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How to Look Expensive In Business: Elevating personal style and influence: Beth King · Abundant + Aligned

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to the Abundant and Align podcast.
0:02
SPEAKER_01: Joining me in the studio today is Betha King.
0:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm a personal stylist and the founder of Leader Dial.
0:08
SPEAKER_01: Bertha is a dialist based in Kansas City and known for working with female founders and executives through her premium content dialing observation and monthly shopping subscription.
0:20
SPEAKER_01: Her philosophy is simple how you dress is how you lead.
0:24
SPEAKER_01: So in today's episode, you will learn why the way you dress is directly affecting what clients are willing to pay you and how to become the founder.
0:33
SPEAKER_01: People remember through color analysis and style archetypes and beth ideas of a high-end personal style.
0:40
SPEAKER_01: And Beth is going to share how she became the stylist for the Kansas identity at a career moment we are all aging to know more about.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: So let's dive into this episode with Beth so you can learn more about dressing to be remembered and highly paid in your industry.
0:59
SPEAKER_01: Beth, welcome to the Abundant and Aligned podcast.
1:03
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
1:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm excited.
1:05
SPEAKER_01: I am so excited to be sitting across from you.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: Not only am I so excited to pick your brain when it comes to personal styling as female founders who know our presence influences the caliber of clients we attract, the prices we can charge, but you are also in the collective.
1:22
SPEAKER_01: So I'm really excited to showcase your work to my audience because I think it's safe to say, among all of the women I've worked with, you have had the biggest quantum leap in just what's it been, four months.
1:36
SPEAKER_01: So I'm so excited to showcase your work.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited to have your expertise on the podcast for the first time.
1:42
SPEAKER_01: I've never had a conversation like this.
1:44
SPEAKER_01: And I know my audience will absolutely love, love everything you are talking about.
1:49
SPEAKER_01: So, as the intro said, we are sitting down today to talk about personal styling, not from the cutesy, put on a nice outfit lens, but from the point of view of your presentation will influence how you show up in a room as a female founder, how you are received when you walk into that room.
2:08
SPEAKER_01: It can influence how much you can charge, the clients you attract.
2:11
SPEAKER_01: Like there is so much that your presentation does influence.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: So I want to start there.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: Talk to us about some of the female founders, the executives you have worked with.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: What do they understand about presence and their wardrobe that some people are missing and need to really understand to bring this into their brand assets?
2:33
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: Well, my background is in a very corporate environment, and I've seen people use image in a positive way and unbeknownst to them a not so positive way.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: So I've always loved style since I was a little girl.
2:48
SPEAKER_00: Like a lot of us, I love the movie Clueless.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: It's still my favorite.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: And I always really showed up to work.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: I was in a manufacturing environment, but I was always a few steps ahead of everyone else who was showing up in jeans and button-up shirts to kind of give some context.
3:04
SPEAKER_00: So how I realized that image really does matter, I used it as a tool throughout my journey in climbing the ladder.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: Before we started this conversation, you said when you put on brown, you think of me.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: And I really started realizing that it's a part of your personal brand and an extension of who you are.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: You're reflecting who you are on the inside, on the outside.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: And also when you pay attention to those details, it shows that you're going to give care and attention to the job at hand.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: So we have seven seconds to make a first impression.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: And subconsciously, people are judging you.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: And it's not from a negative place, it's human nature.
3:47
SPEAKER_00: And they are, I call it the visual stack.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: So they're looking at the colors you have on, your clothing, the fit of your clothing, and the quality of your clothing, and they're sizing you up and making an assumption of whether or not they trust you, want to work with you.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: Seven seconds, that's it.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: And then if you're lucky, you get a chance to speak.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: So when I was in corporate, I would hear bits and pieces of what people had to say.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: And I found it to be a little frustrating and judgmental that leaders' image would come up, male and female, where you have this amazing female leader, but someone is talking about the shoes that she chooses to wear, or so-and-so had their shirt untucked, or my manager dresses like he's in the role that I have.
4:29
SPEAKER_00: So how am I to respect him?
4:32
SPEAKER_00: And I started kind of adding all of these pieces up together and aha, mentored a lot of people.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: And the men specifically trying to get promoted would say, like, I'm stuck, I don't know what's going on.
4:43
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Well, how about instead of showing up to work and a t-shirt and jeans, we show up in some slacks and a button-down shirt.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: And sure enough, their presence changed and they were taken more seriously.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: And I truly do believe that was a part of it.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: And that's when this started forming in my head.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: I'm passionate about this.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: How do I combine my love of personal style with professional development and make it into a business and brand?
5:08
SPEAKER_00: And that's what I've done with Lead Through Style.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
5:11
SPEAKER_01: And it makes sense when you think about it.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: If you look at someone who is a little bit disheveled in the way they are dressing, you immediately do make an assumption about the way they would show up in the office, whether they would make deadlines.
5:23
SPEAKER_01: Like it does.
5:23
SPEAKER_01: When you sit here and think about it, it really does have this ripple effect on the assumptions you are making beyond just their outfit.
