Talking Fashion at the Women of Resilience, Tenacity and Humility Event

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Today, I had the privilege of addressing a group of leaders (some of them pictured above) at Stevenson University at the second annual professional conference for the Women of Resilience, Tenacity and Humility (W.O.R.T.H.). It was a great day of professional development for our future leaders, whereby they got career tips from networking to branding to professional dress and makeup. I facilitated five sessions about “Building a Professional Wardrobe” and we discussed work attire, body types, colors, cut and proportion when shopping for your beginning “capsule” wardrobe. These young women were excited to learn from professionals in their fields, asked great questions, and networked during the lunch break.

Certified as an EIS-fashion consultant many years ago, I got the opportunity to talk fashion (how much fun, right?) with these young people and coached them on how to assemble their first professional wardrobe. Below you will find some of the slides I presented to them. I love talking about fashion, as it’s one of my passions, and anytime I can help someone with advice, I am happy to do so! As a full-time professor, I take what I wear seriously, and try to always present a professional image (okay…sometimes I do wear jeans), but for the most part, you will find me in business or business casual clothing. These slides that are attached were some of the things we talked about today.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post your questions in the comments area, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Special thanks to Claudia and the women of W.O.R.T.H for inviting me to come speak today.

This is called a capsule “starter” wardrobe for professionals. The first nine pieces will yield 36 outfits; the professional, black dress, which I believe everyone should have in their closet, is an additional piece. Likewise, two nice pairs of shoes and a bag will start a woman on her career path. As you add to your basic starter wardrobe, make sure any piece you buy goes with at least three things in your closet. If it doesn’t, you can pass on it and move on to something else better suited to your professional wardrobe.

Steph’s Scribe’s Style Tips

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*** Foundational Checklist for Fall/Winter Wardrobe***

Business Casual Capsule – SPRING

The LITTLE BLACK DRESS (LBD)

Don’t forget to get yourself that LITTLE BLACK DRESS, appropriate for work, not going out to the club. You will want to have one of these — at least — as part of your capsule.

If you have any questions about any of this, please shoot me a comment or note. I am happy to help you get that wardrobe ready to aim and fire at your first career opportunity!

Good luck ladies, and thanks for having me today!

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Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant,  Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.