December 4, 2025 • 42 mins
Dressing the Part With Kate Breen: The Power of Personal Style in Thought Leadership
In this episode of 'All Things Book Marketing with Smith Publicity,' CEO Sandy Smith interviews Kate Breen, the owner of Get Dressed Go, a top personal styling service in Washington, DC.
Kate shares her experience styling executives, speakers, and professionals whose work demands an exceptional visual presence on stage and on camera.
Discussing the importance of thoughtful clothing choices, Kate highlights common wardrobe mistakes and provides actionable advice on how to dress authentically and powerfully for professional events.
Kate's process for working with clients involves deep dives into personal history, brand goals, and practical styling sessions that ensure clients look and feel their best.
This episode offers valuable insights for authors, thought leaders, and speakers seeking to elevate their brand through their visual presence.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
01:30 Meeting Kate Breen: First Impressions
02:36 The Importance of Visual Presence
04:00 Dressing for Your Brand
08:01 Common Mistakes in Professional Attire
17:13 The Power of Authentic Style
19:22 Commanding Attention Through Style
23:18 Introduction to Working with Clients
23:48 The Importance of Understanding Personal Style
25:21 Gathering Client Information and Assets
26:22 Creating a Personalized Style Plan
27:49 Shopping and Outfit Coordination
29:44 The Role of Authenticity in Style
31:53 Empowering Clients Through Style
36:25 Final Thoughts and Contact Information
About Kate Breen
Kate Breen is the owner of GetDressedGo, Washington, D.C.’s top-ranking private personal styling business. She has built a reputation for helping executives, speakers, and high-performing professionals look and feel their best in every setting. Through focused, productive styling sessions, Kate delivers immediate results for all aspects of her clients’ lives—from high-stakes presentations and keynote stages to charity events and casual weekends.
About Smith Publicity
Smith Publicity is an international book publicity firm specializing in non-fiction, business, lifestyle and thought-leadership projects. Since 1997, they have helped authors and experts amplify their voices, reach the right audiences, and make a meaningful impact through media placements, strategic campaigns, and expert guidance. For more information visit Smith Publicity.
In this episode of 'All Things Book Marketing with Smith Publicity,' CEO Sandy Smith interviews Kate Breen, the owner of Get Dressed Go, a top personal styling service in Washington, DC.
Kate shares her experience styling executives, speakers, and professionals whose work demands an exceptional visual presence on stage and on camera.
Discussing the importance of thoughtful clothing choices, Kate highlights common wardrobe mistakes and provides actionable advice on how to dress authentically and powerfully for professional events.
Kate's process for working with clients involves deep dives into personal history, brand goals, and practical styling sessions that ensure clients look and feel their best.
This episode offers valuable insights for authors, thought leaders, and speakers seeking to elevate their brand through their visual presence.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
01:30 Meeting Kate Breen: First Impressions
02:36 The Importance of Visual Presence
04:00 Dressing for Your Brand
08:01 Common Mistakes in Professional Attire
17:13 The Power of Authentic Style
19:22 Commanding Attention Through Style
23:18 Introduction to Working with Clients
23:48 The Importance of Understanding Personal Style
25:21 Gathering Client Information and Assets
26:22 Creating a Personalized Style Plan
27:49 Shopping and Outfit Coordination
29:44 The Role of Authenticity in Style
31:53 Empowering Clients Through Style
36:25 Final Thoughts and Contact Information
About Kate Breen
Kate Breen is the owner of GetDressedGo, Washington, D.C.’s top-ranking private personal styling business. She has built a reputation for helping executives, speakers, and high-performing professionals look and feel their best in every setting. Through focused, productive styling sessions, Kate delivers immediate results for all aspects of her clients’ lives—from high-stakes presentations and keynote stages to charity events and casual weekends.
About Smith Publicity
Smith Publicity is an international book publicity firm specializing in non-fiction, business, lifestyle and thought-leadership projects. Since 1997, they have helped authors and experts amplify their voices, reach the right audiences, and make a meaningful impact through media placements, strategic campaigns, and expert guidance. For more information visit Smith Publicity.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Smith Publicity All Things Book Marketing podcast,
offering tips, insights, and advice from the best in the
publishing industry.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi, everyone, welcome to this episode of All Things Book
Marketing with Smith Publicity. Sandy Smith the CEO of Smith Publicity,
and today I am so excited to introduce you to
Kate Green. She is the owner of Get Dressed, Go,
(00:32):
DC's top ranking A private personal stylist, Kate has built
a powerful and beautiful reputation servicing executives, speakers, and professional
whose work requires looking exceptional on both stage and on camera.
Kate works through focused production, productive sessions. She delivers immediate
(00:56):
results for every facet of her client's life, from high
stakes presentations and keynote stages to charity events for casual weekends.
Kate's background in theatrical costume, attention to detail to each
client's unique personality, mission and brand makes Kate uniquely qualified
style keynote speakers, thought leaders, and authors. Kate understands this
(01:22):
is my favorite part that visual presence ribs results.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
How did I do there?
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Kate?
Speaker 5 (01:30):
You did beautifully. Thank you so much, Sandy, thank.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
You great, great well well.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Kate and I met at a speaker event in Chicago
in June, and when Kate walked in the room, all
eyes were on her in the most amazing way. Her
presence and how she dressed just made her stand out
in the crowd, and once I realized what she did
for a living, it was no surprise. So thank you
(02:00):
Kate for being here, and it was such a pleasure
to meet you that I wanted to share your knowledge
and expertise and slice of how you help again thought
leaders and speakers and authors be their best self.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Thank you again for everything you just said, especially describing
meeting me for the first time. I really appreciate it,
and I really love speaking with you to Your energy
is just so generous and wonderful, and I did feel
an immediate.
