In addition to being a Publicist, I am also a wanna be Fashionista. I love fashion and *may* have a slight shoes problem. (Is 65 pairs too many?)  Handbags? Yup, love them too! I’ve always been jealous of those women who exude style and class with what seems like little effort.  You know the ones that I’m talking about; they look like they have a personal stylist dress them daily. My personal style is a little less polished and best described as a blend of “wanna be designer chic” with a huge dollop of ‘rock and roll’. Whether it’s a hit or not, it’s my style and I own it.

Personal style is a part of your personal brand. It shows others how you see yourself and how you want them to see you.  In a formal business environment this might mean wearing a suit to show that you are “serious” and “professional”. Which, by the way, I’ll break out when the occasion calls for it.

In a NY Times article on clothing and self perception, it was determined that clothing affects how other people perceive us as well as how we perceive ourselves. No big surprise here. But did you know that what you wear can actually affect your psychological processes? Your outfit can actually alter how you approach and interact with the world because of the value we assign to them. For example, the article discusses how wearing a white coat that you believe belongs to a doctor, increases your ability to pay attention. This is because “clothes invade the body and brain, putting the wearer into a different psychological state,” explains Adam D. Galinsky, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University who conducted a study on “the effects of clothing on cognitive processes.”

Huh. Think about that the time you are throwing together an outfit.