5:29
SPEAKER_01: And I love that you mentioned there, you started to see a huge gap between women's expertise and their skill set and the way they were presenting themselves.
5:37
SPEAKER_01: And it didn't match up.
5:39
SPEAKER_01: And as you've just mentioned, you are red before you speak.
5:42
SPEAKER_01: So I'm sure there's so many women, their expertise is being downgraded because it's not being represented in the way they are dressing.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I think anytime you're in a leadership position and people are speaking about your clothes, your hair, that should not be a topic of conversation.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: It should be your credentials.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: 100%.
5:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:00
SPEAKER_01: Which we're gonna help the audience get to all of that.
6:02
SPEAKER_01: So by the way, everybody, what today we're gonna go into what your personal style is.
6:06
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna talk about colour analysis and hopefully Beth can really give you some pointers when it comes to dressing, how you should for your industry and the levels that you want to reach to.
6:16
SPEAKER_01: I want to circle back to how the room perceives you when you dress a certain way and actually just circle back to the female founders and the executives that you work with.
6:25
SPEAKER_01: And I want to firstly talk to the impact or the influence how you dress has on your brain.
6:32
SPEAKER_01: So how you communicate, the confidence you have, your critical thinking.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: I know there have been so many studies conducted in this space that has shown that what you wear influences how you think, but I'd love to hear your professional view on all of that.
6:44
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: So the term is in close cognition.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: When we dress a notch up, we tend to perform better and feel better.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: So that just like exudes externally.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: I've given a lot of presentations the past few weeks and I've told to groups of moms specifically.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: And I've had photos up on the slides of what I call the mom uniform, you know, the leggings and the baseball hat and the t-shirt.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: And I say, if you feel like your best self wearing this, more power to you.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: I do not.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: And most people don't.
7:16
SPEAKER_00: And that's something I love about you is that you have told us in the collective to get up and get dressed every day because it really does make a difference.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: And it goes back to that visual stack.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: Part of why I wanted to work with you, Jess, was that you had that aesthetic.
7:32
SPEAKER_00: Like I can take you seriously as a leader.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: And I told some of my clients, this is a hard conversation to have, right?
7:39
SPEAKER_00: Your business is fine.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: You're doing fine.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: But what type of clients are you trying to bring in?
7:46
SPEAKER_00: Imagine where you could be if you stepped it up a notch, still being yourself, but elevating your presence a little more and using style as a tool to do that.
7:55
SPEAKER_01: And we can all remember those days.
7:57
SPEAKER_01: Just throw my trackies on because it's raining outside.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: They are always the most unproductive days.
8:02
SPEAKER_01: You don't want to show off on social media.
8:04
SPEAKER_01: I will notice that the way I perform in the business changes because it's like my body knows you're in trackies.
8:11
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, you need to be going to lay on the lounge and watch a movie.
8:13
SPEAKER_01: It's like the two can't coexist.
8:16
SPEAKER_00: And studies show that females, I'm not saying this is right, but women who wear makeup make 20 to 30% more.
8:23
SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's crazy.
8:24
SPEAKER_01: I've also heard another study, which you I'm sure you are so familiar with.
8:28
SPEAKER_01: They took two groups.
8:29
SPEAKER_01: One was told to wear a suit, the other tracksuit pants, and they did a mock negotiation.
8:34
SPEAKER_01: And the one the group in suits came out well and truly on top within this mock negotiation.
8:41
SPEAKER_01: So how you dress will make you more money as well.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I'm glad that this is becoming a more widespread conversation that I am seeing on social media because when I first started this, I thought I could be perceived as a little pretentious or on a pedestal or old school.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: And I'm happy that we're climbing out of those pandemic years and that people are starting to notice that it is important and it does make a difference.
9:04
SPEAKER_01: I think even more now, because we live in such, we live in a world where your face is attached to everything.
9:10
SPEAKER_01: You're on camera for some of your clients, my clients, they're speaking on stages, they're on podcasts with video, like every you're you are so attached to your brand now.
9:20
SPEAKER_01: So it makes sense that it needs to be at the forefront of our conversation when scaling businesses, especially when you want to head into that luxury market.
9:28
SPEAKER_01: And it's so interesting that you said one of the reasons why you joined the collective was the way that I presented myself.
9:33
SPEAKER_01: So there's proof in that pudding.
9:35
SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, let's move on to their style then.
9:37
SPEAKER_01: Let's help them actually dress in the way they need to.
9:39
SPEAKER_01: And what I loved about what you just said before when you were presenting to the room of mums, you mentioned if you feel your best self when you are in the active wear and the baseball cap, then go for it.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: So I guess what you're saying, it's about noticing how you feel in yourself when you put on a particular piece.
9:58
SPEAKER_01: And I know you don't just slap any old outfit on your clients, you get to know the clients and understand how they feel most powerful and their best self.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about finding her personal style.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: What does that process look like?
10:12
SPEAKER_01: What do you take into consideration when you are fitting and styling a woman in your world?