Speaker 5 (02:32):
Connection with you, not just because of what we do,
but also who you are as a person.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Oh, thank you. Thank you. So you know, Publicity we
work with with with.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Authors and experts, thought leaders, and our job is to
grow their visibility for their ideas and to hopefully attract
new opportunities, whether it's new speaking, new clients, book sales,
all kinds of great ways why people want to you know,
showcase their ideas and their their their expert expertise to
(03:04):
the world. But there's an expression that it's not it's
certainly not mine, but it comes from publicity that wow,
they have a brand for radio and in today's world,
how you look whether it's on a zoom camera interview
or on stage or uh, you know, somewhere in between.
(03:26):
On the Today Show, we've had you know, many clients
on Today Show with Morning America, those kind of really
big public opportunities to showcase. You know, as as as
we talked about earlier, these professionals are so often detail
oriented on on what they're saying and their book and
(03:50):
and how they're differentiating themselves. And one piece that, as
you described is that Cherry on up is expressing they
are with their clothing choice.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Absolutely, and that that feels very foreign to a lot
of people. I have really come to understand and appreciate
how very many people look at getting dressed and it
means to an end, we.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Have to be not naked to leave the.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
House, and if we are covered, that means we're dressed
and we're done. And that is the function of clothes
A lot of the time in our culture, and you know,
American culture especially and there's nothing wrong with that. There's
certainly nothing wrong with being comfortable. Everybody wants to be comfortable.
Everybody wants to feel authentic, and many people feel authentic
(04:43):
in clothes that don't attract attention.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
It's a lot of people's worst nightmare to.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Be the center of attention when they walk into a
cocktail party, and I totally understand that. To use that
as an example of what we're talking about, I am.
My business is dressing people. I must look like I
understand how to dress myself in order to convince people
(05:11):
or to start to speak to my credibility as a
person who understands clothes and can successfully dress a human
head to toe. I am my own best billboard for that.
So that's not to say that I never leave the
house in that leisure. I live in a very casual
neighborhood and on Saturdays I am one hundred percent incognito,
as you know, just a olominent lady, which it has
(05:36):
its own delight.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
But in something as a situation like.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
That, where I am making new connections, making new impressions,
maybe meeting new clients, it's very important that I am
I think I'm wearing things that are very thoughtful for
the audience that I am meeting. Again, not to speak
about my self for too long, but this is really
(06:01):
much a case in point of sort of everything that
I do. When I went to the first event of
that group, I was newly acquainted with them, and I
wasn't familiar with who the audience was going to be,
and I'm.
Speaker 5 (06:16):
Very I dressed in a very healthy way, in sort of.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
A sort of corporate chic, but like nothing that would
have announced that I am a person who works professionally
with clothes other than that everything fit properly and was
careful for. Once I learned that these are these were
keynote speakers who are generally speaking, a bunch of.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
Extrovert peacocks, you know.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Very much experts in their field, but also very much
people who want to be noticed in very crowded spaces,
I thought, Okay, the next time I see these people,
I can really just let it fly and be fully
in my stylist persona. So I have lots of inches
on this thought tree here, but one of them is
(07:03):
that when I'm talking to people about how to dress
for their brand, or how to dress for their book
tour or whatever, it is that their goals are. Professionally,
one of the things that we're looking at is who
the audience is. Having a good understanding of who your
audience is help to calibrate those decisions. So within taking
(07:26):
a book tour as an example, one person's book tour,
where there is a theme of.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
The book that we're looking to echo through the clothes.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
What the person is actually wearing to the events is
going to vary based on whether they're speaking to a
crowd of fifteen hundred HR professionals or whether they're at
a small dinner party of eight potential investors. All of
those things are part of the puzzle about what clothes
(07:59):
will work the best for your brand and for whatever
it is that you're marketing.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
And what do you see a like mistakes that someone
like this is making. Are they wearing the same outfit
to every event or they want to feel comfortable and
they're not ready to kind of step into who they
could be. And what are some of the mistakes that
(08:26):
you are excited to fix.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Oh, I'm so many okay, okay, we go so okay,
mistakes I'm excited to fix. One is the biggest one
is not considering this as important. That is the biggest one. Okay,
your clothes speak before you.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
Say a word, before people have a chance to read
your book. You are and this is not shallow, I think.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
I think clothes and physical appearance gets a bad rap
for being shallow in a marketing context. Especially it is
the lowest hanging fruit and the best kept secret at
the same time.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
That you are fully in control of. And it's.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I understand that getting dressed, shopping, thinking about this, understanding
it is laborious for a lot of people.
Speaker 5 (09:20):
That's why I'm here.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
But to dismiss it as being unimportant, I think is
a really big mistake, especially when you're looking at this
significant amount of investment financially, time emotionally that you're putting
into everything else that you're doing as a keynote.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Speaker or an author.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
To treat your clothes as an afterthought really undermines all
of that other work and investment that you're making. So
that would be one mistake. Another day, I think is
thinking about what you wear on stage and on camera
the same way that you think about what you might
(10:00):
wear to your sister's baby shower or on a date
with your spouse. There are things that register as awesome
in person that don't work on a stage.
Speaker 5 (10:14):
An example of this is how many clients I.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Have come to me after they've seen footage of themselves
on a panel where they are mortified because they're wearing
a dress that's like the consistently their favorite dress, but
the way that it hangs when they're sitting, or the
way that it rides up is not something that they
were prepared for, especially from being photographed from maybe a
(10:40):
little lower interest. Those sorts of things are where my
background as a costume designer really comes in handy, because
when when you're on stage there's so many it's not
just the way that closees behave that makes it different
than the way that close behaves socially, but it's how
(11:02):
you feel on stage is much different than it is
when you're interacting one on one with people at cocktail parties.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
Or conference rooms or whatever. There's a nerve.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Aspect to that, you know, like an adrenaline piece, which
I feel like often goes haywire. In clothes, you know,
things come untucked, and you know you slip in the
pair of heels that you've never slipped in before. So
part of what I work with people on is how
to minimize the likelihood of those kinds of mistakes that
(11:31):
then wind up following you forever in your today show
footage or your social media or whatever. You know, things
that are relatively easy to call out ahead of time
and prevent.
