Style, Confidence and business balance with Christine
It’s the festive season, and what better time of year than to feature the queen of red! Christine Gritmon from Higher Voltage lights up the room with her contagious smile and fabulous outfits, and I was honoured to have had the opportunity to discover this amazing woman’s sense of style and really deep dive into how she goes about feeling her best for events.
1. Can you tell me a little about what you chose to wear and why?
I’m trying to add more sequins to my life, and it felt like a sequin event! I actually wore a different black sequin dress last year, but this one’s cuter.
2. How do you usually approach getting dressed for a big event like this?
I consider how “dressy” I feel like being. I usually often then peruse what I have that’s red, since it’s my brand colour AND my personal favourite, but I don’t always go red and if I really feel like wearing something else then I’ll just accessorize with red, or even just let my lips be the accessory as I did this time. I knew people would be having fun with their outfits at this one, and this sparkly dress (which I already had) felt right.
3 . How does what you wear affect how confident you feel at events?
Sometimes what I wear will actually impact how outgoing I am, and if I want attention and to meet new people, I’m more likely to do so if I’m wearing something that inspires people to come up and comment on it (like a sequined dress!). I also dress with photos in mind, and if I’m likely to be going up on stage. This wasn’t an event where I wanted to fade into the background, so I made sure my outfit didn’t either (despite ultimately being a classic black fit-and-flare).
4. Do you see your outfit as part of your personal brand? If so, how?
Absolutely! Often, it’s the red; always, it’s the confidence.
5. What about getting dressed can nock your confidence or throw you?
Body image obviously plays a role; I’m a lot bigger than I used to be, but confidence is a huge part of how I want to present, especially in professional contexts, so I absolutely must wear something that I feel I look great in, and won’t be worrying all day about if I look fat or whatever. I also need to be comfortable; I can’t be wasting energy on discomfort. Sometimes I’ll have my heart set on wearing something, only to discover it no longer fits well or flatters, and that can absolutely knock me. It also bums me out when I look good in the mirror but photos make me look like a whale!
6. How do you feel colour plays a role in representing yourself or your business?
My favorite colour, and one of the ones I look best in, has become an essential part of my personal brand. Red works well with the vibrancy and confidence I hope to inspire. However, I do sometimes choose NOT to wear it, or just on lips or accessories, because I always want to make sure the brand is ME and not a colour. I recently did a brand refresh and actively chose to incorporate other colours I wear a lot into the secondary colour palette (such as denim blue). I’m very “classic,” so I don’t go for neons, or even very many secondary colours; I’m very red, black, white, dark blue, warm tan. Red is my bright.
7. What does “dressing to impress” mean to you in a professional context?
It means to respect the formality of the event (not be underdressed) BUT, more important than formality, to show I made an effort. But also to understand that I need to be the focus, not my outfit. Though I do love that outfit elements can inspire conversation.
8. Do you dress more for yourself, your audience, or both when attending events like this?
I dress first of all for myself, but I do also think about image. But part of my image needs to be confidence in my own identity.
9. What’s your top tip for other women dressing for work events?
Top tip is to understand who you are before you dress that person. Understand who you are before the image you want to try and put out there. Understand when you feel amazing about how you’re presenting yourself, and COMFORTABLE, and not like you’re wearing a costume as someone else, and then look at the common elements of what you feel most like yourself in, and just apply those elements to different outfits. Colours, yes, but also fits, fabrics, types of garment—and it’s ok to be consistent if it’s how you feel good. If you love something, it’s ok to get it in your three best colours. Nobody’s paying that much attention; don’t worry about consistency or variety, just focus on how you feel good and lean into that.
10. Is there one go-to piece or styling trick that always makes you feel put together?
My Classic Red lip is my “superhero costume.” I like to say it’s when I go from Christine Gritmon to CHRISTINE F’ING GRITMON. I do skip it sometimes—I probably won’t wear it to a casual meetup—but it’s become a signature and I always want to be recognizable, since a lot of times I’ll meet someone who follows me online who I haven’t yet met, and I want to be really clear that I’m the same person from my photos. I’m also a big earring girl; they’re not always flashy (though sometimes they are!), but I like drawing the focus up, towards my face and eyes.
Higher Voltage is a very deliberately curated event built entirely around the needs of person-based businesses. No hype about growing and scaling, no advice you need a team to enact—every word from the experts on our stage will be tactical and do-able by one-person businesses. We want you to grow STRONGER—not necessarily bigger!—so you can build the life you love doing the work you love to do!
If you felt inspired by Christine and her confidence but feel like you're struggling with your own wardrobe, get in touch with me and let's work together to get you back to feeling like you!
