Welcome to The ONE Group's Podcast! We believe that every professional has a great story to tell, which is why we have set up TOGCast to share successful stories and top tips on how candidates and clients got to where they are today.
On this episode we are joined by Samantha, who has shared her insights on how your style and wardrobe can help you own the room after getting to where you are, developing your skills and investing in your career development or business.
Introducing Samantha Harman:
Samantha helps men and women gain the confidence to live their biggest, boldest, best lives through the power of their wardrobes. Having worked in media for 15+ years and qualifying as a stylist and coach, she is incredibly passionate about helping people go after the opportunities they deserve.
If you would like to be our next guest speaker, host or ask us a question, please email us at marketing@theonegroup.co.uk
Hosted by Leanne Davidson-Town and Producer Bex.
If you would like to be our next guest speaker, host or ask us a question, please email us at marketing@theonegroup.co.uk
Hosted by Leanne Davidson-Town and Producer Bex.
Welcome to The ONE Group's Podcast! We believe that every professional has a great story to tell, which is why we have set up TOGCast to share successful stories and top tips on how candidates and clients got to where they are today.
On this episode we are joined by Samantha, who has shared her insights on how your style and wardrobe can help you own the room after getting to where you are, developing your skills and investing in your career development or business.
Introducing Samantha Harman:
Samantha helps men and women gain the confidence to live their biggest, boldest, best lives through the power of their wardrobes. Having worked in media for 15+ years and qualifying as a stylist and coach, she is incredibly passionate about helping people go after the opportunities they deserve.
If you would like to be our next guest speaker, host or ask us a question, please email us at marketing@theonegroup.co.uk
Hosted by Leanne Davidson-Town and Producer Bex.
If you would like to be our next guest speaker, host or ask us a question, please email us at marketing@theonegroup.co.uk
Hosted by Leanne Davidson-Town and Producer Bex.
You are now tuned in to this week's episode on togcast. It is our mission to bring you guest speakers sharing their latest and greatest tips, skills, stories and know-hows within their Market.
[Music]
Hi and welcome to togcast, today's episode is the style Edition and I'm joined by producer Bex and the amazing Samantha Harmon who is a style coach.So Sam thank you for joining us today, I've got so much to talk about but let's start with you first, so how did you get into being a style coach telling me about your journey.
I was a woman in leadership
and what I realised in doing that role
was that no one ever talked to me about
what I should wear and I didn't then
know how to talk to my team about what
to wear either I'd always loved
clothes and fashion but I didn't think
that that was for me because I grew up
as most of us do in a society that tells
us that we aren't good enough and so I
ended up for many years
pretty much hating myself like every day
I would have negative thoughts about
myself my body and that really impacted
my confidence and that is something that
many people will resonate with because
studies show and this is actually quite
an old study so I would guess that it's
more than this now because of social
media definitely but women have 36
negative thoughts about themselves every
single day so if you don't have those
negative thoughts imagine how much time
and energy you'd have for other stuff so
when you're in leadership as well
and that's really hard to navigate
because in your mind you're thinking all
this stuff about yourself but also you
have to present as a leader
and as I was navigating that and doing
that as an editor I had to have a strong
personal brand other people were asking
for my help with how to dress they would
say to me I've got an interview tomorrow
what should I wear or I've got an
important meeting
you know can you help me find an outfit
for it
and that was when I realised that there
was so much mortise and clothes and all
of my experience of not liking myself
could actually really help people
so that's why I became
right okay so it was like your
experience with people just not knowing
what to wear for just anything or
specifically interviews
in general work
I think that it is really hard to
navigate different dress codes and also
we have a bit of an issue where
we get so much training on loads of
other stuff right like yes I.T systems
and smart goals and all this stuff but
the one thing we have to do every day is
get dressed like we're not no one's
naked I mean hopefully they're not
listening to this
fair play to you yeah but everyone has
to get dressed and it's an unfortunate
actually that's a really good point
because when you're at school you wear a
uniform so you don't even know then what
to wear and I remember them when there
was a mufty day never knowing what to
wear on mufty day and then I guess when
you then go into the world of work
you're so used to wearing uniforms that
actually they don't they don't tell you
and even if they give you a dress code
there might be so many questions around
that dress codes are very Broad and they
can mean different things to different
people especially if you have people in