Speaker 5 (11:41):
That's that's part of it.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
So the mistake there is that not all clothes are
created equal. That you feel powerful and great at a
business meeting does not translate to the same right on
a TV interview or up on stage and giving a excsion.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
You're not being filed at a business meeting.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
You are being filmed and photographed from a whole bunch
of angles when you're on stage, and understanding what the
clothes that you're wearing are going to do when you're in.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
That situation is really important.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
So I always suggest, as dorky as people find this
to Jordan like excessive, that just like an actor has
a dress rehearsal, as many dress rehearsals before opening night,
I really encourage my clients to do full dress rehearsals.
Speaker 5 (12:27):
In their complete outfits, undergarments.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Shoes, the whole shebang, with a camera that is approximately
at the height where they anticipate their audience is going
to be do the speech, sit down, stand up, shake hands,
watch yourself from all these angles, and watch what the
clothes are doing, and you can catch things that are
some of the most frequent and egregious wardrobe malfunctions that people.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Have on stage.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Sure, and especially as have the camera sit as an
audience member, the versus the camera view that might be
used for other things, and you're up on the big
screen wraps behind the main stage.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
And what are some of the mistakes.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Is it like a dress that's to share or is
it a jacket that's too tight or colors?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Like what are some of the things.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
That you're helping people find, Like, oh, this was not
a flattering angle because as you said earlier, I'm sitting
at a stage and the cut of the dress is
not covering what you might think it's covered when you're
stand up. Like, what are some of the things that
you might suggest changes to You.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Pretty much nailed most of them right there. So the
skirt too short in the big one, which can be
corrected not just by wearing longer skirts because that's not
for everyone, or wearing pants, but the way that you sit,
sitting more forward on the chair, than backward on the
chair looking at Kate Milton.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
Is a great Yes. My mother taught me.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
My mother was a huge angle phile, and she taught
me very early on that like a ladies, that's like this,
that you're not crossing your legs over the knee, you're
always crossing them at the ankle. So like example, does
that because it helps keep your spurt positioned properly, and
generally speaking, it's a more flattering angle and it prevents
that sort of back of by angle that you get
(14:25):
when you look at a lot of panels a lot
of times with women. For men, it is the shirt gapping.
I see that a lot where we're from the side,
you're seeing the undershirt or god forbid, the bare chest
from the the shirt topping. There are a couple of
workarounds for that, but they're that's the one for men
(14:47):
in general, I think on stage are off. Usually it's
that things are too big. Men tend to wear things
that are just much much much too big for them.
That's getting a little better now. I think custom suits
have become more popular. I don't see that as much anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Thing men just want are used to Unlike women, men
are used to being comfortable all the time, where where
we're used to being a little comfortable.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Right, yeah, exactly, exactly anybody. I hesitate to say this,
but like anybody who has ever felt fully amazing in
something that they warn, which is really not everyone. I
work with a lot of people who it's completely unfamiliar
the idea that they might feel empowered in clothes.
Speaker 5 (15:31):
So I get to be around often.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
With people who are experiencing that for the first time,
and then it's like there's no going back, Like once
you have seen what it feels like, it's very difficult
to go back to how you felt before. But it's
not that that has to entail being uncomfortable. I think
what it is is that it entails effort, which is
(15:54):
something that that people tend to be reluctant about.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
And I work with them.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
On that because I understand, and this is why I
call my business Get Dressed Built. People want to just
get out the door, like you, get this part over
with and then go do the.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
Thing that really matters to them.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
So efficiency has to be a part of for most
people what I'm working with them on.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
But the intention behind.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
What you're wearing for these events that really matter is
sometimes you need help, but you have to outsource that,
like what that would even mean or what the execution
of it would would entail.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
But it is so so worth it.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Not just in terms of how people perceive you, and
I do think that that is very important, but.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
It's also how you feel.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
It is.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Really the clothes are the only thing.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
That touches you all day long, and you want your
clothes to be telling your body who you are as
a person, how you value yourself, something that things that
feel good to you, that reinforce your own belief about yourself.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
This is another way.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
That I am kind of wool about clothes, but I
really believe in their power to do that. I've just
seen it so so many times. I did just think
of one other thing that I feel like is a
big mistake. This is my last one.
Speaker 5 (17:22):
I wanted to do a nice three.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
I love the three is that people and I do
think that this is something that is more typical in
America than it is in other countries.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
That we tend not to as much as we talk about.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Valuing individuality in practice with clothes, in a lot of spaces,
we value fitting in and looking like everyone else. So
I worked for a long time when my daughter was little,
I had worked in finance and big law, and it
(18:03):
was amazing how many times I was in a meeting
with men who were dressed identically. In finance, the variation
would be their fun socks, you know, like otherwise.
Speaker 5 (18:13):
It really was a.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Uniform all the time, and even with women in finance,
it tended to be the same. And I do understand
the value of that, because there is something about in
the corporate world showing that you understand the culture and
the job they fit into. That that is a part
of your branding as a corporate professional, as a speaker,
as a thought leader, as a writer. We got to
(18:38):
let go of that because you are recognizing that you
are the talent in this scenario, even if you're in
you're speaking to a room full of finance professionals. You're
doing that because you have already achieved respect and authority
as a finance professional and now you are bringing something
else to the table. So I'm not ta talking about
(19:00):
dressing that you're coming in a David Bowie costume, like you're.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
Not like way outside of it.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
But I always talk about this kind of thirty percent
idea that you as the talent, are looking to elevate
yourself sartorially thirty percent outside of what everyone else is doing,
so that across the room and the party after the speech,
people can find you. People You're remarkable for some reason.
(19:27):
I'm very very early on with my business, I dressed
a CEO of an organization for their big annual conference.
