it is only then that you can break them - properly.
I approached PD style editor Kim Crow in the fall about doing a college to career transition makeover to coincide with college graduation in the spring. Last year they featured a makeover that was more traditional “dress for success” done by my friend Danielle Turcola. The idea I had was to use two students with nonstandard majors. Two people who had to show certain characteristics in their interview attire. A guy who wouldn’t necessarily get points for the traditional dark suit, white shirt, and red tie look, and a young lady who shouldn’t be dressed like a trial attorney going to court.
We ended up with two up-and-coming professionals – Jake Bailey and Deborah Rosenblum, both 22. Jake graduated in from Hiram College with a degree in sports marketing, and Deborah graduated from Baldwin-Wallace with a double major in psychology and French.
Jake’s plan is to get a job with the Cavaliers or Indians in marketing or P/R. Deb wants to be a social worker.
Roxanne Washington was tapped to write the article. Roxanne wrote an article about me back in December in the PD http://www.jcu.edu/pubaff/mediacenter/Dec-05/kaleal.pdf
Originally I was only aware that they were donating $100 worth of clothing and accessories to the makeover candidates. I was so excited to speak with Lisa Kusner, the assistant manager of Aurora Farms who told me they would be picking up the entire tab! I knew what was possible because we had carte blanche to use whatever we wanted from the outlets.
I’m very glad that I decided to pre-shop before Roxanne and I met with Jake at Off 5th. I had originally planned to put him in a charcoal suit, and would see what stance looked better on him - two or three button. He has a very athletic body (he plays baseball), which means he needs quite a lot of alterations on a suit.
I wasn’t sure if he would be a 44 short or a 44 regular. It turns out he was a short, which limited our selection a bit. We did select a 3-button black-on-black stripe. It is a super 140s and cashmere blend. A beautiful suit. I would have had a problem putting him in black if he didn’t have deep coloring. But it worked out very well.
We chose a white spread collar shirt with a lavender and navy/black stripe. A burgundy, black, and lavender tie was then selected because we thought it looked like baseballs, without being too tacky.
He got a pair of split toe black shoes and a belt at Off 5th, and a watch from the jewelry store at Aurora Farms.
The next week, we went shopping for Deborah. Since she is planning to be a social worker, the goal for her was to look appropriate and professional, yet approachable. It would likely create a barrier for her if she were to interview in a traditional navy skirted suit and sensible pumps. Instead, I opted to put her in a pants outfit. If you want to read my manifesto on pant suits vs. skirt suits for an interview, check out my ClevelandWomen.com column (http://www.clevelandwomen.com/fashion/kristen5.htm). For Deborah, it just made more sense to put her in slacks.
It was a nasty, rainy day, and only Deb, Rox, me, and the Aurora Farms ducks were crazy enough to be walking around there that day. We didn’t find anything that worked for her at Off 5th, but we did find a find some great stuff at Jones New York.
We really lucked out with her outfit. I didn’t do a color analysis on Deborah, but if I were to guess, she is probably a summer – most likely a light summer like me. She is very fair, so I wanted to put her in something that harminized with her coloring yet made an impact.
The slacks we chose are a brownish green silk (much prettier than they sound!)and the bouclé jacket is cream, tan, lavender, and lime green. It’s very soft, but the vertical piping ties it to the pants and gives it structure. It also creates height and helps her drop 15-20 visual pounds. The shell we added is lavender and I encouraged her to go back and buy the matching cardigan when she’s ready so she’ll have a business casual outfit for her day-to-day work life.
We then went back to Off 5th for the shoes and accessories. We had a lucky find with the shoes. We happened to find a pair of green suede and brown leather trim spectator slingbacks with a kitten heel. I always forget that many people aren’t used to walking in the highest of heels like I am, so I was putting all kinds of heels on her and the poor thing looked like a newborn colt struggling to walk. The shoe we ended up with was exactly the right finishing point for the outfit.
(I told Deb that I know where she lives so she better watch out for those shoes – I want ‘em!)
Both days, we left Aurora Farms and drove right to the tailor shop that had agreed to do the tailoring for the shoot. Jake’s suit required more work than I had anticipated. Tanya from Fast Needle-Milton’s in Mayfield (www.fastneedle.com) shortened sleeves, took in the sides, and shortened the jacket slightly. She also tapered the shirt and shortened it as well.
Deborah’s outfit was a challenge for Tanya because of taking in the sides with the piping. I knew she was up to the challenge. This is a very good tailor. In fact, I took some of my clothing there for her to work on. She has a fan for life here.
The pants needed to be shortened, the cuff on the sleeves was tacked, and the sides were taken in to create a tapered fit and gave her a defined waist.
I picked up Deborah to get her hair done at 8:30am on Tuesday, May 23rd. We went to Europa International Salon & Spa at Eton Collection in Woodmere. I had never been into that salon. It’s very impressive. We were greeted by stylist Scott Metzger’s personal assistant Ginny. We were so spoiled by everyone at the salon. Deb got a precision $200 haircut from Scott and Melanie the colorist punched up her color a bit. It was slightly ashy and a little faded. It turned out to be just a better version of what she already had – a subtle, but noticeable difference.
Then my good friend Wendy Fitos arrived to do her makeup. I had mentioned to Roxanne that Wendy would be doing the makeup, but she didn’t connect the name with the face. So she was like, “Oh! It’s YOU!” Wendy has done makeup on several shoots for the PD. In fact we met for the first time a couple of years ago at an event to meet the previous style editor of the Plain Dealer. We both had the same objective in mind – meet our fellow fashionistas in town. We’ve been great buds ever since.
Lisa from Aurora Farms was supposed to bring the Coach bags I had selected for them to use as props for the shoot. She wasn’t sure if they would actually be able to give them the bags. Imagine our excitement when we found out that the Coach bags were theirs to keep! Jake got a black attaché and Deb got a small shoulder bag and a tan portfolio. I always stress that it’s important to go to an interview prepared. Have somewhere that they can carry an extra resume or two, because you never know how prepared the person interviewing you will be. I’ve been interviewed before where the person doing the interviewing was completely in the dark as to who I was and why I was there. Good thing I was ready.
Jake also got a haircut and he and Deb also got manicures – they were so spoiled that day! I was jealous :P
Then we did the shoot. We were able to use the conference room at the Cleveland Financial Group, which is also at Eton – in the office part of the building. It was a perfect businesslike setting.
Jake and Deb both looked spectacular! They grew up that day right before our eyes! I’m so excited to see the finished product in the paper!! I took pics for my own use, but I can’t wait to see it all together.
I’m hopeful that their makeovers will lead to the ultimate outcome for them – to get jobs that they will enjoy and find fulfilling.
