We've moved!

A new decade deserves a new look. I've re-branded and have a new website and blog. I've changed the name of my business from Best Foot Forward to Lucinda Slater. Please visit my new site at Lucinda Slater. My new website can be found here.

Wishing you a stylish new year.

Best wishes

Lucinda

If you only do one thing this week … make a good first impression

Giles Morris, writing in The Guardian, has kindly quoted me in his article following my interview with him recently. Giles writes:

The apparel oft proclaims the man, as Shakespeare once observed, and this hasn't changed much since we all went around in frilly ruffs and bodices.

The solution is not to opt for clone-like business wear. Lucinda Slater of image consultancy Best Foot Forward says: "Everybody wants to look professional, but there's got to be something extra." Your clothes need to demonstrate "characteristics which are special to you and make you stand out".

A distinctive tie or a jacket with colourful lining are great ways for a man to show individuality, Slater says. But she counsels against novelty socks or jazzy cufflinks. "People would think, 'What a joke'. It undermines your credibility."

And style gaffes are not limited to the boys. Women frequently let themselves down with poorly fitting clothes, visible underwear and worn heels, Slater says. Spaghetti straps and flip-flops also get the thumbs down – evidence of the confusion smart-casual dress codes can sow. "People don't know what is appropriate for work and what is appropriate for home," she says.

Her top tip is to think first about what qualities you want to display when you are at work. Then go through your wardrobe, try on each piece and look at yourself in the mirror. Ask yourself honestly if you see those qualities in whatever it is you're wearing. If the answer is no then the item in question should be consigned to the weekends.

And if that leaves you with rather a large weekend selection, take heart: you should be able to make a good impression next time you're at the supermarket.

I'm on TV

Here's a dilemma. What do you do when you get a call from Sky News at 5pm one Saturday asking you to come in tomorrow morning to be part of a TV debate on image in politics? The first thing that came into my mind was not, what am I going to say, but where on earth am I going to get my hair done. Then, I thought about what I was going to say.

Fortunately, I have a very kind hairdresser who kindly agreed to blow dry my hair early the next day at her home. I duly arrived at 8am on the Sunday with wet hair and 15 minutes later I had TV hair. Her name is Julia Lampard and she runs a salon in Guildford. Now that's what I call service. Thanks Julia!

Be ready when Opportunity knocks

Don't let the smart casual dilemma spoil your chances of success. Twenty years ago people dressed smarter for work. When I was a City lawyer I used to wear a suit to work everyday. Now, many firms have a smart casual dress code and dress down Fridays. The problem with this is that you are left unprepared. When a colleague rushes in to say you've got to go to court or meet an important client, if you are not dressed smart enough, someone else will go in your place. You may have just lost the biggest opportunity of your career, something that was going to fast-track you onto higher things. Shame.

The answer? Be business appropriate and you'll be ready to grab that opportunity with both hands.

Time to shine!

Lucy Kellaway in the FT, is convinced, like me, that to survive this recession we need to smarten up our appearance.  She recalls that two years ago HR mangers attending a conference in London, dressed casually. This year, at the same conference, everyone was wearing a a suit and tie. HR people being "on the front line of the jobs market"  know when it's  time to smarten up. If they are wearing suits, then it's time everyone else did the same. 

Christine Binkley writing in the Wall Street Journal notes that

"Casual clothing has long been seen as a sign of a modern attitude."

She remembers writing a column in 2007 in which a number of young lawyers defended working in Ugg boots, jeans and clingy T-shirts, arguing that they needed to be comforable at work. They felt entitled.

That's what's changed. People don't feel entitled to dress casually anymore because they don't feel entitled to a job anymore. They can't take anything for granted. Dressing smarter helps raise your profile, and if that doesn't work, looking smarter should help when it comes to looking for another job, should it come to that.

For men and women, wearing a suit is so much simpler, less stressful and far easier to manage than the daily conundrum of what level of informality you want to achieve that day. It is also empowering. One US lawyer even says that without a suit 

"I would feel like a football player who ran out of the field without his shoulder pads"

There are huge benefits to keeping your casual clothes for home. Does anyone remember that wonderful feeling when you came home from school and changed out of your school uniform? I do. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a casual top was a sign that it was time to relax, to feel at home. These days there is such a blurring of work and home that we can find it difficult to switch off. Changing out of our work clothes can help reduce that stress.