10:18
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: So I flipped the traditional way of styling upside down, where I start with color analysis.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: A lot of stylists don't offer it or they offer it as a small part of their business.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: I offer it to start because one, it's an entry point into leaning into your personal style if you've never thought of it or you've been kind of away from it for a couple of years, but also it's just low-hanging fruit.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: You can go down the road to the makeup store, buy a new lip gloss or lipstick, and immediately see the difference.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: And this sounds superficial and it is a little bit, but you get instant compliments.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: And who doesn't love compliments when you start wearing your best colors?
10:57
SPEAKER_00: That was my experience.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: But also, it gives my clients a framework.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: They know what to filter out when they're walking in a store or they're scrolling online.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: And then once you start shopping in your palette, everything in your wardrobe is cohesive, meaning you maximize your options.
11:15
SPEAKER_00: So I've learned that I don't personally like shopping for someone without starting with color first, because then we kind of end back up at square one with a bunch of pieces that work together in some ways, but a lot of things are disjointed.
11:30
SPEAKER_00: And so after the color analysis, some of my clients move on to do a closet edit.
11:35
SPEAKER_00: And in my closet edits, I have a specific framework.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: For both closet edits and personal shopping, there's so many pieces to the puzzle, but I have four pillars in my framework.
11:45
SPEAKER_00: Color analysis, the second is your body shape.
11:48
SPEAKER_00: And that's probably my least favorite because it's just technical, but drawing our eyes to the best parts of our body.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: There's you can be rectangle, um, inverted triangle.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure everyone has seen this online: pear, hourglass, and really understanding where to accentuate your features.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: So, for example, I am a small hourglass shape, but I have a small of my waist, and the ratio of my bus is equal to my hips.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: So when I am shopping, I'm looking for items that are high-waisted or have some type of detail or ruching at the waist because I want to accentuate that part of my body.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: And then I move on to style archetypes, which that was just as big of an unlock for me personally as color analysis and it's for a lot of women.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: So I'll give credit to uh Christy Russell.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: She loosely bases it off of the Kibby style types, but um she explains that everyone has a masculine and a feminine side to their style.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: And so on the masculine side, we have the dramatic, which to me is sharp lines, black, white, bold red, kind of like a lady gaga vibe.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: We have the elegant, which is old English countryside, kind of Ralph Lorraine.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: That's my masculine side, or natural.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: This is a very common one.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: It's girl next door, t-shirts, birkenstocks, athletic wear, or we fall into it.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then on the feminine side, we have the classic um pearls and lady jackets and nautical stripes, um, the creative, that's obviously the other side of my style persona, very like kind of boho, prints, anthropology-free people if you're familiar with those retailers.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: And then the romantic, a lot of lace and florals and that type of stuff.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: So that's important to understand because you could be shopping in the store and buying a blouse that has flowers all over it, but something feels off.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: And so even if you know your colors, if you don't know your style archetypes, it's just a lot of women say, I have this disconnect.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: I don't know why I don't like this on me.
13:56
SPEAKER_00: And once we start diving in and I discover their style archetypes, it all starts to make sense.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: And then I take into consideration pillar number four, which is your lifestyle.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: Are you chasing kids around all day?
14:07
SPEAKER_00: A lot of my clients are going into the office, traveling.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: And so obviously, if you are working from home, like some of my clients do, you may not need, you know, full-on collection of suits in your closet.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: So it's taking all of those things and putting them together.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: And each um client is unique.
14:25
SPEAKER_00: And I keep that in mind when I'm shopping for them and putting that system together.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
14:29
SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna circle back to color analysis because so in the collective, we do a collaboration session and all of the women come in and share their area of expertise.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: And obviously, Beth was in there talking about um personal styling, but you talked on color analysis specifically, and I know there's a few steps in that which I found really interesting.
14:45
SPEAKER_01: You held up the color palette so obvious when they pop and when they don't.
14:50
SPEAKER_01: So we'll come back to that.
14:51
SPEAKER_01: But the archetype, is that a personal preference, or are you putting different types on their body and seeing which one fits best?
14:59
SPEAKER_01: And if so, like what's your eye looking for when you do that?
15:02
SPEAKER_00: So this is going to sound weird.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: When I do a color session with a client, I can usually tell from meeting them once.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: I know that sounds crazy, but going into their closet, when I spend two to four hours in a closet and we're sifting through the items and talking about them, I know based on what we're putting to the side, what she's saying feels a little off, the things that she loves.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: And I'll pull up my computer at the end.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: I've got some um materials or content for each archetype, and I say, does this look right?
15:35
SPEAKER_00: And we we land on, okay, you're a natural classic.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: And then I know moving forward, I can go shopping for her.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: And it makes my life easy too, because most of the time they love what I'm selecting for them.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: What do you see the most?
15:49
SPEAKER_01: And do we typically see a combination?
15:51
SPEAKER_01: So like the masculine always mirrors up with a similar feminine, or does it change all the time?
15:56
SPEAKER_00: They change all the time.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: So you'll have two dominant, one masculine, one feminine, but you can have three or four.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: There's just going to be two main ones.
