Have you ever returned home from an event and said, “I wish I’d worn something else.” You’ve heard of buyer’s remorse–what about wearer’s remorse? It’s a new term–I just made up. And we’ve all felt it at one time or another.

There is a preventative measure you can take to remedy wearer’s remorse. It’s called a dress rehearsal...and I don’t mean for the stage.

My daughter is a costume designer. She spends months researching, creating renderings, and perfecting a garment that will totally embody her character. When that character steps onto the stage, the costume he/she is wearing speaks loud and clear, before they ever utter a word. They are communicating through their appearance. They are dressed with intention.

I raided my daughter’s college portfolio of costume renderings and found these.

What immediately comes to mind when you see each woman?

What about him?

The solution for wearer’s remorse is to dress with intention.

What is dressing with intention?

“Defining the way you ultimately want to be perceived and following that lead by dressing accordingly is called dressing with intention.” … QUINTESSENTIAL STYLE (p. 12)

Intentional dressing sounds complicated, but it’s not. It simply means taking time to think about your objectives and asking yourself: “How do I want to be perceived at this event?”

Style is about communicating who you are through the language of clothing, and dressing is all about making choices that support your intentions.

Ask Yourself How You Want to be Perceived?

Decide how you want to feel:  powerful, cute, sensual, athletic, sophisticated, romantic, feisty, invisible? (p. 14)

Choose clothing that will achieve your look: Lace will help you look romantic. To look powerful, wear a jacket. Want to look sophisticated, wear one color head-to-toe. (p. 51)

Pick colors that send a message: Wear black if you want to look mysterious, yellow to look friendly, blue if you want to appear approachable, and red if you want the adrenaline to flow. (p. 31)

Do you have a wedding, interview, party, or special event coming up? Don’t wait until the night before to choose your outfit. Take time to dress with intention. 

THE MORE IMPORTANT THE EVENT, THE MORE IMPORTANT THE DRESS REHEARSAL.

One more image to leave you with. You can tell by looking at her, that this is going to be a hilarious show. And it was!

“Life is like a theatre play and clothes are your costume.  Your style defines your character, and the story you want to tell the world.”  …Eva Schwager 

To get your copy of Quintessential Style, click here.