But let's not forget that looking good helps us feel good. A newly appointed senior manager has just introduced "High Heels Friday" in an attempt to cheer up her team by encouraging them to dress up.

Looks like the winning strategy is to smarten up and buckle down on both sides of the pond. It's time to shine!

Image matters in politics

Does image matter in politics? This is what I was asked recently by Tom Levitt, News Editor at MSN. In replying, I have teamed up with my friend and colleague Suzanne Tongue, a bona fide American citizen, so that we can give a British/American perspective on the subject.  Suzanne runs her own executive style consultancy in the Washington area, having recently moved back to the States after living here for some 10 years.

Here is a summary of the published article.

Gordon Brown's had a makeover. Something that might have sounded strange a decade or so ago has now become an accepted part of modern politics.  Just look at some of the most successful politicians of recent years - Tony Blair, Barack Obama, David Cameron - all of them work hard on being presentable.

"It might sound shallow," said a Liberal Democrats spokesman. "but appearances can be important and most people tend to make snap judgments based on how a person looks, even if they're not aware they are doing it."

But just how important is a politician's image and why? We asked image consultants Lucinda Slater, of Best Foot Forward Style Consultancy and Suzanne Tongue, of Stylecapital to give us their expert opinion.

Q: Why is image important?

A: No one likes to talk about image, but everyone has one. We are primarily visual creatures and we react strongly to visual cues – which is why image is important.  Our image is an essential part of our reputation. Aligning the two helps us come across as credible. Politicians need to be believed, so that is why getting their image right is absolutely crucial.

In the United States George Bush deliberately cultivated a "cowboy" image. This may have endeared him to his Texas constituency, but it made him very unpopular in other States and other parts of the world.

Barack Obama’s image is extremely polished, and conveys sobriety, integrity and trust. Picture him at his inauguration speech in his impeccable dark suit, white shirt, and classic tie.  Now try to imagine that same speech if he were in an ill-fitting trench coat, or lacked a tie. Even if we can’t explain it to ourselves, there would have been a "disconnect" – it would have been harder for people to have taken him seriously as a leader.

Q: Do people really judge politicians on appearances?

A: A carefully considered image is not about trying to change people’s minds. It is about conveying respect – for the office, for the occasion and for us, the voters. And yes, people do notice that.

When New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was forced to resign as governor of New York for his indiscretions, he appeared on the podium in a dark, sober suit, with his wife at his side, dressed in a light blue suit and pearls.  People were still angry with him; no minds had been changed. However, they did feel that he was taking this issue seriously. Had he appeared in khakis and his wife in jeans and bling, we would have felt "taken", cheated.

Q: Have you noticed politicians paying more attention to appearances?

A: Gordon Brown’s makeover, called "Project Gordon", involved him whitening his teeth, cutting his hair and softening his austere image to try to make him appear more approachable.

In the US the “return to Camelot” look cultivated by Barack and Michelle Obama signals a return to taking the office of president seriously. In the 80s and 90s, the casual atmosphere of Silicon Valley allowed Americans to get away with more, to flaunt their non-conformity.

In our current climate, this does not feel right, nor does it inspire confidence. Interestingly, perhaps we Brits think that we can get away with idiosyncratic dressing a bit more. We have a long history of wonderful characters who have flouted convention. That may be why Boris Johnson’s "buffoon-like" appearance is tolerated.

Q: Is it working?

A: David Cameron uses his clean-cut image to convey honesty and openness. Obama does the same. Is it working? Call us in four years!

Time for a tailor

In celebration of the return of the super stylish Mad Men to our screens, Barack Obama's inaugural presidential address and Daniel Craig's appearance at the Bafta's, here is a picture of the three gentlemen doing what they do extremely well.  That is, wearing a suit.  

Why is a suit so flattering for a man?  We now know that in time of recession people feel the need to smarten up.  Why is that? 

Alan Flusser in his book "Dressing the man" gives us his insight:

"If a man runs for president, interviews for a high-level job, or needs a good table at a smart restaurant, chances are he'll be wearing a suit.  The tailored jacket with matching trousers remains the uniform of official power, suggesting civility, diplomacy, and physical self-control. Suits have a way of looking superior."

These three gentlemen seem to understand that perfectly.