Style, Confidence & Business Balance with Xandrina
I met the really lovely Xandrina from Allday Marketing, through Social Day. She was the compare for one of the events. So she is confident standing up and talking on stage in front of an audience. She has medium blonde hair, green eyes and a fair complextion, and her choice of a light blue suit sat beautifully on her. She is my third interviewee and has a more natural and classic style personality. So lets take a look and see how she responds to my questions and understand what dressing to impress means to her.
1. Can you tell me a little about what you chose to wear to the recent events you’ve been too and why?
For these two events, I opted for beige, cream and black as the colour palette, which is often my go too. Long sleeved options as we're getting into colder months, but still wearing skirts that make me feel feminine and confident. One outfit was paired with black boots and the other with simple ballet pumps that matched the outfit. I do love a heel, but I plan the shoes around the day, rather than the day around the shoes.
2. How do you usually approach getting dressed for a big event like this?
For work events, I tend to gravitate to the colours I feel most comfortable and confident in. These are often those that I can mix and match in my wardrobe easily, depending on where else I need to be that day and the time of year.
3 . How does what you wear affect how confident you feel at events?
I think confidence starts with how you feel and for me, this also includes how I present myself to the world each day. I take a lot of pride in getting ready everyday, even if it's just a day doing the school run and running errands.
4. Do you see your outfit as part of your personal brand? If so, how?
Yes, I definitely see my outfit as part of my personal brand. I think how you dress is how you show up in the world, it makes an impression on people when they see you, so that is part of their perception of you and therefore your personal brand. I've actually taken this a step further, whilst rebranding my business over the past few weeks, I have used my own style to influence the colour palette for this, so both my personal brand and my business brand feel cohesive.
5. What about getting dressed can knock your confidence or throw you?
If getting dressed before hair and makeup, sometimes my outfit might not encapsulate what I want it to. For me, the make up and hair then help to bring the overall look together and sometimes this can make or break my whole look.
6. How do you feel colour plays a role in representing yourself or your business if at all?
I think colour is important and although I wear muted tones more than colour overall, I do wear more colour naturally in the spring/summer months. I actually think a lot about the psychology of colours due to it's impact on marketing and being a marketer myself, therefore it is a consideration I think about if heading into a networking event, as this could be the first impression somebody has of you.
7. What does “dressing to impress” mean to you in a professional context?
Dressing to impress is one of those sayings that's been around for a long time. I'd like to think though, ultimately the person you should try and impress the most is yourself fundamentally. If you're happy and you're proud of how you look, your confidence will shine through any outfit and that will in turn attract and impress anyone you meet.
8. Do you dress more for yourself, your audience, or both when attending events like this?
I think the last question gave an insight into how I feel and that fundamentally I do dress for myself. However, if I am talking on stage I will give the outfit even more thought and this is where I will often try something a bit more daring, like my blue suit which tends to come out of retirement a couple of times a year.
9. What’s your top tip for other women dressing for work events?
When dressing for work events, I would say find a few pieces that you can mix and match as this will make it so much easier when putting together outfits. I've been more intentional about the pieces I buy over the past couple of years, in trying to create my own capsule wardrobe and I'm finding that less is more.
10. Is there one go-to piece or styling trick that always makes you feel put together?
Find a few staple pieces of jewellery to wear everyday and this will elevate any outfit. For me that's my vintage gold watch and gold hoops (which I have in varying sizes and styles).
Brands I love are Mango, H&M and I've been loving Sainsbury's recently - whoever is doing the buying/designing there needs a pay rise because they are doing the work of the fashion gods!
Check out Xandrina for Founder & Social Media Consultant , Social Media Consultancy, Social Media Management, Content Creation, Keynote Speaker.
alldaymarketing@outlook.com
To get some style ideas for a more classic looks, head to Katie’s Style Hub on facebook and look out for my style mood boards. Or ask my about the Style App coming in Janurary.