16:03
SPEAKER_00: I see a lot of natural classic, which are kind of those base, I don't want to call them basic.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: It's pretty, right?
16:10
SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, loafers or flats and cardigans and denim and leggings and which I love that you said before.
16:17
SPEAKER_01: It's like if you just fall into that.
16:18
SPEAKER_01: So people might think that's their archetype, but it's just what they're grabbing in the wardrobe because they haven't actually done this properly.
16:25
SPEAKER_01: Um so do you take, say, we've got a female founder in front of you, do you take their brand color palette into consideration, their brand identity into consideration?
16:35
SPEAKER_01: Like, are you trying to mirror the two up?
16:37
SPEAKER_00: I definitely go into brand color and I've consulted a few people lately on their brand colors when they come in, if I know that they're an entrepreneur.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: And I did have a client in the last few weeks who changed her brand colors from Kelly Green and bright yellow to her cool winter palette, which is blue and kind of a hot pink and a purple, and it just looks like her.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: And I explained that the more cohesive you can be with your brand, the better.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: That way, everything on your website is matching what you're wearing.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: And there's a photographer who shares my studio here with me, and it's been really fun because she's doing more branding shoots and she'll refer people over to me just to have this conversation and figure it out so that they can feel their best in their shoe and redo their website and all of the things.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: I love that piece of it.
17:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's cool.
17:23
SPEAKER_01: And I've always been, well, not, yeah, actually, uh probably in the last three years, being very intentional with how I dress when I am representing my brand.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: So you'll see the browns across my website, across my social media.
17:37
SPEAKER_01: I'm always in brown.
17:38
SPEAKER_01: If I have a podcast, a keynote, a meeting, I'm intentionally in the color palette of my brand.
17:45
SPEAKER_01: And the amount of people who will message me and say, Jess, I saw that this store has a sale with all of their brown clothes, or they'll wear a brown dress and they'll say, I thought of you when I put this dress on.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: I've just become like this walking version of my brand, which I think is so cool.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you've done it right.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: There would be a disconnect if you were wearing hot pink today.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: And I know I touched on this in our collective call, but wearing the same color palette repetitively builds up that brand recognition and trust.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: So if people see you, it's subconscious, but if you were in hot pink and your brand's usually brown and oxblood and cream, there's a disconnect there, right?
18:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:25
SPEAKER_01: And as you've mentioned, it's brand recognition.
18:27
SPEAKER_01: So even if I'm not doing anything for the brand, they see me and they think of the brand.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: Well, let's move on to color analysis.
18:34
SPEAKER_01: So, what is color analysis and how does that specific process work on your end of things?
18:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, color analysis is finding the palette of colors that harmonizes the best with your natural features.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: So we use it for clothing, like we've talked about, makeup, if you color your hair, that's a topic of conversation.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: And so, again, it's building that cohesive wardrobe, that brand recognition, all kinds of benefits.
18:59
SPEAKER_00: What we do in a color analysis session is I first look at your skin's undertone.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: So your undertone will be warm, have like yellow or peaches and cream.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: You can be olive, cool, kind of a pinky blue tint to your skin.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: You can be olive as well, because I have a lot of people who come in and say, I am olive, so I must be an autumn, or I am pale, so I must be a winter, and that's not quite how that works.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: Or you could be neutral, which is right in the middle.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: So many women come into my studio and have no idea what their undertone is, and they're in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and they've been wearing the wrong makeup their entire life.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: And they say it's been a struggle for them to find makeup that matches.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: So that really helps with that.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: Another thing we look at is the brightness of your features.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: It's contrast, or they call it chroma.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: So you can have high chroma or low chroma.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: Just my assumption is that you are some type of winter and or spring because your features are very bright.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: Mine are very um low contrast.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: I hate using the word dull, but I'm an autumn.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: So on that scale, like think if you took a photo on your phone and you're playing around with the brightness feature and things either like stick out or they get a little more muted.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: That's what I'm talking about.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: We also, yeah, so muted versus bright, um, and then the lightness or the darkness of your features.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: There's four seasons: winter, spring, summer, autumn.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: If you follow color on Instagram or TikTok, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I also look at season or subseasons and best metals too, and give my clients everything they need to walk away and go implement.
20:26
SPEAKER_01: Who would have thought there's so much that goes into color?
20:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but the nice thing is that once you understand your palette, it gives you that direction and guardrails so that you're not wasting your precious asset that is your time um buying things and looking at things that aren't going to suit you.
20:40
SPEAKER_01: As you mentioned, that goes into what you're wearing, but also the color of your hair, how dark you take your eyebrows, makeup, the kind of, I'm assuming the kind of makeup that you're doing on your face would also come into play.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: Do you bring that into your services suggesting makeup style?
20:56
SPEAKER_00: I do.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: I suggest makeup products.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, but as of last weekend, I actually have makeup in my studio, which I'm really excited about.
21:04
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I've been talking a lot on the podcast, and as you would know, in the collective about moving into the luxury market because you can command luxury prices.