It was like a five day event. I went down
with her to dress her for the whole thing, and
I got to sit in on panels and keynote speeches
and stuff during the conference. There were a lot of
(19:47):
people speaking at that event who were corporate executives who
came on stage looking like they would if they were
at any given board meeting, including with her organization. But
they did a They had a celebrity come on for
an interview at one point, and the person from her
organization who was interviewing a celebrity came out to introduce
the celebrity, and when this woman walked out, everybody putted
(20:12):
her fork and knife out, you know, like people stopped
talking turned around to see what this woman was going
to say.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
And it was because she broke the mold.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
She just looked like an interesting, unusual person in this
in this very very corporate space, she was obviously fully
embodying herself, her style, her or her manner of speaking,
which you didn't know because she hadn't already started speaking,
but she already commanded she did. She commanded attention. She
(20:44):
didn't lose respect for commanding attention. Quite the opposite. She
demanded it by daring to look different than everyone else
who had come on the stage before her. M h.
And again that this only works if it's authentic to
who you actually are and who your message actually is.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
But it's it's oh powerful.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
It goes back to you know your your kind of
mantras that visual presence drives results. And the result was
she wanted people to pay attention, listen, yes, and to
put down your fork, stop the chit chat conversations, and
now you have my undivided attention simply because of what
(21:26):
she looked like in her clothing choices.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Right, and because she could shown up so authentically and
fears which really am so.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
With your mistakes being people need to understand that this
is an important decision that they're doing every time they
make a choice for their clothing, that they've got to
it shouldn't be an afterthought, and that you need that
dress rehearsal to make sure that it's appropriate in the
application of what you're using, especially on stage or perhaps
(21:56):
on on camera. And that three that it's okay, hoy
to go. It's not just okay, but you're saying go
outside your comfort zone of what is expected as the
typical arena, because you want to be noticed if you're
if you're out there as a speaker, as a thought leader,
as an author, it's it's not going.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
To do you any good to blend in right exactly.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
And I just want to in a little bit that
it's not so much about going outside of your comfort zone. No,
it's like daring to embody the person that you know
you are on the inside, which I guess can require
elite outside of a comfort zone because because a lot
of people aren't doing that. They're just dressing for function, right,
(22:42):
but working with me or another stylist who really knows
what they're doing. But I do feel like this is
my very particular niche telling me who you are on
the inside, who your soul is, and giving me all
(23:02):
your speaker assets, letting me read your book whatever. In
all of that is the recipe for what your speaker
style can be.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
And I love I love that, and that I don't
want to stop you.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I want to say I'd love to take the next
question is how do you work with people?
Speaker 3 (23:25):
Okay, we've got some goals.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
I want to be that thirty percent outside the norm.
I know this is important. How do you begin working
with the speaker? Because I know we talked about this
in Chicago and it was so impressive how you do this?
And I used to started talking about it, but I
wanted to kind of set the stage here of Okay,
someone is interested in working with taate, what does that
(23:49):
look like in terms of you getting.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
To know so?
Speaker 4 (23:53):
So it always starts with just a quick kind of
get to know you call, which is then followed up
with my questionnaire, which is so important to me because
it goes into a lot of the kinds of questions
that I ask when I meet someone anyway, but much deeper.
Clothes are never, ever, ever just about the clothes. Clothes
(24:15):
are accumulative lifetime of messaging and experiences that we all
have a relationship with and understanding what yours is. What
was the messaging around clothes and vanity in your family
of origin. That is very important for me to know.
Even if you think that that clothes don't mean anything
(24:37):
and that you've never said anything with your clothes in
your life, trust me, you have.
Speaker 5 (24:41):
Oh, and there's a reason that.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
You operate with clothes the way that you do, whether
you're into them or not.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
All of that, I want to.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Know, music, you listen to, all of what you do
on the weekends, Your favorite place is to vacation. All
of these give me a picture of what really truly
lights you up, and it's an indication to me of
where what path we're going to take. And of course
in the questionnaire, there's also all kinds of stuff about like,
(25:08):
you know, what parts of your body do you really love?
Speaker 5 (25:11):
What parts of your body are you constantly trying to
are you struggling with me? And you see it in pictures?
Speaker 4 (25:15):
You know, all of that kind of borderline therapeutic sort
of information. Yeah, sounds wonderful, quite deep, all really important.
And then for the UH speakers and thought leaders that
I work with, then it is just sending me all
the all the assets. So a lot of people come
to me having already having a website, already having had branding,
(25:38):
colors done, speaker reels, you know, press footage, all of
that sort of stuff, and I want to review all
of that to get a sense of what I think
is coming across in the current photos and.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
All of that sort of thing.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
An audit of what sort of a sort of an audit, Yeah,
definitely where a lot of times when I in the
next step, I'll talk about what's currently happening and then
what the opportunities are in that same sort of framework.
So like, here's your current picture of you, like having
a cup of coffee with a client, and.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
This is what you're saying.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
And then here, based on your brand, based on all
the other stuff that you're doing, is what I think
you should be wearing, and you have a cup of
coffee with the client picture that would align better with
the rest of your messaging. But to walk back a step,
so once about the intake questionnaire and all of the assets,
then I'm combining who you are as a person with
(26:34):
what your product is and basically pitching the idea of
where we're going with your speaker style, which is an
hour long virtual session where I'm sort of unveiling it
the way that your graphic designer did, or your website
designer did when they were coming up with their first
batch of ideas, and then from there, depending on the
person that I'm working with, some people just run with
(26:58):
There's enough direction in there and enough kind of aha
moments that someone who already has a personal shopper, or
who has a spouse who's really good at this, or
who is really motivated to go and find someone to
take care of it, you can assemble the wardrobe on
your own without further help from me. But then I
have clients who stay with me through the whole process
where I'm shopping for them, I'm assembling the outfits. I've
(27:20):
even gone so far as far as to coordinate outfits
to events.
Speaker 5 (27:25):
Across a book tour.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
The first time I did this was so extensive, but
it was because she was traveling to like six cities
at a time and lots of different temperatures, being with
lots of different people, trying to do it like in
a carry on, which was.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
Not always successful.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
But you know, getting those logistics sort of sorted out
is the kind of finest level of detail that I
get into with some clients. But it all depends. Every
plan is different. It all depends on their needs.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
You and I know when we talked in Chicago, you
mentioned that you will go shopping and then some clients
come to you and you try things on and I
say yes, no, maybe, and really helping them like be
their professional. I'm going to call it professional front like
(28:13):
that friend that and trust there, like I don't need
I don't need politeness, I need honest to.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
Get and defensive humor, which is very helpful in those scenarios.
