With professional dress trends becoming less formal, I’ve had more than one client seeking help to dress comfortably & have a personal style, while keeping their look professional and geared for success.

When I met Jan, a client that came to me in the early days of my business, she was beyond ready to be comfortable in her dress needs. Having returned to Kalamazoo to open her own company, she had just left the corporate world of required structured suits, heels, and the ‘all forbidden’ pair of pantyhose. She was ready to establish a style that worked for her in a relaxed and comfortable look, with the occasional need to step up her dress for a corporate meeting.

Jan was in a place that many professional women may find themselves today – with most days requiring a smart-casual to a business-casual look, and the occasional need to dress things up. Many professional women in management and leadership roles (or aspiring to them), the need to meet and grow trusted relationships, walk confidently into a boardroom or successfully manage those on their team, require dialing in and growing a confident professional style.

When working with Jan, services began as all of our style services do: by learning specifics about HER…a color analysis (yes, having your “colors done” still applies today!), a personal style assessment, and a closet audit consultation were completed. We salvaged some of her basic pieces, added a few new key garments and then showed her how to punch up/personalize her look with scarves and interesting jewelry.

Next, we looked at her appearance needs specific for growing and selecting garments for her new professional dressing needs.

Here are some of KDI Consulting’s top tips that helped Jan, and can help you too when dressing for comfort, style and success:

• Know and understand who you’re going to be working with, where, when and why — also what you want to achieve.
• Determine what types of dress are appropriate for you professionally. (E.g., What is your corporate culture? What stage are you at
• in your career? How do you want to be perceived by others?)
• Be true to yourself. Take the time to think about and understand your style traits, best colors, preferences and what clothes you actually feel most comfortable in.
• Grow clusters of garments that work together, beginning with two or three core colors (e.g., navy, grey, brown/taupe or black) that can serve as a foundation to build from.
• Decide how you’d like to finish your look: shoes, grooming, makeup, jewelry and other accessories.

Dressing for comfort might take only a few simple wardrobe tweaks or it might be your time for a big transformation. Whichever it may be, know that even big change doesn’t need to be expensive. Be strategic about it, know that change is good and consider enlisting the help of a professional. Jan will tell you she is glad that she took the time to discover a strategy to dressing well and hasn’t worn pantyhose since!