Does this make me look fat? How old do you think I am? What the heck…am I getting shorter?

Have you asked yourself or someone else any of these questions in the last year or so? Probably; almost everyone has.

Here are some helpful strategies, some of which you may have heard before but forgotten, or simply gotten out of the habit. Others might be an interesting surprise. Let me know which are you favorites or if you have questions.

To Appear Taller and Thinner:

• Sit, stand, and walk with excellent posture. You may not realize that you usually slouch; lots of people do. To correct that, straighten your spine and roll your shoulders back and down. Repeat often.

• Stand, sit, and walk with presence; as if you’ve just gotten a promotion with a nice-sized raise!

• Dress monochromatically or mono tonally, meaning all one color or similar shades of two colors. You’ll look like a tall column.

• Wear vertical stripes, not horizontal stripes or polka dots.

• Do not wear straight-across bangs.

• Wear a jacket or cardigan in a dark color, with a lighter or brighter colored shirt or top underneath.
• All your clothes should fit you impeccably. Shoulder seams should line up with your shoulders. The waist of your jacket, sweater, shirt, or top should taper in. Pants should skim the body, not sag nor cling. 

• A higher heel on your shoe, or even one or two extra pair of insoles inside your shoe will give you a bit of added height.

• Men: style your hair with some product to lift the top up, as shown in photo, left.
• Women: Wear nude colored shoes or sandals with skirts or dresses. Wear long necklaces and scarves. Scarves should end on the diagonal at a point, not in a horizontal line. Wear earrings that hang vertical rather than studs. Find jackets, blouses, pullovers and cardigans that come to a point at the bottom corners, rather than ending in a horizontal line like a classic blazer. Back comb your hair at the crown (top) of your head for height.

To Appear Younger:

• Take photos with the camera held a few feet in front of and a few inches above your face. Lift your head to look into the camera.

• Posture, people, seriously! You may be hunched over a computer all day, so your shoulders slump forward even when you’re standing or walking. This can age your appearance and your bones. Use these cues: whenever you look up from your computer, or walk through a doorway, straighten your spine and roll shoulders back and down.

• Many people over the age of 40, both men and women, wear clothes that are too big for them. That doesn’t do you any favors! All your clothes need to fit you impeccably. This applies to all outerwear, meaning jackets and coats, too. Get the size that fits, not the size that both you and your next door neighbor could wear together.

• Maintain ideal weight. Sure, that’s difficult, especially if you’ve fallen into some bad habits. But if you haven’t already, try cutting out wheat products, processed and fast food, and processed sugar, and see if the pounds will fall off, for real. Combine that with regular, vigorous exercise, and you’ll have a younger-looking body soon!

• Stay informed on current fashion trends. This doesn’t mean you have to dress trendy if that’s not your personal style. It just means that you’re aware of how to edit your closet, decide what jacket to wear for a certain look to an important event so you appear relevant. Get yourself some lifestyle magazines that illustrate new styles like Redbook, Lucky, and InStyle for women, GQ, Details, and Men’s Health for guys.

• Update your wardrobe. You don’t have to dress all hip and chic. I’m talking about getting rid of tired, old, worn out things that are ho-hum and updating your look with some fun, interesting styles that give you a current look. Even if you purchase just ten new pieces of wardrobe and accessories per season, you could have a more youthful and up-to-date appearance.

Hair and Skin Care for a More Youthful Appearance

• Diligent skincare is not difficult and can shave years off your appearance. A dermatologist once told me that at least 80% of what’s happening on our face is due to sun exposure. That means lots of lines, wrinkles, and dark spots are preventable! Wear 50 SFP plus a wide-brimmed hat whenever you’re outside.
• Exfoliate skin with microdermabrasion or a deep-cleansing mask at least once a week. Cleanse and moisturize daily. Get a prescription from a dermatologist for a Retin A product to slowly peel dead skin cells off while you sleep. They can also prescribe a higher strength bleaching cream for dark spots.
• Lines, wrinkles, and creases can be eased and even temporarily erased from your face with botox and fillers like Restylane and Juvederm. Believe me, lots of people you know use these products, even guys. If it’s administered correctly, you can’t tell. You just look younger. Ask your dermatologist or plastic surgeon if it’s right for you.