your team who are neurodivergent for
example where they have different needs
from their clothes and they might hyper
focus on certain colours or labels and
it's really hard for them to conform to
to that dress code and
the communication just is very much
lacking and now after the pandemic we
have a really good opportunity to go and
assess okay what did we say pre-pandemic
what are we saying now how can we
communicate this properly to the people
who work for us because even though it
may not actually come into the office
even though there may not be an open
conversation in the office about I don't
know what to wear today guys people are
thinking this and it is then impacting
how they show up for work and how
ultimately they represent your company
yeah because some people might be coming
in you know suited and booted and other
people might be coming in shorts and
Sliders and there's not really any sort
of dress code policy that stipulates you
can't wear this or you can wear that
because they the ones that I've seen are
quite you know smart casual well that
can mean a lot of different things to
different companies so yeah so do you
work with a lot of companies on dress
codes I am starting to work with more
now yeah I'm getting a lot more more
interest from HR departments who are
thinking about this stuff yeah and I'm
having a lot of conversations with
managers so I had a conversation with a
manager recently who was complaining to
me because they were saying people look
like they're either going to Royal
escort or they're in their pyjamas and I
don't know pyjamas yeah so like they
look like they've rolled out of bed yeah
and they come to the office
and when I said why aren't you why don't
you feel comfortable addressing that
with them or having that conversation
they said I've never been trained in any
of that I don't know what I can and
can't say I don't know what the rules
are I'm struggling with this myself as
it is so if the manager is confused
about what to wear to work and what
people should be wearing of course the
people that work for them will be yeah
it's almost like a personal preference
of what you think is inappropriate or
not you know like a really short skirt
you might think is inappropriate but
other people obviously don't because
they're wearing it to work so yeah it's
quite a big issue there I can imagine
that some companies are struggling with
ever since like you said the pandemic
because everyone was used to dressing a
certain way and then for I don't know a
year or so they were dressing in their
joggers I know I definitely was and then
coming back to the work environment I
was like oh I don't know where all my
work clothes have gone they don't fit me
or you know whatever so yeah then it is
a big struggle isn't it to just know
what to wear and graduates as well who
have graduated during that time they've
some of them you know they've finished
their a levels during that time they've
gone to UNI in a pandemic where they
aren't really getting out and doing
in-person work experience so they don't
know what they're supposed to wear to an
office and then they turn up to
interviews and they're not necessarily
dressed how we'd want them to be dressed
but where is the communication yeah
we're not communicating with people and
we're not talking about this because we
think that you know talking about dress
is superficial
we're not helping people do the best at
their jobs
so there was a term quite an old term
power dressing that sometimes gets
thrown about a bit do you know the
history of of where that comes from I do
indeed yeah and settle in for a history
lesson yes please
so there was a man named John T Malloy
and in the 1970s he wrote a book that
was called something along the lines of
Dress for Success women in business and
this was used to address the fact that
more women were coming into
what were historically male-dominated
spaces offices Etc and the term power
dressing basically meant you should have
broad shoulders because then you know
you will be able to stand shoulder to
shoulder with the men
hence shoulder pads oh okay but also you
need to remain feminine because
ultimately your goal as a woman is you
know to be attractive to men and this
whole work thing is just sort of
something silly you gals are up to
obviously obviously so the
the person who was
what we think of really as the first
Power dresser is Margaret Thatcher so if
you think of Margaret Thatcher that is
power dressing and it's been 50 years
since that book was written we've lived
through so much change we've lived
through a pandemic
so it probably is time for us to update
the rules as it were if we if we need
rules yeah so what do you think power
dressing means like now
I think it means
whatever makes you feel so good that
you're going to do the best at your job
yeah because if you are
in the morning if you know that you have
an important meeting to go to you
haven't taken the time to look at your
wardrobe you're standing there you know
you've got 10 minutes to go you're
feeling stressed already about this
meeting you put on something that
doesn't make you feel very good you go
to that meeting and whilst you're in the
room you're actually in your head
because you're thinking I don't feel
right these trousers are too tight
people are looking at me you're not
actually doing the best that you can
sure that's such a thing isn't it like I
don't know I just assume everyone does
this but in the morning when you're
getting ready you don't have a