But yeah, where we shop depends on the client, and
a lot of it depends on the style. A lot
of it also depends on the size of the client.
Brick and mortar stores are really only set up for
very standard size people, so for people who are shorter
or taller, or bigger or smaller, often it's ultimately more
(28:43):
efficient for me to source it from all whole bunch
of different places and do what I call a homeoutique
in my house or the client's house, where everything is
set up there that we need to make all the
outfits that we've been talking about, And it is like
a shopping experience because there's some things that you're keeping in,
some things that are being returned, but it's all there
in one space, which makes it much more efficient and painless,
(29:09):
especially for people to whom the idea of shopping for
multiple days.
Speaker 5 (29:13):
Or multiple hours is just incredibly tiring.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Yeah yeah, but but either way, it takes a lot
of the guesswork out of it because I'm doing the sourcing,
so you know, likelihood for success is much better than
it is if you're trying to do it on your own.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Sure, and then when when someone comes out in an
outfit or you know, a whole ensemble that you put together,
you can then make that guidance is if this is working,
is it not?
Speaker 3 (29:39):
And why?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
And the practicality of it too will hold nicely in
the suitcase, if the carry on and and on all
that that good stuff, And as you said earlier, is
it bringing your authentic self and communicating to your target
audience what you're what?
Speaker 5 (29:59):
Right?
Speaker 4 (30:00):
Right, So anything that I've chosen will fall into those categories.
Like you'll be walk into an addressing room looking at a
rack full of stuff that feeds to your brand. Alright,
all this stuff is already pulled together, So then the
next thing is to figure out what are the outfits
head to toe. I'm always only working head to toe,
never piece by piece, because that's where the wheels come
(30:21):
off for a lot of people. And just to reframe
a little bit what you just said, I always dress
clients away from a mirror, so I call it barbiing them.
I am like getting them dressed incomplete outfits where they
can't see what's going on, because I think, especially for women,
we are so judgmental without our bodies and so quick
(30:45):
to shut something down that may just need a tweak
here or there. I want to do those tweaks on
the client before we can then go to the mirror
and talk about how the client feels in it and
whether or not the outfit is successful.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
And there's a lot of coach also involved in why
or why not it's successful.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
So part of what I do, even I call those
civilian clients who are not necessarily public speakers, is learning
why some things work well on you consistently and why
some things don't. To try to again sort of streamline
the process of choosing clothes that are successful.
Speaker 5 (31:20):
That gets a little into the weeds, but it's very.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Go on in the dressing room because you're not just
giving them a beautiful wardrobe that will work for them.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
And their brand.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
But you're also sounds like giving some guidance so that
when they are shopping on their own after they have
a sense of what works for their their unique body
structure type, all the different components age, you know, proportions. Yeah, absolutely,
so that they become better at understanding their brand and
(31:55):
themselves and what works.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
Because fundamentally, my whole is to help people feel empowered
by clothes instead of demoralized by them, and to not
dread getting dressed every time they go at the house
or on camera or whatever. To just understand what they're
doing to make it a quick, pleasant, productive experience. So
(32:20):
any of my packages inevitably involve a lot of coaching
on how to make that happen, just to take the
guess workout and make it, you know, sustainable for the
rest of your life, whether you're on stage or not.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
And I know that some people, and I don't mean
to pick on men here that might not have a
natural interest in fashion, not all, of course, but I
overheard you in Chicago giving one of your clients some
really good tips on the jacket and sports coat and
(32:54):
how to wear it and what and when he was
going to film, and just giving him that for a
little polish that he might not have naturally been paying
attention to.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
Right or naturally care about, you know, but ultimately everybody cares,
especially in these things that wind up being legacy representations
of your brand. You know, you may forget which button
is supposed to be done or not the next time
you go to dinner, but like having gotten it right
on camera for this thing that's going to last you
the next five years is priceless.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
It's priceless to do that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
So seeing you in action and the care that you
gave to that gentleman as he was, you know, going
into I'm assuming a very expensive you know, filming of
who he is and representing his brand, he looked phenomenal
and you just did like one or two little tweaks
and he was like thank you, and off and off
he went to how he was presenting and and I
(33:52):
didn't know this gentleman, but he looked so confidente and happy,
and you could tell he was nervous because he's going
to do something, yeah, but you could tell that he
felt comfortable and.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
Well, thank you for thank you for noticing that. Actually
the photographer after that session with him came up to
me and said that he had done a photo shoot
with that same person a year ago before he worked
with me, and he said that he was a different
person this time in the photo shoot that he that
he just seemed so much more confident, so relaxed, that
(34:23):
it was just like an entirely different experience. And you know,
there's lots of lots of things that could contribute to that,
a better mood, you know, there's a.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Million things, but I'm going to give it his outfits. Okay,
all right, we did look he looked fantastic and just
your kind of extra whispering on the side to reinforce
I'm sure the messages already gave him until he stood
a little taller, you know, just just walking in with
with confidence and it was really fun to see you
(34:52):
and your magic. I'm sure lots of work behind the scenes,
as he was then going off to hopefully make great
photos that again are going to last few years. And
you use them as as we do in publicity on
in my use on a book cover, you use it
on your speaker, really use that on your social profiles.
(35:14):
You know that that photo, that image how you look,
carries so much weight as as people get to know
you and to ultimately in this world to trust you
and so that that's that's a big that's a big
part of it. And to remember you.