• Makeup in the right colors and formula, that’s properly applied, can have a dramatic age-defying effect for women. But most women don’t really understand what shades are best for their coloring, and how to apply products for a natural, beautiful effect. Color can do so much. When in doubt, at least wear a bright lip color and mascara. For best results, have a private makeup tutorial. 

• Get a new do… haircut, that is. How many years have you been going to the same hair stylist who cuts your hair the same way? Time for a change! Even some barbers at trendy shops know what’s in for men’s hairstyles. And ladies, cover the gray and grow out the bangs. The Prince Valiant look is not attractive. Go online or look in magazines to see some styles that will give you an instant lift.

I can help you edit your closet, create a customized color chart, find your best shapes and favorite styles, and help you shop for your updated look. Ladies can have a private makeup lesson. Check out my image services packages to see what’s the best fit for you. Men’s image services available here.

Call me, Marian Rothschild, for a free 30 minute phone consultation to see how to upgrade your unique style and personal brand: 720-933-9247.

Key Pieces for Influence & Polished Presence

Owning a few key investment pieces is not only smart, but good business strategy. You’ll be remembered in a positive light when you present a polished, put-together, and current image. Your appearance is a big part of your personal brand, so dress how you wish to be known.

Your appearance sends an immediate, nonverbal message of who you are to everyone with whom you come in contact.

Here’s a list of good quality pieces that will prove to be good investments:

For Women:

• Silk bouse that fits, flatters, fulfills your personal style and focuses your intention
• Chunky, multi-strand pearls or other chunky, gorgeous necklace
• Shift dress in jewel tones
• Blazer or jacket in marsala, indigo, robins egg blue, or emerald green
• Nude 3″ pumps
• Knee-length, light-weight coat or long, outer-wear jacket (see above)
• Leather designer handbag
• Gorgeous black knee high boots, 2.5” – 3.5” heels
• Silk scarves to wear with solid tops and wool sweaters
• Fantastic eyeglass frames, even just for reading
• A current cut and revitalized color

For Men:

• Custom-tailored wool sport jacket or blazer
• Wool dress pants
• Good quality dress shirts that fit beautifully
• Dark wash dress jeans that fit great
• Safari-style light weight jacket
• Magnanni dress shoes
• Leather messenger bag
• Knee-length wool winter coat
• Terrific eyeglasses, even if they’re just for reading

If you would like your personal image to be successful, savvy, sharp, and professional, everything about you needs to communicate those brand values. That includes your eyeglasses, the photo on your business card, website, your verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as wardrobe and accessories.

I can help you update and upgrade all elements of your personal brand for increased influence and polished presence. Call me, Marian Rothschild, for a free 30 minute phone consultation: 720-933-9247. Don’t wait – you deserve to Look Good Now.

Your mother told you to stand up straight, walk with good posture, eat your veggies, say please and thank you.

Those are great rules. They are steadfast and timeless. Keep doing those…all the time.

But there are other rules that used to be the norm for fashion and personal style that have recently gone by the wayside. Breaking these rules will actually give you a more current look, and add a trendy twist to an otherwise classic or casual style.

Here are four rules that you might have heard your mom tell you that you now should absolutely break, and how to do it for maximum effect:

1. Never wear two patterns together.

Wearing two patterns together is now the quickest way to achieve an updated, current look. But they can’t be just any two patterns. There has to be at least one color that’s the same in both patterns, and one of the patterns needs to be more bold, and the other needs to be more subtle. Men have been doing this for years with shirts, ties, and sport coats. Now we can all mix patterns, even when wearing sweaters or tops with skirts or slacks. You’ll even see patterns mixed within a dress, like my new “disposable” from H&M.

2. Keep your hair combed neat and tidy.

For ultra conservative looks or a formal corporate interview, fine. But otherwise, mess it up a bit! Use gel or hair paste for body, lift, and shape. Guys, you want the sides and top going back, with the top lifted slightly, like the photo. Ladies, use a fine-tooth, rattail comb for teasing and lifting. Set the do, then give it a tousle with your hands to let some strands loose. Or scrunch the ends for beachy waves. Fantastic.