21:13
SPEAKER_01: You can also work with a beautiful, high caliber type of client.
21:17
SPEAKER_01: Are there certain colours that read as luxury, or does that again completely depend on their color analysis?
21:23
SPEAKER_00: I believe there are.
21:25
SPEAKER_00: Neutrals, brown, cream, black, burgundy.
21:30
SPEAKER_00: I love burgundy and a luxury brand.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: Uh sometimes a dark, deep forest green or emerald green, or maybe even a really, really dark aubergine and like a plum burgundy, but just like the deep palette, it's very like regal and sophisticated, is how I always um talk about it.
21:50
SPEAKER_00: But those deep jewel tones I think are luxurious.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: And for those stepping into the luxury space, have you seen some overdo it?
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Think they're presenting premium and luxurious, but they've gone about it the wrong way.
22:05
SPEAKER_01: And if so, what does that look like?
22:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a little bit, and not necessarily that their content and their website is bad.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: It looks luxurious, but it goes back to what we were talking about and showing up as that person in what you're wearing.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: And when there's that disconnect, it's like something's off.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: Because I like for me, for example, when I did my branding last year, I used my style archetypes, like the elegant and the creative, to mash them together.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes I get caught up in am I not being luxurious enough, right?
22:35
SPEAKER_00: But I always want to match my website and my brand.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: We talk about quiet luxury, right?
22:40
SPEAKER_01: Like sometimes you can be trying too hard and it's so obvious.
22:43
SPEAKER_01: Or as you've mentioned, they could claim they are a luxury brand, but then we look at the color palette, we look at the size of their fonts, we look at how they present in boardroom meetings and on meetings.
22:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, as you've mentioned, it's not cohesive across the board.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: Now, I want to dress a couple of actually my first question before I get to that, I was gonna touch on fabric texture and yeah, fabric and texture, but I'm assuming that comes into their archetype.
23:08
SPEAKER_01: Is that, or does do you also look at that when you're looking at the woman?
23:11
SPEAKER_00: It does, but it actually I get asked this all the time.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, with going back to the chroma, those who have a brighter chroma do actually look very good in um shiny fabrics, so like silk and satin and velvet, where those who have the lower contrast, the shinier fabrics tend to clash.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: And for me, for example, I look better in a jacket like what you have on a tweed or more of like a matte material.
23:38
SPEAKER_01: There's so many layers into getting dressed, no one's ever gonna be able to dress the same again.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's why I tell people one thing at a time, because you're right, there's so many layers, so many rabbit holes to go down.
23:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and when you came into the collective, you had your colour palette, and Beth shared a woman's face with all these different colours behind her, and you were saying, Can you see this?
24:00
SPEAKER_01: Can you see this?
24:00
SPEAKER_01: And we're all like, No, we can't actually.
24:02
SPEAKER_01: So it just goes to show like this is why you are the specialist in this space because you have an eye for seeing the skin tone and the features and exactly how a colour does fit best on a person.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: Um, okay, now I want to dress two women.
24:15
SPEAKER_01: I've considered who may be in my audience.
24:18
SPEAKER_01: The first one is she's gonna be a keynote speaker um in the next couple of months.
24:24
SPEAKER_01: She's on stage, it's her first appearance.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: What is the process you would run her through to make sure when she gets up on that stage, she is remembered for the style she brought to the stage.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we want her to look her best, so we would do her color analysis if she already hasn't had it done.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: For that type of work, I've done some online shopping for presentations, but I love an in-person shopping trip.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: That way we're able to look at the fabric and the quality of the fabric, and the fit is really important.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: I have this talk with a lot of clients.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: Have a relationship with a good tailor in your area because fit is so, so important, especially if you're getting up on a stage like that.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: You want your fit of your blazer and your trouser to be immaculate.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: I want her to feel her best.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: So I will take into consideration the archetypes.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: I love a power suit for a keynote.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: That may not be everyone's thing.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: Like someone may want to wear a tailored dress up on stage instead.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: And that goes into, again, getting to know them and what is going to make them feel like their best self so that they don't have to stress about what they look like that day.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: Just going back, do you suggest better quality clothing?
25:28
SPEAKER_01: Like, are there certain stores women should stay clear of because the fabric is crap?
25:33
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: I don't know all of the retailers in Australia, so I apologize if these are all not familiar.
25:40
SPEAKER_00: But yes, I always love a quality piece over fast fashion.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean that everything in my closet is high-end or designer.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I like the mid to high range retailers.
25:52
SPEAKER_00: So here in the States, it would be like I like J Crue for blazers, and you know, the price point's like two to three hundred dollars on a blazer.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: Same thing with pants.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: If it's something that you're going to be wearing over and over again, like a suit, invest in those pieces.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: And then maybe you can buy some fun, you know, less expensive blouses and whatnot.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: But shoes, dresses, and suits, I'm all about investing.
26:18
SPEAKER_00: Less is more.
