Chantelle Znideric is an award winning celebrity stylist, personal shopper and fashion writer with a monthly fashion column and regularly contributions to the national press with fashion features, interviews, style advice, expert quotes and fashion tips. Chantelle will show you that it doesn't have to cost the earth to look a million dollars.
Over the past twelve months there’s been a dramatic increase in the amount of professional females seeking the assistance of a personal stylist like myself to revamp their style in the workplace. Interestingly enough a large proportion of these ladies have been female lawyers and IT executives!
“So why is this?” I hear you ask … Well if the truth be known there are a number of reasons. First off is the fact that more and more women are demanding more from their careers and are entering the traditionally male dominated workplaces. They are staking their claim in the finance, law and media arenas, which are now becoming far more female orientated – Hooray for girl power!!
In my experience this has had a knock on effect directly within the work place with women competing against each other as well as with their male counterparts for the best positions going ... and this means that services such as executive coaching and personal styling are growing in popularity as they can help them achieve the edge they need.
Second to this has been the dramatic increase in ‘body insecurities’ faced by the modern woman. In fact all women are not helped by the media who insist on working with skinny models ... then making them even skinnier with the use of photo manipulation!
There’s always been a debate raging about the fact that more preened and good-looking girls DO get ahead based on their looks alone. It depends where you’re sitting I guess, but from my perspective, the answer is ‘NO’ as many of my female clients who hire me have amazing bodies but they still feel ugly because they compare themselves to die-hard-dieting-celebs and wafer thin models who are just not real. The good news is that every single woman out there has fabulous curves somewhere on their body and they just need to know how to work with them.
In addition to my points above, women want more out of their careers and are increasingly returning to work after a brief baby break. They still have things they want to achieve and enjoy the independence of earning their own crust - nothing wrong with that at all. But I’m sure you’ll agree normally after babies bowl onto the scene, it seems that minds turn their attention to body parts heading south and a few new lumps and bumps appearing. Often an effortless stylish mix and match wardrobe is needed – another excuse to go shopping! But most can’t get their heads around shopping with a bulky buggy, having such limited time to do it in or dressing for their new shape and two new lifestyles - enter ‘the professional personal stylist’!
Many organisations have also relaxed their business dress codes with many introducing a casual dress down Friday affair and for some; this is a way of showing to the world that YOU CAN dress to reflect your personality rather than getting lost in those grey or black corporate suits. For other women Friday literally fills them with dread with many not knowing what a smart/casual dress code involves – they still want to be taken seriously, look stylish, feel confident and at the end of the day be feminine.
In sight of the credit crunch there has never been a better time to address a more confident image and if you feel self-assured on the inside you’ll often exceed expectations and achieve in life so much more. Knowing how to dress for your body shape is one thing, but styling your personality is crucial when a potential promotion is looming, or if you’re looking to turn heads at the office Christmas party.
A poll undertaken by a number of managing directors recently announced that image was the most important thing they looked for in their choice of employees. It may also surprise you to read that other research has shown that businesses going through rigorous recruitment processes make personal decisions in the first thirty seconds of meeting someone. An astounding 93% of that first impression you make will be based purely on the image you project when you initially walk into that boardroom or meet someone for the first time.
Some female professionals purely want to learn how to mix and match outfits successfully from current items in their work or casual wardrobes and others see the necessity in revamping their style by introducing key trends each season for a positive effect on their success.