pre-planned outfit for that day so
you're then rushing and trying on loads
of clothes especially if you've got an
event or something coming up and you
know you just don't know what to wear
and I've been in that situation so many
times when I've there's something
happening I think I know what I want to
wear I put it on I don't feel good it
doesn't look right whatever and then a
half an hour goes by and I still don't
know what I'm wearing I'm sure I'm not
alone in that
yeah you are not alone
yeah it's just it must be like a really
horrible sort of place to be it is and
that is why it's important
to align your wardrobe with your goals
ultimately okay because if you plan your
wardrobe as part of what I want to
achieve this year I want to get a
promotion this year or I want to you
know get a pay rise whatever it is that
you want
how can I use my clothes to support me
in that they're actually a tool that you
can use in business
yeah so do you have any I don't know
stories about someone that you've like
helped in in that kind of situation
where you know maybe they've
wanted that promotion and they've used
their clothes as a tool to support them
to get that I got loads
of stories
hair flick
yeah I do I have clients who will
come to me and they'll say I want a
promotion by this day or this is what
I'm working towards okay and actually
that is this is why I feel that I am a
little bit different to what people
perceive as a stylist because I'm all
about helping people reach their goals
so the first thing that I do with people
is talk about what it is that they want
what is their big dream and what I find
often with clients
particularly women do this is they will
dilute their dreams and they'll say well
I kind of want to put you know I kind of
want a promotion but I don't know maybe
in five years or whatever I want to know
what their big dream is because I
absolutely am obsessed with helping them
get to it and so we work from that place
and then we look at okay how does your
wardrobe currently make you feel and how
you feel every day now is that the
energy that you need to get you to where
you want to go okay so is that where you
start them with your like sessions you
go into someone's wardrobe and actually
assess what they've got and how that
makes them feel
so their wardrobe or your wardrobe
anyone's wardrobe whilst we think it is
a collection of clothes it's actually
evidence as to
how you feel about yourself your goals
your dreams your hopes your fears it can
be full of shame it can be full of guilt
it can be full of regret if you have a
Wardrobe full of stuff that you don't
wear that has the tags on it that makes
you feel guilty I'm guilty of that
myself that energy is
holding you back I had a client last
week who told me that she wear her
wardrobe and she has to walk past it to
go from her bedroom out for the day and
she said she will kind of scuttle past
it because it makes her feel really
disempowered and that is not
an accident right the whole fashion
industry is set up to make us feel that
way so that we'll continue to buy stuff
that we don't need to fix problems that
we don't have so that's not an accident
that that's how our wardrobes make us
feel and to that point we think that the
fixes then I'll go out and buy something
new I've got nothing here to wear
yeah because I think you
um said on LinkedIn that people spend
500 pounds a year on clothes and they
only wear 10 of those clothes I mean I'm
definitely guilty of that I tend to buy
something for an occasion but not a
specific occasion because it's nice and
it looks pretty so it'll just sit in my
wardrobe and then the occasion will
never come so I'll just never wear it
and then eventually I'll either then
give it to a charity shop or
it still just sits in my wardrobe
waiting for the day that it gets worn
that is very interesting why isn't today
the day that you could wear it well yeah
I suppose you're just waiting for that
what are you what are you waiting for
yeah I love that I don't know tell me
what I what is it that you feel that you
need to wait for until you can wear that
and what would be different about your
day if you put it on
because you would have a different day
because you would feel like the woman
who wears that outfit already what we do
is we have these clothes as a goal and
we think when I am that person one day
then I'll wear that thing actually what
we need to do is be that person today
the sooner you identify with who you
want to be the sooner that you'll become
it yeah
oh my God I love that I mean I actually
put this dress on for the first time
today because I knew you were coming
do many people do that they do it all
the time yes yeah I was an event
recently
a lot of people there said to me I knew
you were going to be here so I dressed
up and that's fine but it's also a
little frustrating for me because what's
important is what they're wearing every
day for themselves yeah if you only
dress
for outside when you're going out what
you're actually saying is
my opinion on myself isn't that
important what I think about what I wear
doesn't really matter so actually I'm
not really I obviously I love clothes I
love to see what people are wearing and
I am interested in what they wear when I
meet them but what I'm really interested
in is what they wear
when no one sees that's where the work
is so let's talk officeware we've
obviously had the pandemic with people
wearing pyjamas if they want and now
they're back in the office most offices