3. Always wear matching sets of accessories.

Back in the day, our moms went to great effort to acquire matching sets of necklace, earrings, and bracelets. Today, that look is passé, it’s way out, too “matchy-matchy.” For an updated look, accessories should relate to each other, but not match exactly. For example, if you’re wearing a necklace of wooden beads, your earrings can also have wooden beads on them, without being the exact same beads or even the exact same color. Metals should still match, either gold or silver, but again, they shouldn’t be exactly the same pattern of jewelry. Better to have the pieces relate to each other to tie the outfit together, rather than appearing outdated. Or even just one statement necklace can be a “star piece” with the WOW! effect.

4. Gray is a neutral and goes with everything.

Anyone who has ever worked with me knows I’m not a fan of gray. There are only two categories of people who look fine in gray; mature folks who have gone gray and decided not to do anything about it, and people who are so doggone young and cute it doesn’t matter what they wear. For everyone else, gray is a downer. It just doesn’t do anything for you. Why bother wearing that on your body when there are so many other beautiful colors that will flatter you? Like teal, coral, rust, camel, and indigo blue. You especially want these great colors up by your face for shirts, tops, ties, and sweaters, these colors bring the appearance of energy, vitality, and life to your face.

Bonus Tip: Ladies, if you think you can’t wear yellow, smooth your complexion with foundation and concealer, then add accent around the eyes and color on the cheeks and lips. Try it, and count the number of compliments you get in a day.

Let us hear from you below in the comment section, how these tips helped you.

Call me, 720-933-9247 to book your free 30-minute phone consultation to get started on your image update today.

As a Certified Personal Image Consultant, Author and Speaker, I help savvy professionals upgrade their brand visually, head-to-toe, and authentically, from the inside – out, for increased influence and polished presence. Marian Rothschild, AICI FLC, Denver and Boulder, CO, email: [email protected], www.marianrothschild.com

I remember the very first networking event I ever attended. It was almost ten years ago. We all sat at a long oak table in the back room of a local restaurant. The leader of the group wore a bright red jacket and after she made opening announcements, we went around the table, saying who we are and what we do. I had never done that before! Some people sounded polished, while others rambled on without communicating anything specific. As we worked our way around the table and my turn approached, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. What would I say, how could I possibly communicate what I do in one little sentence? Fear gripped my body and mind. I can’t remember what I said, but I do remember the sweaty palms, the thumping in my chest, and the numbing brain freeze.

Have you had a similar experience? Speaking in public can be nerve-wracking, but with practice it can be very rewarding and lead to career advancement. Now I use speaking in conjunction with my private consulting and coaching. I speak to audiences on how to upgrade their personal branding and professional image for increased influence and polished presence.

Many business professionals need the help that your products or services can deliver, but they don’t even know you exist. They don’t do a Google search for you because they have no idea that there are solutions like the ones you’ve developed. You need to reach that market and give them solutions to their pain. Speaking to groups, associations, organizations and companies is a wonderful way to increase the scope of your audience.

Toastmasters is a good way to get started speaking in front of a group of people who are friendly, supportive, and helpful. The organization provides you with workbooks to guide you through the process of writing and delivering short speeches. Members of the club give you beneficial feedback to help you learn and grow.

Just because you can ice skate doesn’t mean you’re ready to go on tour with the Ice Capades. Like with any venture, public speaking takes lots of training, coaching, planning and practice. There are many elements to consider: content, personal stories, interactive exercises, length, topic, and of course, your voice. Seek out the services of some good coaches in your area. Attend a National Speakers Association event and ask around, who are the good coaches. Two of my favorite books on how to assemble a speech are Resonate by Nancy Duarte and Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds. My colleague and friend, Jean DiGiovonna (https://www.workshopuniversity.com), is also an excellent resource to help you structure a speech, workshop, or presentation.

When presenting to any group, you always want to dress one or two notches up from your audience. You are the expert, you’re delivering a solution to their pain, an answer to their needs. Therefore, you need to look, act, and sound the part of an expert.

Looking the part probably includes wearing a jacket of some sort. A jacket, especially with a collar, sends the message of competency, capability, and a business mentality. Slacks or trousers and a shirt or blouse should be of good quality, fit you well, and flatter your shape. Accessories should be the best quality you can afford, in a color that flatters your skin tone.

Acting the part of an expert means speakers who are presenting to an audience need to be aware of their posture, hand gestures, facial expressions, and all body movements. The best way to see what you are doing is to record yourself while practicing and speaking to an audience. Make note of any body language that is a distraction to the audience hearing your message. Then rehearse those affectations out of your delivery.