Speaker 5 (35:33):
Right exactly, Yeah, and to trust to use.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
That authenticity and.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
Yeah, that's where the authenticity piece come. It's so so
important that you I think there are there's the perception
and to some degree the truth that there are a
lot of stylists who will dress you in something that
looks good, you know, but like from a technical perspective,
it looks good and send you on your way. But
(36:01):
you know, we've all been in a situation where we've
been wearing something and just felt weird in it. You
just feel wrong in it. It's you know, it's uncomfortable.
You're pulling at it like something about it just doesn't
feel right. The pictures are terrible. You just you wish
that you'd warned something else. When the clothes are really
aligned authentically to who you are as a person, that
(36:21):
that really doesn't happen.
Speaker 5 (36:23):
That's when you really shine the way that you saw.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
That that Yeah, absolutely so, And I know we're going
to wrap up here in a minute or so. It
seems like Kate, you are I'm trying to get a
percentage here. You know, maybe fifty percent you know the
costume designers, stylus expertise, maybe twenty five percent you know,
(36:47):
branding marketing expertise, and maybe twenty five percent psychology.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and maybe take those two a little
bit and.
Speaker 5 (36:59):
Humor, yes, yes, and definitely with a dash of humor
for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:05):
Someone I just I recently worked with wrote a recommendation
on LinkedIn that said that the qualities that I bring
to this are the same as as a good therapist.
And I'm very cautious about that because I'm not a therapist,
and like, I don't like it's best to come to me,
you know, with a with a solid grounding in who
(37:27):
you are as a person. That's where the cherry on
top comes in. But the depth of understanding a person
and then pulling it through the clothes is so gratifying
for me as a stylist. But it's also just so
to see it sort of open someone, uh, not just
(37:48):
to the possibility of what clothes.
Speaker 5 (37:49):
Can do for them, but of.
Speaker 4 (37:54):
That feeling of joy and empowerment and really living in
yourself that that eludes so many people their whole lives
to have to have things that make you feel like
that is just really profound and really valuable, and you
know it can be life changing in a little way,
in a.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
Lot of way.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
And that must be so satisfying to you, because yes,
you could help someone very surfacely walk out the door
and feel better, but to know the depth of knowledge
and care that you take for each of your clients
and to see that transformation must be so personally satisfying.
Speaker 5 (38:33):
It is wonderful.
Speaker 4 (38:34):
I still get bumps when it happens in the dressing
room and there's like, it's so funny because there's a
particular posture that people take in the mirror.
Speaker 5 (38:43):
Where I'm like, that is it? That is it? And
that's and I'm getting.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
Goosebumps even just telling the story right now, But I
get goosebumps when it happens in the dressing room where
you just see somebody being like, right, like, this is it?
Speaker 5 (38:59):
This is it. It's so good. And then it's so
fun because once you hit.
Speaker 4 (39:03):
That and it's quite it's much easier to repeat that
and do it over and over and over again and
have that as sort of the the benchmark of what
you're headed for.
Speaker 5 (39:15):
Does this dress make me feel like that noble? Then
I'm not getting that dressed.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
Is you know you've you've felt it once, you can
feel it again and again and again.
Speaker 3 (39:23):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I think that this is more than a cherry on top.
This This seems like an essential for people who are
truly investing in their you know, their personal brand, their
thought leadership. It must take your game from a C
or B to a bush when you have this this
(39:44):
final kind of ice, ice on the cake, cherry on
the top. But it really is, it's more than that.
It is it is kind of a completion of a
whole journey you have for all the years that you're
you're getting your knowledge, your research, passion, your expertise, building
your brand, building your keynote building, writing your book, getting
(40:06):
your content out there, building your audience, and then showing
up in a way that's authentic, memorable, trustworthy and let's
have some fun, right fun? Life is this is hard work,
you know, putting yourself out there. And I love that
this also translates not just to work.
Speaker 3 (40:26):
But to every aspect of your life.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Yeah, because that's that's that's how how we operate today.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
There's no real work and home.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
It all kind of blends espectually for people who are
out traveling.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
And speaking and new people.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
Right, Absolutely, you can't just have your work based on
so have to be definite.
Speaker 4 (40:47):
Although I do think there's some freedom for people and
feeling like in starting with the workface, because that is
sort of an alter ego, you know, like it's it's
if you're putting yourself out there in media or in
public a lot of the time, that is sort of
easier for people to understand or be excited about doing
in a way that shows up with a lot of
(41:08):
polish than dressing a lot differently when you're going out
with your girlfriends or when you're going to the grocery store.
So we can start start top down works for a
lot of people.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Well great, well, Kate, thank you for your time. I
would love you to share where people can find you.
Speaker 4 (41:26):
The easiest thing is to go to my website, which
is get Dressed Go dot com and there's contact Kate
funds all over the place to reach out to me
if you want to set up a quick call. And
I'm also on LinkedIn at get Dressed Go and Instagram,
which I'm not.
Speaker 5 (41:45):
That great at but I'm there.
Speaker 4 (41:47):
Which is get underscore dressed, Underscore go. Best thing though,
is my website site. Yeah perfect, Kate, Well, thank you
for your time. Such a pleasure to.
Speaker 2 (41:57):
Have you, and I hope that authors and thought leaders
and speakers learn something today. I certainly did and see
the value of what that next level of brand presence
really could great.
Speaker 5 (42:12):
So thank you, thank you so much for having me, Sandy.
This is really fun. Thank you great.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Smith
Publicity All Things Book Marketing podcast. To reach us and
learn about our many services, visit Smith Publicity dot com
or send us an email to info at Smith Publicity
dot com.
Welcome to the Smith Publicity All Things Book Marketing podcast,
offering tips, insights, and advice from the best in the
publishing industry.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi, everyone, welcome to this episode of All Things Book
Marketing with Smith Publicity. Sandy Smith the CEO of Smith Publicity,
and today I am so excited to introduce you to
Kate Green. She is the owner of Get Dressed, Go,
(00:32):
DC's top ranking A private personal stylist, Kate has built
a powerful and beautiful reputation servicing executives, speakers, and professional
whose work requires looking exceptional on both stage and on camera.