are probably hybrids with three to two
days in the office and the rest at home
people are really struggling now with
actually what to wear what is
appropriate what's not appropriate so
what's your advice Sam for pretty much
everyone out there that have no idea
what to wear
first of all from a company level we
need to make sure that the communication
is there what do we want from our people
how can we support them through this
transition because if we're being honest
pre-pandemic stuff does not necessarily
feel appropriate now a lot of people
have stuff in their wardrobe that
they've got no connection with anymore
life's moved on they've changed and it
just doesn't feel right it feels like
kind of stuffing themselves into
somebody else's suit right so that is
that level the communication needs to be
there and then on an individual level
what I would suggest first of all is to
think about your goals think about what
you need to be feeling every day to get
there so if for example your goal is I
want to get a payroll into the year and
I know that I need to feel like an 8 out
of 10 every day to do that to have the
confidence to do it but on average I
feel like a three out of ten
stop wearing stuff that makes you feel
like a three out of ten right I know
that sounds a lot of people are like
what I could I can wear stuff that makes
me feel good and nice I mean where do
you actually say it it does sound like a
really simple thing to do but I'm
totally guilty of just putting on my
jeans with a top because that's just
what I wear every day but if I was to
rank myself out of 10 yeah it would
probably be like three or four rather
than actually feeling like an eight and
it's just so weird like listening to you
saying these things it seems so simple
but I have all these clothes in my
wardrobe that I never wear that might
actually make me feel like an eight out
of ten exactly and if you feel like an
eight out of ten as opposed to a three
out of 10
have a little think about the difference
that would make to your day because when
you are you know I used to have it at
work being in the role that I was in and
it was a very male-dominated industry
and a lot of people would assume that I
was a man and I would walk into a room
and you know they would
assume that I was there to take their
drinks order or that because of your
name because of my well being a being a
young woman in that industry as an
editor at the time there were very few
women editors and even now I looked at
some statistics yesterday and it said
something like 21 of editor roles
now are taken by women which is you know
amazing a problem that that well it's a
problem in the industry because yeah we
should have more diversity and inclusion
right but um yeah because my name is Sam
people just assume obviously that I was
a man but I then used my clothes as a
way to be like hello I've arrived and as
a personal brand and it is unfortunate
but it's true that we do judge people on
what they wear
and this is something that we just can't
help because we have parts of our brains
that are prehistoric and what those are
doing is constantly assessing is someone
in my community do they get me or are
they potentially a threat and obviously
they're not a threat but our brains
don't know that so people have been
dressing in uniforms you know in even in
Scotland with the tartans for the
various Clans to say that I am part of
this community so that is why actually
what we wear does matter because
unfortunately people are making a
judgement as to our credibility
so if you stepped it up a bit at work
what what potentially could happen so
you could maybe like start gradually can
you so if you think you'll be three in
an outfit maybe go to an outfit that's
like a four or five don't go straight in
for that eight because although you
might feel great you also might be a
little bit uncomfortable at work with
the fact that they're used to seeing you
in a certain way and then all of a
sudden you're in an amazing dress they
might be like oh where are you going
after work you're like actually I'm
going home
and what wasn't there a stat or
something that you had that was like one
in two women don't feel confident
enough at work yeah that was a survey
that Dove have done because obviously
does do stuff on women and yeah
confidence and it showed that one in two
women aren't confident at work at the
moment and unfortunately because of the
economy things like the Reykjavik index
show that trust in women leaders is
going down as people go back to more
traditional gender roles
and you know your clothes can actually
help you can make you feel more
confident this is scientific there is
scientific information to back
this up yeah so like a psychological
link between feeling good in what you
wear and Performing well or performing
better when you feel good exactly it's
called enclosed cognition
and it essentially means that when you
put on certain clothes you embody the
identity of the person that you believe
would wear them so they did a study with
lab coats and actually they've done this
study a lot of times with various
different groups from graduates to
inmates at prison and they told one
group that the coat is a labcoat a Doctor's
lab coat and the other group that is a
painter's smock and they found that the
group who thought they were wearing a
Doctor's lab coat performed better in
tests and were more productive and you
know even honest and confident and all
of those things than the group that