26:19
SPEAKER_01: And you can notice a difference in the way that it sits on your body, the way it feels, and the way it lasts.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: Like it's definitely worth making the investment because you end up spending more money by the time you keep replacing that shitty t-shirt.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, belts and handbags are another one that drive me nuts.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: Like right away, I can see if it's, you know, a cheap leather belt or a nice one.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: But you're absolutely right.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: Like, buy a belt less expensive and it's fraying on the edges within six months, or buy a nice one and you'll have it for maybe decades.
26:50
SPEAKER_01: I actually love investing quite a lot of money in my accessories because then even if you are wearing a cheaper outfit, having that nice bag and accessory immediately brings the whole outfit up.
27:02
SPEAKER_01: So that I'm assuming that's something you'd recommend as well.
27:04
SPEAKER_01: Like having some good pieces in the wardrobe that you can add into an outfit that is maybe a lower budget outfit.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: I agree.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: I mean, earrings and necklaces don't have to be high-end.
27:14
SPEAKER_00: I don't buy high-end jewelry usually unless my husband's buying it, but you know, that mid to high-end tier, I think the stuff I've had on, I've had for years.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, you can just throw it on with whatever, right?
27:25
SPEAKER_00: So absolutely, I think accessories are worth the investment.
27:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, love that.
27:28
SPEAKER_01: Okay, second scenario.
27:30
SPEAKER_01: She is going to a podcast studio and she knows what the podcast studio would look like in terms of the color palette of the studio.
27:37
SPEAKER_01: Would you be dressing her so that she doesn't clash with the background of a podcast studio?
27:43
SPEAKER_01: Like, do you take that into consideration if you're able to?
27:46
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
27:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: Whether it's a podcast studio or just any other assignment, I do ask about the environment and if she's trying to blend in a little bit or stand out.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: But if it's a neutral studio, kind of like what you're in right now, I would not say she's a true winter and it's these bright, almost neon colors.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: I don't think I would put her in a neon yellow jacket or anything like that, right?
28:10
SPEAKER_00: Because when we want people to see your face, not what you're wearing.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: So there is the color analysis piece, but there's also the element of like, where are you and what is the message that you're trying to convey?
28:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I do I do see that a lot.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, this is a silly example, but every once in a while, when I catch a glimpse of people doing interviews, especially on reality TV shows, I'm like, I just want to do their color analysis, right?
28:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: Because they're in this gorgeous home and they've got on like a bright neon orange blazer, and that's all I see instead of their face.
28:41
SPEAKER_01: And again, I just love when everything's cohesive.
28:43
SPEAKER_01: Like you look like your house, your house looks like your brand, like ever and then it just creates this experience, this story that you can get.
28:51
SPEAKER_01: And yeah, it really irks me.
28:53
SPEAKER_01: And I imagine even more so for you because of your styling brain when it doesn't match.
28:57
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, why does your house look like that?
28:59
SPEAKER_01: You dress like that, and your brand looks like that.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: Type A problems.
29:02
SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's so funny.
29:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm so type A when it comes to my wardrobe, my house.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: Like, you should see my house.
29:10
SPEAKER_01: Well, you can imagine what my house looks like.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: It looks how I dress, and it looks like my brand.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: My sister comes over and she's like, You need some colour in this house.
29:17
SPEAKER_01: I've got a little bit of olive green over there.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: She's like, that is not colour.
29:20
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I know, but it just would be weird if I just smacked in a bright pink lounge.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: Right.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it when people have like if they do have that dramatic creative personality type and their whole matches.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: All the colour maximalism, yes.
29:34
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah, I feel like if you can lean into that, absolutely lean into that.
29:37
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so if a listener is listening to this and she has realized she is not putting any thought into her colour palette, her archetype, her style, or she is someone who leans into wearing active wear like it's an actual piece of clothing when it's full of gym or running around.
29:56
SPEAKER_01: What's the first thing you would recommend she do when she's looking at her wardrobe if she wants to kind of do an overhaul for 2027?
30:04
SPEAKER_01: Step her through a DIY process of your specialist service.
30:08
SPEAKER_00: DIY, I do not use AI to do your color analysis, seriously.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: Go find someone in your area or some people offer virtual options.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: The way I think it's the way our cameras are filtering our photos right now.
30:22
SPEAKER_00: It will tell most people they're a soft summer or a soft autumn, has been my experience.
30:26
SPEAKER_00: It's right sometimes.
30:27
SPEAKER_00: But if you were seriously going to invest, go see someone.
30:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously, I love the color step first.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: If you're not going to do that, go online, Pinterest or social media and save the looks that you like and then start to recognize patterns and connect dots.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, maybe I like, you know, vertical lines in my clothes, maybe I like trousers with pleats or loafers, and you'll start to see a pattern and then fill in the gaps.
30:56
SPEAKER_00: I have a wardrobe basics checklist.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: It's on my website if you want to go download it for free.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: But um, the other thing is making sure you have basic pieces in place because I went through this and I go in a lot of women's closets where they don't have things like high-quality t-shirts and tank tops or the right pair of denim to those are the foundational pieces, no matter what your style archetype is.