Kate works through focused production, productive sessions. She delivers immediate
(00:56):
results for every facet of her client's life, from high
stakes presentations and keynote stages to charity events for casual weekends.
Kate's background in theatrical costume, attention to detail to each
client's unique personality, mission and brand makes Kate uniquely qualified
style keynote speakers, thought leaders, and authors. Kate understands this
(01:22):
is my favorite part that visual presence ribs results.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
How did I do there?
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Kate?
Speaker 5 (01:30):
You did beautifully. Thank you so much, Sandy, thank.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
You great, great well well.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Kate and I met at a speaker event in Chicago
in June, and when Kate walked in the room, all
eyes were on her in the most amazing way. Her
presence and how she dressed just made her stand out
in the crowd, and once I realized what she did
for a living, it was no surprise. So thank you
(02:00):
Kate for being here, and it was such a pleasure
to meet you that I wanted to share your knowledge
and expertise and slice of how you help again thought
leaders and speakers and authors be their best self.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Thank you again for everything you just said, especially describing
meeting me for the first time. I really appreciate it,
and I really love speaking with you to Your energy
is just so generous and wonderful, and I did feel
an immediate.
Speaker 5 (02:32):
Connection with you, not just because of what we do,
but also who you are as a person.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Oh, thank you. Thank you. So you know, Publicity we
work with with with.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Authors and experts, thought leaders, and our job is to
grow their visibility for their ideas and to hopefully attract
new opportunities, whether it's new speaking, new clients, book sales,
all kinds of great ways why people want to you know,
showcase their ideas and their their their expert expertise to
(03:04):
the world. But there's an expression that it's not it's
certainly not mine, but it comes from publicity that wow,
they have a brand for radio and in today's world,
how you look whether it's on a zoom camera interview
or on stage or uh, you know, somewhere in between.
(03:26):
On the Today Show, we've had you know, many clients
on Today Show with Morning America, those kind of really
big public opportunities to showcase. You know, as as as
we talked about earlier, these professionals are so often detail
oriented on on what they're saying and their book and
(03:50):
and how they're differentiating themselves. And one piece that, as
you described is that Cherry on up is expressing they
are with their clothing choice.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Absolutely, and that that feels very foreign to a lot
of people. I have really come to understand and appreciate
how very many people look at getting dressed and it
means to an end, we.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Have to be not naked to leave the.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
House, and if we are covered, that means we're dressed
and we're done. And that is the function of clothes
A lot of the time in our culture, and you know,
American culture especially and there's nothing wrong with that. There's
certainly nothing wrong with being comfortable. Everybody wants to be comfortable.
Everybody wants to feel authentic, and many people feel authentic
(04:43):
in clothes that don't attract attention.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
It's a lot of people's worst nightmare to.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Be the center of attention when they walk into a
cocktail party, and I totally understand that. To use that
as an example of what we're talking about, I am.
My business is dressing people. I must look like I
understand how to dress myself in order to convince people
(05:11):
or to start to speak to my credibility as a
person who understands clothes and can successfully dress a human
head to toe. I am my own best billboard for that.
So that's not to say that I never leave the
house in that leisure. I live in a very casual
neighborhood and on Saturdays I am one hundred percent incognito,
as you know, just a olominent lady, which it has
(05:36):
its own delight.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
But in something as a situation like.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
That, where I am making new connections, making new impressions,
maybe meeting new clients, it's very important that I am
I think I'm wearing things that are very thoughtful for
the audience that I am meeting. Again, not to speak
about my self for too long, but this is really
(06:01):
much a case in point of sort of everything that
I do. When I went to the first event of
that group, I was newly acquainted with them, and I
wasn't familiar with who the audience was going to be,
and I'm.
Speaker 5 (06:16):
Very I dressed in a very healthy way, in sort of.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
A sort of corporate chic, but like nothing that would
have announced that I am a person who works professionally
with clothes other than that everything fit properly and was
careful for. Once I learned that these are these were
keynote speakers who are generally speaking, a bunch of.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
Extrovert peacocks, you know.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Very much experts in their field, but also very much
people who want to be noticed in very crowded spaces,
I thought, Okay, the next time I see these people,
I can really just let it fly and be fully
in my stylist persona. So I have lots of inches
on this thought tree here, but one of them is
(07:03):
that when I'm talking to people about how to dress
for their brand, or how to dress for their book
tour or whatever, it is that their goals are. Professionally,
one of the things that we're looking at is who
the audience is. Having a good understanding of who your
audience is help to calibrate those decisions. So within taking
(07:26):
a book tour as an example, one person's book tour,
where there is a theme of.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
The book that we're looking to echo through the clothes.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
What the person is actually wearing to the events is
going to vary based on whether they're speaking to a
crowd of fifteen hundred HR professionals or whether they're at
a small dinner party of eight potential investors. All of
those things are part of the puzzle about what clothes
(07:59):
will work the best for your brand and for whatever
it is that you're marketing.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
And what do you see a like mistakes that someone
like this is making. Are they wearing the same outfit
to every event or they want to feel comfortable and
they're not ready to kind of step into who they
could be. And what are some of the mistakes that
(08:26):
you are excited to fix.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Oh, I'm so many okay, okay, we go so okay,
mistakes I'm excited to fix. One is the biggest one
is not considering this as important. That is the biggest one. Okay,
your clothes speak before you.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
Say a word, before people have a chance to read
your book. You are and this is not shallow, I think.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
I think clothes and physical appearance gets a bad rap
for being shallow in a marketing context. Especially it is
the lowest hanging fruit and the best kept secret at
the same time.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
That you are fully in control of. And it's.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I understand that getting dressed, shopping, thinking about this, understanding
it is laborious for a lot of people.
Speaker 5 (09:20):
That's why I'm here.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
But to dismiss it as being unimportant, I think is
a really big mistake, especially when you're looking at this
significant amount of investment financially, time emotionally that you're putting
into everything else that you're doing as a keynote.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Speaker or an author.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
To treat your clothes as an afterthought really undermines all
of that other work and investment that you're making. So
that would be one mistake. Another day, I think is
thinking about what you wear on stage and on camera
the same way that you think about what you might
(10:00):
wear to your sister's baby shower or on a date
with your spouse. There are things that register as awesome
in person that don't work on a stage.
