Who is in the House?

I believe in self-branding. Creating a personalized and consistent look is an important aspect of making an impact on others, communicating your values and establishing loyalty.

It sounds like I'm selling butter.

But seriously, in the professional world, you are a product. You provide services and affect another's image--so upfront you need to secure others' faith in you. Much of this is done through self-branding.

The most important aspect of branding, however, is not what's on the inside, but what's on the outside. Specifically, your audience. Who is your target audience? What do they think they want? What do they need? What do they already have? What is important to them?

These are important considerations in establishing an overall brand, but they must also be considered in individual interactions with your audience. Each day provides an opportunity to customize your product (yourself) for a variety of audiences. Determining factors include gender, age, socio-economic class, position, geographical origin, political views, religion and general worldview.

In one day, I may be interacting with an executive in my business, a potential client and a person over whom I have authority. They may all, in fact, be in the same meeting. Each audience member must be taken into consideration when determining my message (ensemble) for the day.

For instance, one of my audience members is a female department head from the baby boomer generation, born and raised in the south. She has a reputation for being polite but has adequate ambition and self-confidence or she wouldn't be in the position she is in. She is not in direct authority over me (doesn't tell me what to do and cannot get me fired), but is a person of influence that can effect my future for the better. What I also know of her is 1) her department is in flux under a seemingly unstable administration, 2) she always wears bright colors, 3) she is very social in her personal life with long-term friends, 4) she was "one of the team" promoted to the head of the team, and 5) she is fairly girlie. Her job consists of providing resources for those in her field, which tells me she has a heart for discipleship.

All these factors provide clues as to how I should present myself to her. Generally, when I know I will be meeting with her, I attempt to present myself as a younger version of herself. I will wear at least a splash of a brightly colored, flashy pattern in a color that is flattering to both our palates (people almost always like the colors they look best in). I also trade in my simple, classic jewelry for chunkier, colorful jewelry.

I will not typically only be interacting with her, however. And that, too, must be taken into consideration. What will be attractive to her will not always be attractive to men or other women, and you seldom want to appeal to only one person, even if that person is in charge of everyone else.

In the case that there are several members of the audience I wish to impact in a pleasant way, a more subtle approach is necessary. I will undoubtedly wear one thing that pulls her attention: a great piece of jewelry or some fabulous shoes ALWAYS do the trick. Men will seldom comment (though I have found a a copper chain necklace and some 50's inspired red heels that both sexes go crazy about), but women will ALWAYS comment. And if you can discuss where you got it or how great priced it was, you'll find an ally in the meeting (note: this can be used effectively, but can also hurt your impact on the other members if you aren't careful).

This is just one example of dozens of different audience members one can interact with in a given day. What's important is to consider each member individually and the audience as a whole and how they interact with one another and with you.

THAT IS A LOT OF CONSIDERATION. And yes, it does make me crazy. And yes, I do it everyday. And yes, that is just the beginning.

The Buying Power of $760

Ahem.. where were we? Oh yes!

Last posting I posed the question “Is The Great Suit worth spending $760?” I also offered an answer: yes. To put this in a different perspective, I would like to compare the cost of The Great Suit with other items of importance or interest to me and potentially to my readers.

$760 will buy 190 Starbucks Grande Mochas. This is usually my drink of choice when visiting Starbucks (one pump mocha, no whip). That’s one mocha every other day for a year.

Recently my husband and I celebrated our 7^th anniversary. As a young woman, I felt it was necessary to spend thousands of dollars on a day’s events that is long forgotten and completely irrelevant to the last seven years. Yet I still do not have a headboard. For $760 I could purchase a headboard.

According to statistics provided by Angel Food Ministries, $760 can feed a family of four for five months or a senior citizen for almost two years.

For $760 a couple considering divorce can receive eight counseling sessions wherein they can determine what the problem is, if it is solvable, how to solve it, and the appropriate steps to healthy relationships in the future.

For $760 I can buy the top luxury stroller for my newborn nephew, making me my sister-in-law’s favorite sister-in-law.

With $760 I could buy my friends car so he can move to New York City. I could give this car to my baby sister to help her obtain a full-time job with decent benefits. Once she has this job, she can solidify plans for a wedding in June.

