In this episode, we explore how COVID-19 has transformed work attire, leading to a more casual approach while emphasizing the importance of great separates. Discover insights into how dressing well impacts confidence and performance at work. Listen as our expert guest shares personal stories of creating bespoke clothing that empowers clients, emphasizing the value of finding the perfect fit over the perfect size. We also discuss practical tips on how to enhance off-the-rack items for a better fit and greater impression. Tune in to learn how investing in your wardrobe can elevate both your appearance and self-assurance, crucial for career growth and presence in professional settings.

[00:00] Why I invited Dara to join the summit

[00:32] Investing in Key Pieces for a Versatile Wardrobe

[00:57] The Impact of Dressing on Confidence

[01:36] Creating Signature Looks for Professional Environments

[01:56] Memorable Client Stories and Their Transformations

[03:03] Final Thoughts on Dressing for Success

[04:28] Personal Insights: Joy at Work

Speaker Links:

Website: https://daraford.com/

Follow on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dara-stringham-3b37318b/

Next Steps:

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy my Life Satisfaction Assessment. It's a 30-minute program where I guide you through a deep dive into 10 areas of your life to assess what's bringing you joy and what's bringing you down. I call it Derailed and it's a fabulous place to begin a joy-at-work redesign.

https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/derailed

Work confidence is a fickle thing.

It depends on so many factors that are often beyond our control.

But one element that can increase work confidence, which then

impacts work success and the joy we experience from feeling good

at work, is within our control.

How we dress.

Before a certain global pandemic, we used to take much more care

about work wardrobes, didn't we?

But working from home and hybrid working patterns have changed our work

wardrobes, and not all for the better.

Dara Ford, bespoke and couture tailor, has some fascinating insights into how you can

deliberately design a little extra boost of confidence and joy into your workday.

Let's dive in.

Dara before COVID work and a well cut suit or tailored dress were completely aligned,

but our whole work arena has changed.

What changes have you seen in the kinds of clothes professionals

are choosing to invest in?

So I think the whole workplace has become a lot more casual.

Partly because people are working from home and then going into the office.

And so there's more of a crossover between the two.

And I think that kind of breakup of work uniforms was already happening before

COVID, and it's just been accelerated.

So I guess what I'm seeing people invest in is really great separates.

So rather than perhaps, buying an entire suit.

I find that my clients are buying a blazer or just a great fitting pair of trousers.

And so they are investing in a few key pieces that they can then combine

with other things and then create both casual and more fitted work looks.

Lovely, lovely.

And I'm really curious about the way we dress for work and life, really

seems to impact our confidence.

Doesn't it?

Is that something you see?

absolutely.

I think if we, I'm sure we've all had this experience.

You show up to an event and you just feel as though you're either

underdressed or overdressed and it makes you slightly uncomfortable.

Cause you just feel like you haven't quite hit the nail on the

head in terms of the dress code.

And I know a lot of people hate dress codes, but I do find them helpful because

it does ensure that you are appropriately addressed for where you're going.

But I think it's also important not to see it as a very narrow thing, where you're

trying to fit a uniform or something.

I prefer to think about it as a signature look, something that is

really uniquely your own, that reflects your style, but is also appropriate

for the environment that you work in.

And that can be really fun to develop, to find those key pieces that really

are uniquely your own and where you can just bend the rules slightly or

just tweak them to fit your own style.

Love that.

What is the favorite item you've made for a client and tell me why?

So

There's a couple that come to mind.

I had one client and she said something really lovely.

I made a bright pink suit for her, and she said that for the first time she

felt like she was wearing something that gave her gravitas and confidence, but

that she also felt like she was herself.

And I think that is the perfect kind of description of what

I like to create for clients.

And then I had another one.

She's a journalist.

She works in The kind of financial side of things.

She reports on world economics.

So she works in quite a male dominated field and I made a pair

of trousers for her and she said, I finally feel like I have something

that I can wear and it makes me feel like I belong in the boardroom.

And I thought that was just wonderful as well.

And it's that kind of thing that I hope clients do get from having

something that's made for them.

It just helps them imagine themselves on the next step of their career.

It can help them elevate their look and their confidence.

Yeah.

sort of them or you at your best.

Love it.

Love it.

Okay.

So my very final question is if there was.

One idea about dressing for success or inner confidence or you at your

best that you'd love all professionals in the world to know what is it?

. Dara Ford: I think its the importance of fit.

My actual motto is "There is no perfect size, there is only the perfect fit."

And I think that really encapulates everything that I

feel is important to clothing.

Nothing is wrong with your shape you are beautiful the way you are.

And its just about having the clothes that really fit you well.

And I think if you're buying things off the rack, that's totally fine.

Just take them to an alterations tailor and have them tweaked to fit you better.

Those small changes will really make an impact on both how they feel.

They'll be a bit more comfortable because they're not slipping or

pinching where they shouldn't.

But also subconsciously we pick up on that.

On other people.

And there's been lots of studies where if things fit really well, people

perceive you to be more successful, better educated and more confident.

So just by doing those little things, you can really improve how you come across.

And that's really important when you're making those first impressions,

maybe, at networking, Events or if you're presenting a talk or having

an important meeting at work.

Fabulous, Dara!

I want to ask you another question, it's more personal.

What does joy at work mean for you?

For me, I think it's the impact I can make for clients.

So people do often, often ask me, what is the favorite thing for me to

make, or do I have a favorite design?

And it's not so much about that for me.

It's about the feeling it creates in my clients.

So there's usually a moment, after a couple of fittings, when I'm making

something bespoke, where you can really see the design coming together.

And Suddenly the clients see the vision emerging and they just stand

taller and they Move differently the whole aura changes and they just say,

oh, I don't want to take it off now.

And that's really wonderful.

When you've achieved that especially when people come in and they're often

quite I don't know maybe a bit low in confidence or usually they point out

all the bits They don't like about their shape And by the time we've reached the

stage where they see the design coming together, they forget all about that.

And they just love themselves in their clothes.

And I think that's so, important.

It really makes a big impact.

And I just feel, when they feel that joy wearing something that just radiates

outwards and it always makes me shiver.

That is a brilliant answer.

It makes me shiver.

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy my Life Satisfaction Assessment.

It's a 30 minute program where I guide you through a deep dive into 10 areas

of your life to assess what's bringing you joy and what's bringing you time.

I call it D.

It's a fabulous place to begin a joy at work redesign.