George Brescia

I’ve seen the transformative powers of great clothing reach far beyond the work of a single day or week or month. Take Jeanne, a single girl when we met, dressing in clothes that weren’t right for her body, didn’t speak to her professional accomplishments as a highly respected public relations executive, and certainly weren’t doing her any favors in the husband-hunting department. In the year we worked together, she met and married the love of her life. They were introduced at a party for which I’d dressed her in a red silk strappy dress and a heap of gold accessories, a perfect example of a woman dressing to be noticed and reaping the benefits. She wasn’t the first woman I’ve seen enact a radical life change that started in her closet, and she won’t be the last.

You’re not sure whether it’s that extra bit of confidence or whether the universe is smiling back at you, but the day somehow just seems to go . . . better.

They start with long-held beliefs about our limitations, whether physical or mental. They start with fear—whether it’s a fear of being seen, a fear of being ignored, or a fear of change, aging, progress, and responsibility. They start with confusion about their identities and the various roles they play in their lives.

Within ten seconds of a first meeting, an impression is formed, and an opinion begins to coalesce.

eyes are extremely discerning, quickly taking in very subtle details.

Your brain is constantly collecting visual clues and arranging them into patterns—patterns that turn into assumptions.

Whether we like it or not, we are being seen.

YOU!) can choose to make different decisions, more educated decisions, more conscious decisions. Better decisions.

Your proven ability to turn up the heat, using nothing more than a little forethought and some extra effort, proves my point: When we pay attention to what we are wearing, to the statement we are making, our outfits wind up telling a different story. A much, much better story.

Does your clothing communicate success, happiness, hopefulness, and confidence, or does it betray insecurity, bashfulness, confusion, and fear? Is it true to the life stage you inhabit or hope to inhabit, or does it speak to a long-gone self of decades past?