$760 is approximately one-and-a-half months worth of child care for my friend who would rather be a stay-at-home-mom.

At the Missouri Minimum wage of $7.25, one would have to work two-and-a-half weeks full-time (or 104 hours) to earn $760 before taxes.

I could also spend $760 on a round-trip flight to see my brother who will be stationed with the Navy in Hawaii.

As I argued in previous postings, the “investment” that comes with The Great Suit could bring dividends of a well-paying job, promotion, or favor of your boss and co-workers.

But investments are risky.

When I set out The Great Suit journey, I knew the chances of finding a decent suit for $100 were slim. I also knew that most of the stores in Joplin at which I shop fairly regularly do not carry suits. My town of 50,000 has little to offer—Macy’s, JCPenny, New York and Company, Sears, and closeout merchandise stores like T.J. Maxx and Name Brand Clothing. What few boutiques we have are mostly “fun” middle-aged women’s clothing.

Then there’s Talbots.

I place Talbots in a separate category because I think Joplin is undeserving of this specialty retailer. When companies consider opening new stores, their main focus is on specific income based demographics. Thus, many stores pass up Joplin because it is on the low side for high incomes. But if people in my income bracket consider buying from there, maybe there is a market.

I know that I can get The Great Suit there. To make sure I was not spending needless money on name brand, though, I shopped everywhere else first.

I am suitless. Meanwhile, I am saving to buy a suit at Talbots.

Buying a suit is not technically an investment. A suit depreciates in monetary value. The benefits of buying The Great Suit far outweigh the cost. Not only does The Great Suit make you look smart, successful, beautiful, and classy, but you also know you look smart, successful, and classy. Samuel Johnson, I am told, said, “Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” Without self-confidence, there’s nowhere to go.

Before I get too far, I need to define what I mean by The Great Suit. The Great Suit includes matching jacket, pants, skirt and stellar accessories tailored to your coloring, shape, and personality. I might even include make-up and hair, but I think I will refrain from that topic in this blog series.

This investment is not only the suit pieces themselves but also accessories not bought at Target. I love Target! But cheap accessories make a Great Suit just a suit. If you’re “investing” that much money anyway, why not add a little extra to make it Great?

So, to give myself a goal, I browsed Talbots. Here is an estimate of what The Great Suit would cost (at the very least) based on their full prices.


Seamless wool-blend suit
Jacket $199
Pants $109
Skirt $ 99
Point collar shirt $ 69
Dot pantyhose $ 10
Plaid/rosette sash $ 34
Vachetta leather belt $ 39
Classic pumps $129
Faux-pearl earrings $ 29
Faux-pearl illusion necklace $ 44

The Great Suit total $761


Almost $1,000 for The Great Suit?!?! Is it worth it?

We wear suits to important events that are usually tied to money: interviews, television appearances, presentations, etc. If wearing The Great Suit means a job, a promotion, or receiving community support for future service events at MSSU, then I believe The Great Suit is worth $761 (plus tax). I guarantee that if I have The Great Suit on, it’ll be like marrying my husband—I’ll never doubt it was worth it.

The Great Suit

I am graduated. I am professional. I should buy a suit for interviews, special events, television appearances, and professional-grade funerals. I ventured out this weekend to find The Great Suit since there is some urgency: I will be appearing on the KODE morning show January 7 to represent the MSSU Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service to be held on January 18th (plug, plug).

To look my best at any time, really, but especially on television, my PR mentor has advised me to wear a dark suit. Sounds simple, and for him, it may be. For women, however, so much more goes into buying and wearing a suit. Tailoring to individual curvaceousness, accessorizing within professional and personality boundaries, and enhancing while alternately subduing femininity make for a complicated procedure. Additionally, mens fashion has remained mostly the same for over one hundred years with only gradual and minimal variations. Womens fashion, however, is much more complicated and extreme—a suit that was fashionable last year can now look dated (though I admit I would not know).

Regardless, I know my male PR friend is correct. A dark suit is essential to my wardrobe. To help those soon-to-be graduates, women entering and reentering the workforce, and all women with moderate concerns for professional fashion, I will explore many facets of finding, buying and wearing The Great Suit.