thought they were wearing a painted
smock do you know what actually you've
reminded me of a time when I was at Uni
and I had to do a presentation and I was
really really nervous about doing this
presentation so I bought myself a Blazer
and I only I just wore the blazer with
like jeans and a top but the fact that
I had this Blazer on which obviously I
associated with someone that knew what
they were doing I actually smashed that
presentation and I remember thinking how
good that I felt when I was doing it and
I wonder now whether it was just the
Blazer exactly yeah obviously you did a
good job of the presentation because
you're fantastic right well maybe but
the blazer probably helped you
know that yeah that's what it does when
we put on those clothes and that is the
problem now with working from home and
hybrid working is that at first it felt
like a real novelty not having to get
dressed in the morning but our brains
can't understand what we're doing
because our brains associate certain
clothes of work and productive time and
certain clothes with going to sleep so
if you wear your pyjamas all day your
brain is like I don't know what I'm
doing what do you you're telling me that
how to do loads of work but I'm wearing
the thing from you know when I was a
child not even old enough to remember my
parents changing me out of day clothes
and putting me into pyjamas that signals
to your brain pyjamas are for sleeping
ah okay so it is going to have an impact
on your productivity
sometimes Sunday's idea actually wear my
pyjamas all day
that's what I work from home obviously
not in the office
but I feel like I still have
productive days so maybe it's also like
where you sit in your house as well
because I have like a little Office
Space
so talking about something that you
mentioned earlier about how we
automatically judge people
so when you go for a job interview then
do you have any tips for anyone in that
situation where they don't know what to
wear they know they're going to be
judged not intentionally judged but you
know it's
it's written in our minds
obviously look at the place that you're
going to work because as much as it
needs to be a culture fit that you need
to fit in with them they need to fit
with you right and you want to work
somewhere that allows you to have enough
of yourself in the role that you can do
a good job because if we bring our whole
selves to work
we're gonna get more out of it and our
clients are going to get more out of it
and everyone's going to get more out of
it so what is the culture there is there
anyone that you see there and what are
they wearing and also what makes you
feel really good and colour is a really
good thing to use in those situations
colours like blue for example can make
you feel more confident as can orange
orange is a really good colourful
confidence green is a really good colour
if you want to feel healthy and pink is
a really good colour if you want to feel
supported
so think of colour because a lot of
people when they think of corporate
business wear think of a suit fine but
they'll think
black right they're just saying I need
to wear a black suit yeah what about if
you wore a green suit
um like what difference would that be
mind blown you would stand out also
because they remember you more if
they've got 50 interviews yeah and
they're really busy
they will remember you for they may not
necessarily understand that it's because
of what you're wearing but they will I
promise they will remember you I have
people come up to me sometimes now who
will say to me I've never spoken to you
before but I saw you at this event
a year ago and you were wearing this
thing and I you know I remember it they
don't remember everyone else there who
was wearing a grey
suit no offence but we do
remember People based on how they made
us feel and a big part of that is what
they're wearing yeah so yeah my stepdad
Eric actually hi Eric
he used to always wear black shirts
he doesn't know why but he just always
used to wear black shirts all the time
and then one day I think he was just a
bit like I don't want to wear black I
want to wear something colourful so he
actually started wearing Hawaiian shirts
and he now wears a Hawaiian shirt every
single day and it makes him feel good
about himself at peace it's a
conversation starter as well and people
will now recognize him because of his
Hawaiian shirts and it's just like and I
love him for that and it's even started
rubbing off on other members as family
they've got a little collection of
Hawaiian shirts now so whenever we meet
up they all wear them together and it's
just really nice I love that isn't it
that's really interesting on two levels
one how old clothes can become such a
trademark for someone and if you think
about famous people or you know people
who are memorable through history there
is usually something in their clothing
that you remember them from and it's
really nice on the level of it obviously
makes him feel good and like you said
people remember him yeah he's memorable
and in a world where everything is so
fast moving social media is you know
um so much stuff on there how do you
become memorable how do you make people
remember you when they are taking in
literally millions of bits of
information every second of every day
yeah okay and to that point I had a
client recently who was unfortunately
passed over for promotion because
in informal feedback that she had
she was told that the people who were
