🌎 How you dress and how others perceive you

Someone asked me, “Do you think the way a person dresses makes a big difference in how they are perceived?”

I’ll share a more elaborate version of my answer below.

I’m Vanessa Versiani, a personal stylist, and on this blog I share content about personal style. I’ve been working in the fashion industry since 1981, which makes me one of the most experienced stylists in the world.

Yes, it does have an impact. In fact, for public figures, it has a huge impact. The current Brazilian president (Lula), for example, tried to be president many times, unsuccessfully, because he looked like a drunken bum. (Click the link to see)

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It was only after he had the assistance of a professional that he started trimming his beard, wearing suits, etc. to look the way people around the world see him nowadays.

For non-public people, it is important to take care of your appearance too, not to please others, but to enhance your natural beauty. I will talk more about this later.

If you are not poor or a bum, why would you vote for a man like the one you saw in the image above? You wouldn’t. Especially considering that he never even ran a neighborhood bakery to understand anything about management and, in the 80s, encouraged workers to break up the industries that paid their salaries.

Wise people go beyond the image, beyond the superficial. You can look like a stupid ordinary person, but if you have other ways to show that you are not... you can be respected. The first time I saw Gary Vaynerchuk was in a video of a TED talk or something. He looked totally ordinary, but he connected ideas in an interesting way, so... I read his book "Crush it". And I followed him for a while.

Many very rich people look poor or ordinary (to those who don't know the brands they choose to wear), while some middle-class people buy luxury brands with their huge logos plastered all over them. (Click the link for illustrative image)

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The same goes for relationships. You see a lot of people approaching other people for dates just because of their looks, without knowing anything about their personalities. Superficial. Other people may or may not be attracted to beauty and know the need to look for other qualities that can make a relationship healthy.

It's better to look good than not to look good, because it's nice to look in the mirror and feel like you look fabulous, but if you care too much about it and dress more to impress others than to feel fabulous, you can attract a lot of superficial people. Superficial people are never good company. Being so concerned with beauty that you deny your natural beauty, like people straightening their curly hair or getting plastic surgery, is a huge sign of low self-esteem (and this is not to encourage people to accept themselves as they are, without changing anything). I haven't seen the movie "The Substance", but as far as I know, that's what it's about! About how we kill our identities trying to look good to others.

Having a few good clothes that match your unique personality is much better than tons of fast fashion clothes or the cheapest pieces from luxury brands with big logos everywhere, just like rappers and soccer players with questionable taste.

Personal image is a powerful nonverbal communication tool and should be used strategically. My professional ethics focus on using this tool to express the real personality of my clients, the best of that personality, so that they attract authentic personal and professional relationships and feel confident in developing their authentic personality further. Can I do a consultation just to help you better match the clothes? Yes, I can. Can the client pretend to me that they are something they are not? No. I know how to interpret personality like few people in the world. If you want to pretend to others that you are something different, the best thing to do is to be 100% honest with me, because I have the tools to help you. Without such honesty, I will pretend to believe your act, and this will have an effect on how I will treat you and how much I will charge. And I may get tired of the act and abandon ship halfway through. Something I never do with clients who trust my work and are sincere.

To have an interesting look, with personality and quality, you must have an experienced personal stylist to help you get there, respecting your personality. To hire me, read the "Commitments" and the "Personal stylist" pages.

Vanessa Versiani