Be authentic. Don’t try to imitate another speaker or someone else; be yourself. You want to build trust. In your opening, tell a short story about a time when you were vulnerable or not at your best, but overcame an obstacle. Then talk about what you learned from that situation. Ask the audience if they’ve had a similar experience. Then tell them the point of the story. That point needs to be applicable to your core message, the reason you are speaking, the solution that your expertise offers to their needs.

Before you attempt your first venture into speaking to an audience, go to networking events, group meetings and associations where speakers are presenting. Take note of everything that works about their delivery, content, and any audience participation. Notice also what doesn’t work, what gets in the way of attendees’ learning. Write down what worked, what didn’t work, and why. How could you apply what you observed to make your own presentation better?

Before presenting for the first time to an audience at a MeetUp group or association, gather together some friends, family members, or colleagues for a practice session. Rehearse before they arrive and even record yourself to minimize nerves and distractions. Ask your practice audience to take notes and give you feedback and constructive criticism to help you improve.

When you’re ready, call local Rotary Clubs, MeetUp groups, church and community clubs, and networking events in your area to tell them you’ve got a beneficial program that you think they would enjoy. Sell yourself as an expert, but don’t expect to get paid at first.

You may, however, form relationships which may evolve into paying clients and additional speaking opportunities. Be open to possibilities while staying confident, authentic, and relevant.

Would you like to present with confidence, influence, and polished delivery to expand your success? You can, and I can help. When you are that confident expert, you will be able to make that contribution to your family, your career, to the world, that only you can give. We can make that happen. Call for a free 30 minute phone consultation: 720-933-9247.

Marian Rothschild, is a certified personal image consultant, personal branding expert, speaker and award-winning author. We help savvy business professionals upgrade their personal brands visually, head-to-toe, and authentically from the inside-out, for increased influence and polished presence. Call now for a free 30-minute phone consultation at 720-933-9247.

The alarm goes off, it’s a race to get out the door before traffic jams up, before the office opens, before the meeting starts…so much to do, so little time!

Here are some ways to save time on what takes the longest in your morning beauty routine, ladies. These are the elements of the typical weekday ritual that take the longest, and tips for how to shave off minutes:

• After-shower lotions, creams, ointments, toner, serum and gels

Tip: Instead of using separate eye cream, toner, serum and moisturizer, only use one cream for your face and one scented lotion for your body. If it’s scented, there’s no need for cologne.

• Penciling in eyebrows, highlighter, shadow, liner, and mascara

Tip: Get brows and liner tattooed on. Lightly brush shadow into the crease and apply mascara. Eyes are done.

• Concealer, liquid foundation, blush and lips

Tip: Use a brush-on mineral foundation all over the face. This takes less than a minute. When you’re in the car or on the bus, apply lip color to lips and cheeks; they should be the same color family anyway.

• Hair is the most time-consuming of all beauty regimes—combing out wet hair, applying gel or spray, blow drying, and styling.

Tip: Wash hair the night before, blow dry and style it before bed. Here’s the trick to getting the style to last the entire next day; back comb sections of hair at the roots and hit it with
some hairspray. In the morning, only brush out hair below the backcombing. Or simply twist up into a bun on top of head, wake up and finger comb for a beachy look. Every other day wear your hair in an updo—either a French twist, bubble bun, low bun, or low side ponytail. Or simply pull on a darling wig, like this super cute one in the photo!

• Picking out an entire outfit that looks and feels amazing

Tip: Spend one hour on the weekends trying on different outfits from your closet. Make sure everything fits perfectly, is clean, odor-free and wrinkle-free. Be creative and go outside your norm to reveal your unique personal style. Mix patterns, wear a scarf in a new way, mix and match separates that you’ve never tried before and explore new footwear options for more current fashion trends. Take photos on your phone and label them for each day of the week, depending on your schedule.

How many minutes can you shave off your morning routine, what will you do with all that extra time? Let us know – leave a comment below.

If you’d like help to understand your best colors, styles and shapes, learn how to apply makeup, personal shopping, or polishing your professional image, that’s my expertise. I’m Marian Rothschild, a certified personal image consultant and I’ve helped hundreds of professional men and women update and upgrade their appearance, their image, their brand. Call for a free 30 minute phone consultation: 720-933-9247. Don’t wait – Look Good Now!