How to Utilize Personal Style to Elevate Your Brand & Presence at ANY Networking Event!
Have you ever been out, at an event, and were instantly drawn to someone? Like the burning urge that you had to talk to them. Maybe it was their hair, their clothes, or just the overall presence they gave off, but something about them said that they were important enough for you to want to talk to them.
This “presence” is something that I have studied and mastered since the start of my blogging career almost 7 years ago. I’m an anti-social introvert at heart who use to be scared of social situations (no shit). so going up to start conversations with people was and is a struggle for me. But the more I would go out, the more I noticed people, random people, coming up to me with the same questions “oh my god where did you get that bag?!” or “are those glasses real? they look too good to be prescription!”. I was quickly able to identify that my personal style was helping me engage and interact with potential customers, clients, and people that I would soon work with in my career. So, I decided to brand myself using my personal style in order to promote more of those interactions, and it works!
Whether you consider yourself fashionable or not, personal style can be a direct correlation to your brand’s identity. Think about it, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs (RIP), even Donald Trump have distinct, signature personal styles about them to where if you never saw them on TV or social media, you would still be able to figure out who they are, or at least that they’re important enough to Google!
You are your brand, 24/7, 365 days a year, so when people see you, approach you, and try to network and connect with you, you want to make sure that the image you are putting out for others to interpret is a direct link to your brand’s identity. Think of it as if you’re going into an interview for a job. An HR rep won’t take you seriously if you came into said interview with your hair all messed up, clothes looking unwashed, and your appearance looking unpolished all the way around. It’s the same with branding and your personal style. I can’t take you seriously if your appearance doesn’t match the persona that you’re trying to promote, and I can guarantee you your confidence level won’t be where it should until you’re able to identify what your personal style is and make it work for your brand.
How Do You Define Your Personal Style?
Defining your personal style is easy for some, and hard for others. The first question you need to ask yourself is “what do I normally gravitate towards when I’m getting dressed?”. It may be that your shoes are always on point, or your accessories always follow the latest trends. Identify pieces of your overall outfit, or pieces of the puzzle, that you can easily tie back to your brand’s aesthetic is the key to personal style so that you’re always representing your brand no matter where you are.
Create Your Signature Brand Look
My signature look is truly one of a kind hands down and there are 6 aspects of my personal style that I always implement into any outfit:
♡ EYEWEAR: I buy glasses only from Polette. Polette is a brand I discovered about 5 years ago and they are truly the most affordable fashion eyewear company out there
♡ HANDBAG: I only buy purses from Dolls Kill for the most part. They are the only ones who have the eccentric purses I love.
♡ SHOES: Shoes for me is whatever I can find. I wear a size 11 wide so wherever I can get a cool looking bootie, block heel, or tennis is where I’m shopping at.
♡ HAIR: I cut my hair about 4 years as a way to do something different for my birthday. 4 years later I love playing around and experimenting with colors that I can do.
♡ DAD HATS: Now that I’m baldheaded, I love me a great dad hat, and is very much on trend right now!
♡ NAILS: I always keep my clacking nails done and long baby! If my nails ain’t done, then something is wrong with me. I love playing with colors and also with different designs and treatments, and for the most part, my nails are always a big conversation piece.
Now if you’re not like me, where 80% of your life revolves around fashion, it’s OK!!! Other tools you can do to implement your brand into your personal style is invest in promotional product. Tee shirts and phone cases are the easiest thing to create and get made. I recommend Printful if your business is supported by self hosted WordPress. It’s an easy e-commerce plugin that allows you to create your own products that you can order for yourself or have drop-shipped to your customers directly from your website!
Mena Darre, a very talented photographer I know in St. Louis is very successful in creating, selling, and implementing her promotional products into her personal style. I too create my own and order samples for myself in order to promote my brand and the message behind it (be sure to cop your HauteBrand products).
Find Modes of Inspiration
Anytime I’m in a rut for what to wear to an event I always gravitate towards Pinterest. Pinterest is the hub for fashion and personal style inspiration. From fashion week photos, to streetwear & personal style bloggers, there’s something on there for everyone to get inspired! Another tool I use to get inspired is to simply take note of outfits I see while I’m at events. Just like when people come up to me, I go up to people asking where they got their outfits or what their personal style is.
So, ready to put your personal style to work? The perfect place to do so is by joining me at ConnectHer!
Introduced in 2018, ConnectHer is a celebration designed to form
genuine connections between some of St. Louis’ own artists,
teachers, influencers, business owners, and working professionals
who all happen to be women! ConnectHer’s focus is connecting on self,
peers, & the world. Hunnipop Productions is excited to bring ConnectHer to the St. Louis area for the 2nd year on September 3rd, 2019 at CIC- St.
Louis! You guys can get a discount on your ticket by using code “Connect2Her”. I’m also giving away 1 free ticket to one of my lucky readers! See below and try your luck!