interviewing her were kind of up the
chain a bit in the company that she
worked in didn't really know her that
well personally or worked with her on a
one-to-one level and the role required
someone who was going to be more of a
face of the company there are statistics
that show that personal Brands get 24
more
engagement that company brand so they're
wanting someone in that role who was
going to you know go out and be a
memorable face of the company and they
didn't think that she was that person so
she came to work with me
to align her goals with her wardrobe
essentially so that she would be seen
with credibility going for that role in
the future
so you know your clothes do
as I said whether we like it or not they
do make us more memorable they do make
us stick in people's brains and they can
actually really help us I don't I mean I
like to think that I I'm a good editor a
really good journalist I work really
hard to get to that role
but
if I'm being honest I did 100 use my
clothes as personal brand and people
knew of me
because of who I was and what I was
wearing
and I think if I hadn't been so colourful
and expressive in my clothes I probably
wouldn't have got as many of the
opportunities towards the end of my time
as a newspaper editor as I did
because I did stand out okay so once you
worked with this lady then did she what
was the outcome did she finally get
she's got a new job at a different
company now which is you know it is
higher up which is really good but I
will often say to clients we'll have a
goal for them you know if I work with
them on a one day
on a one day session they'll have
their goal I'll help them with that I'll
give them some accountability as they go
towards it but if I'm working with
someone longer term I will work with
them until we get to the point where
that is happening and so she now is in a
better role I have other clients who've
got promotions one of them had 20K wow
promotion
they've done stuff like if they've run
their own business gets their first 100K
year yearly Revenue book deals speaking
events all that kind of stuff because
what we're doing isn't really about
clothes like yeah it is what you're
wearing but it's all the stuff you're
wearing underneath it's like the mind
yeah that you don't even consider is
actually
pulling the strings yeah
so you work with a lot of females
have you worked with males I have yes
yes I have slightly easier
I can imagine because you just you're
like well okay I'll wear that no and
actually I will say that men do have a
lot of the same issues that women have
with their clothes even more so now
because of social media you know women
were targeted for many years through
marketing that was you're not good
enough you're not pretty enough your
body's not good enough all this stuff
but men also are getting targeted in
that same way so there are
similar
issues that they face when it comes to
their wardrobes
but generally men
shop less where they spend more so they
are happier to spend more money on a
quality item and women will tend to talk
themselves out of having that item that
would make them feel really good and
instead they'll buy fives like knock off
versions of the yeah the actual item
they wanted I definitely do that yeah
there was a Blazer that I saw the other
day it was over 100 pounds and I was
like I can't really afford that Blazer so
I would I went to another shop and
bought five different blazes cheaper
options to see which one looked good and
I'm sending them all back because they
don't look as good as the one that was
more expensive than I wanted to pay yeah
so it's your time obviously that's
taking you time now
and if you'd have just got it and you
feel really good in it what difference
would it make
to
your day it would make it it would make
a difference right but women generally
tend to talk themselves out of stuff
because they are conditioned to always
think about you know what this means for
other people and to feel guilty
spending money on themselves so then
ironically they end up spending more
money because they're always less yeah
exactly less more often yeah okay and
nothing ever seems to work does it right
we go on these shopping sprees we spend
I don't know however much money on
things we don't wear them we then open
our wardrobe there's loads of stuff in
it and we're like I don't have anything
to wear yeah welcome to my wow yeah I
have loads of clothes what is happening
yeah
so what about those that may be going
through a transition do you work with
them
I do yes I have clients who are
transitioning from male to female
um sometimes right at the beginning of
the journey and sometimes towards the
end of the transition journey and
I've loved being a part of their
Journeys I think it is incredible when
someone is able to finally be themselves
yeah and I think it is lovely also when
they work in places that support that
transition also
so yeah that's been
really interesting and also really
nice because
they you know they there are issues that
everyone has with their beliefs about
themselves their bodies and everything
but what is so lovely about that is the
joy that they can find in clothes
because it's like they are discovering
all this new stuff that was kept away
from them for so long it's like they you
know they've been kept in this cage
almost hidden from the world and now
they get to come out and fully Express
themselves as who they actually always
were inside
[Music]
lovely journey to be a part of it is
