How To Get Your Personal Brand Style Back On Track

As we’ve been emerging into some level of normality again, I’ve been pondering on what would be most helpful for my next article. Searching for inspiration, I took a look through my archives of countless notes and half written articles that I’d parked for completing “one day” when, just like magic, the Universe stepped in with an idea – don’t you love how that happens!  

The reality for many over the last few months in lockdown is that we’ve lost some of the key ingredients that add that unique spice to our personal brand style. Working from home, home schooling your kids, even switching up your business model to adapt to current changes, all these things most likely mean you’ve not been able to utilise the full impact that your wardrobe can have on your brand. 

YOU ARE YOUR BRAND!

Whether you realise it or not, you’re a walking, talking advertisement for your business. Whether you’re looking for your next career enhancement, a business owner who wants to stand out a little more or, like me, a personal style coach who needs to constantly keep my style refreshed, you need to remember that your appearance makes an important (and lasting) impact. The good news is that you totally have the ability and tools to find and own your personal brand style and use this to tell the world exactly who you are and what you stand for. All that’s required is a little bit of soul-searching to find the unique and authentic aspects of yourself, and then amplify these to add a powerful dimension to your brand. Creating a personal style for your brand comes with its own set of rules and guidelines and is a really effective tool for helping you stand out in today’s ultra-competitive marketplaces.  

I love this quote by Italian designer Miuccia Prada, which speaks beautifully to this point… “What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is an instant language.”

LET’S GET STARTED

Your first port of call is to review your current personal brand style. Now, I’m not asking you to be the next Marie Forleo or Holly Willoughby, unless that’s who you admire of course. But what I do want you to do is take a look at some of our most successful female entrepreneurs and TV presenters, and the personal brands they’ve created. Then decide what message their style portrays. Does their style reflect their brand, who they are and what they stand for in the world? 

Next spend some time brainstorming what you want your personal brand style to say about you. Think about key words that quantify your brand and use those to search for styles that complement them. Is your brand fun-loving and charismatic? Is it sensible and ultra-professional? Maybe it’s all about strength, intelligence, drive and passion? Or perhaps it’s edgy, sassy and sexy? 

If you struggle to come up with key words, start by asking trusted friends and family to describe you in three descriptive words. This is a great exercise for helping you to see what others find memorable about you, which is key to finding your personal brand style. 

Remember, you are wonderfully unique. This is not about changing you but finding out what makes you distinctive (your unique selling point) and enhancing that. Is it the way you wear something? Is it your humour? How you communicate? Do you speak several languages?  

Spend some time thinking about your USP and, whatever it is, use it to your advantage to stand out and get noticed.

SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS

Now, I appreciate for some of you wearing colour is a scary option, while for others wearing a rainbow of colours feels like the most natural thing in the world. However, colour is such a powerful tool and an essential feature of the way we dress, so it needs to be incorporated as a natural expression of your personality.  

For example, red is all about catching someone’s attention – if your brand is about being energetic or getting noticed, then you can achieve this by wearing a bright red lipstick. If it’s more elegant and powerful, then a classic chic black suit will be bang on brand. Or perhaps green is your go-to colour as a designer of sustainable fashion – green conveys a powerful symbol in eco-friendly industries. 

Just keep in mind that colour speaks loudly, so use it in your everyday brand style message. 

WHAT’S YOUR SIGNATURE STYLE?

I have a simple formula for determining your signature style. 

Profession/business + budget + place you live + day-to-day tasks = your signature style

A good rule of thumb when trying to define your signature style, is to be consistent with your look so it has a positive and lasting affect that makes you memorable.

Wearing clothes that match your true personality will make you feel more self-assured, confident and alter how others perceive you. Clothes and accessories signify a certain power. Wearing statement pieces that reflect your personal style, like a statement necklace or a bold statement watch, helps you communicate who you are in a unique and memorable way.  

FINAL THOUGHTS

To round things up, amplifying your personal brand starts with creating an individual and complementary style. Your appearance and what you wear speaks volumes about you, so use that to convey the right message about you and your brand to the world. 

Always remember, actions speak louder than words. When you highlight what’s unique about you and your brand through your personal style, you’ll attract the right attention, so own the hell out of it!

Nichola English is addicted to fashion. From an early age picking out clothes for friends and family, she always had an eye for style which only expanded as she got older, eventually creating her business, The Wardrobe Provocateur. 

Nichola adores working with women (and men) across the world discovering personal style, reinventing that old tired wardrobe and realising new confidence and vitality through coaching, shopping and good old clearing out of the old. You can read her full story of becoming The Wardrobe Provocateur here.