31:20
SPEAKER_00: So we can have the best closet in the world.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: And if you're missing those basics, a lot of times you're stuck without the pieces you need to actually put outfits together in a snap.
31:29
SPEAKER_01: So I need to go and refresh the basics, like a good white t-shirt, some tanks ready for summer.
31:35
SPEAKER_01: Um, because summer here in Queensland is so hot and humid.
31:39
SPEAKER_01: So less is better, but still trying to dress well dress well for work is often a challenge.
31:46
SPEAKER_01: So I need to go and refresh before summer.
31:49
SPEAKER_00: And that makes sense because we are constantly evolving, right?
31:53
SPEAKER_00: So I am the example of the cobblers' kids have no shoes because I'm busy helping everyone else.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: That's how I feel about my closet for fall here.
32:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, burn it all down from last year.
32:03
SPEAKER_00: But that tells me that I've grown a lot as a person and that those old pieces don't resonate and that they need to go.
32:10
SPEAKER_01: And that makes sense.
32:11
SPEAKER_01: Your wardrobe should grow with you.
32:13
SPEAKER_01: Like we shouldn't be wearing clothes that we wore two years ago.
32:16
SPEAKER_01: If in that time we have up-leveled our brand presence, we're changing the caliber of clients, our work looks different.
32:23
SPEAKER_01: Like before, perhaps we were just in our office and no one saw us, but now we are speaking on stages and we are doing podcast interviews and we are on camera more.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: It makes sense that your wardrobe should represent that expansion in the brand.
32:37
SPEAKER_01: I want to say before we wrap up, again, Beth's in the collective, so I know this.
32:42
SPEAKER_01: You have a very exciting project coming up, and I know you're not allowed to say too much, but doing something with the Kansas City Chiefs.
32:50
SPEAKER_01: Insane.
32:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I get to go work with them.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: I that's like the biggest opportunity I could possibly have where I live.
32:58
SPEAKER_01: Don't think anyone can really beat that working with an NFL team.
33:02
SPEAKER_01: And they just they came to you, didn't they?
33:04
SPEAKER_01: They just popped into your inbox and inquired for you to be there.
33:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: I I will say I've been getting quite a bit of DMs and enquiries lately, which has been really exciting.
33:13
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I don't think it's fully landed in my body because I know you said I don't think it's fully landed in your body.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: And I just I want to go into it just not knowing anything.
33:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, that way I don't get too nervous, but I'm super excited.
33:27
SPEAKER_01: It's so, so cool.
33:28
SPEAKER_01: Like that's such a career moment.
33:30
SPEAKER_01: And when we talk about luxury positioning and working with high-end clients, you've just absolutely smashed that out of the park.
33:36
SPEAKER_01: An inquiry from the Kansas City Chiefs.
33:39
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't get much better.
33:40
SPEAKER_01: And like we're talking about, this could lead to you being Taylor Swift's personal stylist.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I've had visions of doing her color analysis for years, so you never know.
33:50
SPEAKER_01: This is if there is a stepping stone to Taylor Swift, this is one of them working with her husband's team.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: And weird manifestation story.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: I think I shared with you guys in the collective that her mother-in-law was on my plane from Chicago to Kansas City in August.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: And within the week, the Chiefs reached out to me.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: I told my husband at the airport this will come full circle.
34:11
SPEAKER_00: So chills.
34:12
SPEAKER_01: And you understand manifestation in business, so I have no doubt.
34:16
SPEAKER_01: We'll get you back on the podcast when we are talking about the inquiry from Taylor Sweet's team.
34:21
SPEAKER_01: Sounds good.
34:22
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
34:23
SPEAKER_01: Well, while we do have you here, I want to quickly plug the collective since you are in the collective.
34:28
SPEAKER_01: For those, like what's your experience been like in the collective?
34:31
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely love.
34:33
SPEAKER_00: When I started, my nervous system was on fire.
34:36
SPEAKER_00: And I knew it would be because I intentionally wanted to put myself in a room with people who were ahead of me to expand me and work with Jess.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, she had that aesthetic and she helps people build luxury brands, and that's how I wanted to position myself.
34:51
SPEAKER_00: I wanted to go from this hamster wheel of a business of high volume.
34:55
SPEAKER_00: I saw color analysis on TikTok Girls Day type brand to working with a select few clients and charging more.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: And through all of the work we've done, I actually, for the first time, I just turned 40 in August.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: I feel my body.
35:12
SPEAKER_00: I went and got a massage today.
35:14
SPEAKER_00: My massage therapist even said she can tell that I like am feeling into my body more.
35:19
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I would have been able to do this a few months ago because my nervous system was so dysregulated from being like burnt out, you know, trying to make more money, all of those things.
35:29
SPEAKER_00: And I'm learning how to breathe.
35:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm evolving.
35:32
SPEAKER_00: Like you said, quantum leap.
35:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm really bad about stopping and pausing and thinking, oh, like, yeah, I still want to go here and I'm here, but look how far I've come in such a short amount of time.
35:43
SPEAKER_00: And I just love the telegram chat that we have and getting to know the other women.
