Tidewater Women/January 2005

If you were interviewing for a job, calling on an important client, or perhaps meeting your fiancee's parents for the first time, would you pay attention to your image? Would you "dress to impress"? Most likely. And you certainly wouldn't dream of purposely dressing to insult.

Image consultants agree that when you dress to impress, you are actually saying that you honor the people you meet and that you want to please them. On the other hand, showing up with a slipshod image is tantamount to hurling an insult at them because your image shouts, "You aren't important to me. I don't have to impress you."

Recently, an executive with a local consulting company told me that if her company did away with the business casual dress policy, the employees would be upset about having to go back to making all that effort to dress up. They liked being comfortable, she noted. Ultimately, I would question the idea that the employees' preferences rated more consideration than that of customers. In a sense, the message being sent is, "My comfort is more important to me than impressing you with a professional image." As an image consultant with 30 years experience, I can say emphatically that image matters!

Want to impress people? You don't have to stick your diploma under their nose. You don't even have to say a word. Your most important message is picked up in two seconds: your image.Talk to an image consultant and discover how to look polished and professional. Show others that you honor them and respect them by dressing to impress!

Sandy Dumont, THE Image Architect is a corporate image consultant and professional speaker based in Norfolk, Virginia, with 30 years of international and national experience helping individuals and Fortune 500 companies improve their business and personal image. She conducts customized Branding for People™ image workshops on a regular basis.
For more information, visit www.theimagearchitect.com or call 757/627-6669.

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by Sandy Dumont, THE Image Architect © 2005
Originally published in Tidewater Women, January 2005