yeah it is lovely so we ran a poll on
this week asking people what they
wear in the office
and the results were quite
interesting actually so 73 said they go
for casual Comfort
23 said smart casual and then four
percent said suits
however the poll itself did spark a
little controversy we had one lady
commented on the poll and she said that
it was disappointing that for women
there was still a focus on what they
wear and how they look
and yeah I think one of the words she
said was superficial as well so over to
you Sam I agree with her that is
disappointing and actually I do
understand where that
assumption comes from because when we
hear the word stylist that's what we
hear we think judgement and I have been a
victim of that judgement myself for many
years you know I've been like crying in
a changing room when I was a bit younger
I was a size 18 20 and I was trying to
find an outfit for a wedding I had to go
to I couldn't find anything I was crying
in a change room and the shop assistants
were laughing like that happened to me
so and you know it's happened to me that
I've been
I've had all this all this stuff of
buying stuff to try and fix something
about myself which really could never be
fixed through buying things I I get it
totally and I think that's where the
Assumption comes wrong because when we
hear stylist that's what we hear because
so much of the fashion industry is that
so that is the fashion industry The
Styling industry I'm over here doing
something I hope something completely
different which is is not about the
clothes it's about you and it's about
what those clothes represent
about your hopes dreams fears all of
that stuff
so I do totally understand
where that came from
I hope that people listen and understand
also that that ain't me like I have
dealt with all this stuff
I am the opposite of that stuff because
I do not believe that what you look like
should be the most important thing about
you but I do believe that how you feel
has a massive difference in what you end
up achieving in your life in your
business and in your career and the
things that you will and won't put up
with and ultimately the Legacy that you
leave
for the planet because we're buying way
too much stuff we're massively over
consuming fashion and fast fashion to
fix
something that's inside of ourselves so
that is my job my job isn't put this
outfit on you should wear this don't
wear that you don't look good in those
colours or whatever else my job is does
this make you feel good if the answer is
yes
wear it yeah and your motto as you save
people time and you make them money so
they're saving time because they know
what to wear they know what they feel
good in and they're making money because
they feel more confident so I think one
of your stats was 60 of women have never
asked for a pay rise well maybe that's
because they're in an outfit that's
ranked three whereas if they're an eight
they'd feel more confident so they could
ask that paywise and then hopefully get
it so they're making more money or
getting the promotions or the new jobs
and one of my clients Works in finance
and she said to me that she had spent
thousands of pounds over the years on
these black suits and skirt suits and
stuff that did not make her feel good
and she said I wish that back then I'd
have worn the green suit the blue suit
that I actually really wanted to wear
because I probably would have faced the
same issues but I would have had the
confidence to say no like let me just
cut you off there
I won't be you know mansplained to or
talk down to I'm an expert in what I do
whereas what we women specifically tend
to do is edit themselves all the time so
they'll write an email and then they'll
go back and be like oh could you just
I'm so sorry could you just do do your
job you know so it's stopping all of
that stuff yeah and just showing up as a
leader because also that's important for
other people
to know that you are you have to have
clear communication with people and that
is a way of communicating with them
about who you are and what you're here
for we currently buy five times more
clothes than we did in the 1980s we wear
as we said 10 of my clothes but we have
enough clothes on the planet right now
to clothe the next six Generations wow
yeah that's a lot of place yes it's a
lot of clothes and actually if you look
in your wardrobe likely you have enough
clothes to last you the next five years
so we've talked about so much today it's
been absolutely great to have you on Sam
that to end every episode we do do the
one word
which is to give our listeners
something extra to think about
so my word is going to be confidence
what's your way my word is bold bold
amazing producer Bex do you have a
word
Colour
amazing well thank you so much
it's been an absolute pleasure to
have you on and to learn everything
about what you do and all the women that
you've helped with all their Journeys
and it sounds amazing and I'm definitely
going to be looking in my wardrobe for
those 8 out of 10 outfits I'm wearing a
bit more good
so yeah thank you all if you've
enjoyed the episode don't forget to
subscribe
to Togcast so you never miss another
episode and if you need any help with
your styling reach out to Sam you can
find her on LinkedIn thanks everyone
[Music]
that's a wrap for this week's episode if
you want to be our next guest speaker on
top class then get in touch with the one
group and don't forget to subscribe we
would hate for you to miss the next one
[Music]