35:49
SPEAKER_00: And it's just the right place for me.
35:51
SPEAKER_00: I feel like my brand is changing.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: And there is no way I would have had an$8,500 offer on my website six months ago.
36:00
SPEAKER_01: No way.
36:08
SPEAKER_01: A couple hundred dollars for color analysis.
36:11
SPEAKER_01: And now you are launching a full service concierge styling for female founders and executives.
36:19
SPEAKER_01: You're going in to do some work with the Kansas City Chiefs all in a couple of months.
36:23
SPEAKER_01: And that is what I love about this work.
36:24
SPEAKER_01: As you've just mentioned, when you get into a room that will expand you and normalize that level in business, but then also help you get there.
36:32
SPEAKER_01: So service architecture, your nervous system, your subconscious belief system, your pricing all comes into play.
36:38
SPEAKER_01: You can quantum leap so quickly and get inquiries like you have when the business is positioned in that market.
36:44
SPEAKER_00: Right.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: And it's a little frustrating.
36:46
SPEAKER_00: Like for me, I'm hard on myself, but I raised my color analysis offer sweep by 20 to 30% a week and a half ago, and people booked.
36:52
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, why didn't I do this months ago?
36:56
SPEAKER_00: That's okay.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: Water under the bridge.
36:58
SPEAKER_00: But you're right, just calibrating myself, like, okay, it's safe.
37:00
SPEAKER_00: Okay, now I'll give that a go for a little bit and then jump again.
37:03
SPEAKER_01: Which is probably, well, not probably, which is why you increased prices and then still had inquiries because you've shifted the undercurrent behind those prices.
37:12
SPEAKER_01: There's probably so many women in business, much like yourself, who have raised prices in the past and they lost clients, momentum slowed down.
37:21
SPEAKER_01: It's because there's so much more to it than just increasing the price tag.
37:25
SPEAKER_01: As you've just mentioned, you've got to calibrate to receiving that sum of money and actually be on the frequency of clients who are willing to invest that, which you obviously were, which is why momentum did not slow down.
37:36
SPEAKER_01: It actually increased following the price increase.
37:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, I love that.
37:41
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just so excited for what's happening in your brand.
37:45
SPEAKER_01: And it's been such an honor to sit beside you and see this quantum leap unfold with my own eyes and just get to celebrate moments like an NFL team inquiring with you and seeing that full service go up on your website with the price tag it has.
38:00
SPEAKER_01: It's just yeah, such a privilege.
38:02
SPEAKER_01: And it's been really cool to also work with you as someone who does love fashion.
38:06
SPEAKER_01: I now get to be in the with with within close proximity with someone who actually understands the psychology behind dressing well for your brand growth.
38:16
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
38:17
SPEAKER_01: Um, now tell us where everybody can find you, what's currently happening in your world for the female founders and the executives who listen to the podcast, and yeah, where can they plug in with you?
38:29
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
38:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm at Lead Through Style on all of the social media platforms.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm mostly active on Instagram.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: I this week am launching an annual offer.
38:41
SPEAKER_00: It's called the Annual Edit, where I have concierge style styling.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: I'll handle all the work.
38:47
SPEAKER_00: I'm basically like your style genie in your back pocket for the year.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: So um, that's really exciting.
38:53
SPEAKER_00: And I am always gonna be doing color analysis and you know those things, but I'm just really excited.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
39:01
SPEAKER_01: Do you still do color analysis digitally like virtually?
39:04
SPEAKER_00: I will by request.
39:05
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
39:05
SPEAKER_00: I took it off of my website, but I will by request.
39:08
SPEAKER_00: So if anyone wants their colours done, feel free to reach out.
39:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was gonna say for the Australians and the UK women, we have people all over the world who listen to this.
39:16
SPEAKER_01: So I'm sure we've we've interested them in colour.
39:19
SPEAKER_01: So reach out to Beth and at the very least, go get your colours done because it's going to impact how you represent your brand, which will impact how much you get paid and how you influence a room.
39:28
SPEAKER_01: And then if you are a female founder who has a two thousand or an executive with a packed calendar for 2027, keynote, podcast, boardroom meetings, press, go and work with Beth because she will dress you to ensure that you enter these rooms and people notice you, remember you, they take you seriously, your confidence is where it needs to be.
39:51
SPEAKER_01: And yeah, you really do represent the brand in the best possible way.
39:54
SPEAKER_01: So, for those listening, I will link all of this in the show notes below so that it's an easy click.
39:59
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I'll pop your email in there, Beth, if they do want to inquire about that virtual colour analysis.
40:05
SPEAKER_01: Very exciting.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much for sharing your genius.
40:09
SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure there are so many gold nuggets in there for everybody when it comes to their personal style and really taking their presentation seriously.
40:18
SPEAKER_01: So, thank you so much for sharing your time.
40:21
SPEAKER_01: And oh my gosh, good luck next week with the cheeks.
40:24
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
40:25
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
40:26
SPEAKER_01: Thank you to everyone on the other side of this, and I will talk to you next week.