Special Event Style without the Freakout

When you have a big event, like a public speaking gig, photoshoot, wedding, or important work meeting, the way you address what to wear can really make or break the experience. If you’ve ever found yourself at the mall on the day before your event, you know exactly what I mean. You wait til the last minute to think about what you’re wearing because you’re busy preparing for the event, and find yourself lost and hopeless in a sea of options, but each option just seems wrong and you don’t even know where to begin or what shoes would go with your top pick outfit. You might grab the one thing that seems to work because you ran out of time, and notice before you go on stage that the button is pulling on your blouse, and you are distracted, half thinking about your boob falling out during your entire speech.

I’ve always said it takes way less time for me to build you an entire wardrobe than to find you that one perfect outfit. The process of finding a wedding dress takes months, right? And you know you’re only looking at wedding dresses! Finding the perfect outfit for your Ted Talk can take forever too, because there are just so many more options for what you can wear—there are no “ted talk dress” magazines to thumb through. Your biggest asset for special event dressing is time. Of course, sometimes these things do come up quickly, so it never hurts to think of these next few things so you’ll be more prepared when the last minute arrives.

1. Background/lighting. What colors are you likely to be surrounded by? If you’re doing a TedTalk you usually can’t wear red or orange because it will clash with the prominent logo, and if you’re doing a photoshoot in a neutral room, you might want to think about what would make your presence stand out.

2. Physicality. Do you run hot or cold? Will you be assaulted by air conditioning in the TV studio (always so cold in there) or will you be outside in the summer? Are you self-conscious about your arms or your knees? Answering these questions will get you a list of requirements going, and having requirements will narrow your field of options, which can help you focus on what will work.

3. What is your favorite go-to outfit formula? If you tend to favor certain silhouettes or cuts, there’s no reason to stray from what works for your special event. If you know a halter style top makes your shoulders feel balanced and strong, that showing your waist is typically what keeps you from feeling frumpy, and that you stand more confidently in a block heeled shoe, you can focus even more clearly now.

If you don’t give yourself enough time, you’re more likely going to end up distracted by your boob, and if you don’t consider your surroundings, you might blend into the backdrop, and if you don’t prepare by asking yourself a few questions, you’ll struggle to find what does work. Honing in on these three elements will help you stay in tune with what options to begin looking for.

If you’ve allowed yourself time and did a little soft-focusing on what colors and styles to look for, you can take it even further by integrating the message of your talk with your outfit, adding a little bit of your personality to the look, or subtly inserting some of your values into what you’re wearing.

What do you want people to notice about you? What message is your talk meant to convey? Your professionalism, your uniqueness, something complicated that only you can deliver coherently? You can take cues from your own personality and messaging and integrate them into what you wear so that your message and your image can support you. If you want to be respected in the tech world but have something a little offbeat to offer, you might want to combine the structure and confidence of suiting with a more unique twist, a wilder color, embellishment, or shoe pairing. If you’re telling a story or your message is a bit more vulnerable or personal, you might choose softer colors, shapes, or textures.

What happens when you have a vision but don’t actually see the options you’re looking for on sale in the usual places? I have been helping a client find some options for her professional photoshoot, and have run into the challenge of shopping for colors that simply aren’t on sale this season. Shopping is heavily seasonal, and if you’re looking for pieces that are usually on sale in the winter, but it’s summer, you’re going to have a hard time finding a lot of new pieces to choose from.

If you’ve given yourself enough time, but struggling to find options, using resale sites like The RealReal, Poshmark, Threadup or even larger discounted stores Saks off 5th or Nordstrom Rack will lead you to more unique pieces that aren’t available in your usual spots. What’s more, if you’re heavily photographed in one specific piece, you might not find a lot of inspiration to wear that piece again (I’m thinking of you, bright orange blazer from a magazine spread I once did), so it might make sense to spend a little less on the outfit.

But of course, if you’re low on best tricks, you can always enlist the help of me! I have a special event service which isn’t listed on my website that can take you through the vision and shopping phase of event prep, and if you give us enough time, just imagine the results!