My One Hour Dress Rule

This blog post goes out to those among you who stop off to shop before actually going into your office.  You know who you are because you will recognize that dreaded feeling of "an ensemble has gone awry and it must be fixed immediately." And there you are shopping at 8:39 on a Tuesday morning.  

How to avoid those costly, stress-inducing mistakes?  Glad you asked.  Answers are below - and they are gleaned from eight years of creating ensembles, my presentation notes from corporate speaking gigs and a few emergency shopping trips of my own.   

1.  Check the weather.  Always, always, always.  In less than an hour you will be outside either freezing or sweating and the outfit needs to work for that weather, not the weather in your bedroom.  

2.  Check, not just your front, but your behind.  You're looking for certain horrible things you wouldn't want anyone to see. Toilet paper, tags, snags and the dreaded VPLs.  You know, visible panty lines.  Because one hour from now you will be walking past the corner office and for certain, that is not the time to wonder.

3. Check your hem.  A pant hem should touch the top of your shoe in front and sit about a half inch off the floor in the back. Sit down to check a skirt hem and make sure it doesn't ride up so high that it shows too much thigh.  What's too much thigh?  If you are asking, it's too much because one hour from now you'll be tired of tugging it down.  

4. Check your 3:1 Sexy Ratio.  A look should have just one of the following: a sleeveless top, a lower neckline or a higher skirt hem.  If you are wearing an evening type shoe or necklace or are wearing something very fitted, don't show off any of the above. Why? Because in one hour everyone will be looking at you - from the guy who gets you a latte to the woman who decides if she'll back your promotion.  You want both of them to take you very seriously.  One's your lifeline and the other is your livelihood. 

5. If the shoe fits, then wear it.  But absolutely don't wear it, if it doesn't.  It seems obvious, but how many of us have decided that those squeezed toes or reddened heel will be okay and then ended up shopping for a replacement?  It takes about an hour for a full on blister to develop.

6. Itchy wool, a binding waist or a buttoned-down blouse that pulls across the bust.  Don't suffer for even less than an hour. 

7. Wrong colors around your face make you look sad or tired. One hour from now your colleagues or clients will see the same. 

8. To jacket or not to jacket?  That is the question you must decide.  And your answer must reflect where you will be in one hour's time.  If it's a position of authority - wear the jacket.  

9. Too much stuff.  It feels wonderful to pile it all on - a new necklace plus the awesome earrings and the cool patterned stockings too.  In one hour, it will feel extraneous.

10. Not enough stuff.  One statement accessory plus two supporting items that relate in color or shape.  One hour from now you'll feel smart, fresh and expressive of your own empowering, personal style.

Call me for personal styling or a lively and intelligent presentation.  My passion is to support women with tasteful and flattering ensembles and the kind of dressing knowledge that gets a woman to the top of her profession.

Kerry Cordero