Speaker 5 (10:14):
An example of this is how many clients I.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
Have come to me after they've seen footage of themselves
on a panel where they are mortified because they're wearing
a dress that's like the consistently their favorite dress, but
the way that it hangs when they're sitting, or the
way that it rides up is not something that they
were prepared for, especially from being photographed from maybe a
(10:40):
little lower interest. Those sorts of things are where my
background as a costume designer really comes in handy, because
when when you're on stage there's so many it's not
just the way that closees behave that makes it different
than the way that close behaves socially, but it's how
(11:02):
you feel on stage is much different than it is
when you're interacting one on one with people at cocktail parties.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
Or conference rooms or whatever. There's a nerve.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Aspect to that, you know, like an adrenaline piece, which
I feel like often goes haywire. In clothes, you know,
things come untucked, and you know you slip in the
pair of heels that you've never slipped in before. So
part of what I work with people on is how
to minimize the likelihood of those kinds of mistakes that
(11:31):
then wind up following you forever in your today show
footage or your social media or whatever. You know, things
that are relatively easy to call out ahead of time
and prevent.
Speaker 5 (11:41):
That's that's part of it.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
So the mistake there is that not all clothes are
created equal. That you feel powerful and great at a
business meeting does not translate to the same right on
a TV interview or up on stage and giving a excsion.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
You're not being filed at a business meeting.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
You are being filmed and photographed from a whole bunch
of angles when you're on stage, and understanding what the
clothes that you're wearing are going to do when you're in.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
That situation is really important.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
So I always suggest, as dorky as people find this
to Jordan like excessive, that just like an actor has
a dress rehearsal, as many dress rehearsals before opening night,
I really encourage my clients to do full dress rehearsals.
Speaker 5 (12:27):
In their complete outfits, undergarments.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Shoes, the whole shebang, with a camera that is approximately
at the height where they anticipate their audience is going
to be do the speech, sit down, stand up, shake hands,
watch yourself from all these angles, and watch what the
clothes are doing, and you can catch things that are
some of the most frequent and egregious wardrobe malfunctions that people.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Have on stage.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Sure, and especially as have the camera sit as an
audience member, the versus the camera view that might be
used for other things, and you're up on the big
screen wraps behind the main stage.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
And what are some of the mistakes.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Is it like a dress that's to share or is
it a jacket that's too tight or colors?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Like what are some of the things.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
That you're helping people find, Like, oh, this was not
a flattering angle because as you said earlier, I'm sitting
at a stage and the cut of the dress is
not covering what you might think it's covered when you're
stand up. Like, what are some of the things that
you might suggest changes to You.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Pretty much nailed most of them right there. So the
skirt too short in the big one, which can be
corrected not just by wearing longer skirts because that's not
for everyone, or wearing pants, but the way that you sit,
sitting more forward on the chair, than backward on the
chair looking at Kate Milton.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
Is a great Yes. My mother taught me.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
My mother was a huge angle phile, and she taught
me very early on that like a ladies, that's like this,
that you're not crossing your legs over the knee, you're
always crossing them at the ankle. So like example, does
that because it helps keep your spurt positioned properly, and
generally speaking, it's a more flattering angle and it prevents
that sort of back of by angle that you get
(14:25):
when you look at a lot of panels a lot
of times with women. For men, it is the shirt gapping.
I see that a lot where we're from the side,
you're seeing the undershirt or god forbid, the bare chest
from the the shirt topping. There are a couple of
workarounds for that, but they're that's the one for men
(14:47):
in general, I think on stage are off. Usually it's
that things are too big. Men tend to wear things
that are just much much much too big for them.
That's getting a little better now. I think custom suits
have become more popular. I don't see that as much anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Thing men just want are used to Unlike women, men
are used to being comfortable all the time, where where
we're used to being a little comfortable.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Right, yeah, exactly, exactly anybody. I hesitate to say this,
but like anybody who has ever felt fully amazing in
something that they warn, which is really not everyone. I
work with a lot of people who it's completely unfamiliar
the idea that they might feel empowered in clothes.
Speaker 5 (15:31):
So I get to be around often.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
With people who are experiencing that for the first time,
and then it's like there's no going back, Like once
you have seen what it feels like, it's very difficult
to go back to how you felt before. But it's
not that that has to entail being uncomfortable. I think
what it is is that it entails effort, which is
(15:54):
something that that people tend to be reluctant about.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
And I work with them.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
On that because I understand, and this is why I
call my business Get Dressed Built. People want to just
get out the door, like you, get this part over
with and then go do the.
Speaker 5 (16:06):
Thing that really matters to them.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
So efficiency has to be a part of for most
people what I'm working with them on.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
But the intention behind.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
What you're wearing for these events that really matter is
sometimes you need help, but you have to outsource that,
like what that would even mean or what the execution
of it would would entail.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
But it is so so worth it.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Not just in terms of how people perceive you, and
I do think that that is very important, but.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
It's also how you feel.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
It is.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Really the clothes are the only thing.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
That touches you all day long, and you want your
clothes to be telling your body who you are as
a person, how you value yourself, something that things that
feel good to you, that reinforce your own belief about yourself.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
This is another way.
Speaker 4 (17:09):
That I am kind of wool about clothes, but I
really believe in their power to do that. I've just
seen it so so many times. I did just think
of one other thing that I feel like is a
big mistake. This is my last one.
Speaker 5 (17:22):
I wanted to do a nice three.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
I love the three is that people and I do
think that this is something that is more typical in
America than it is in other countries.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
That we tend not to as much as we talk about.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Valuing individuality in practice with clothes, in a lot of spaces,
we value fitting in and looking like everyone else. So
I worked for a long time when my daughter was little,
I had worked in finance and big law, and it
(18:03):
was amazing how many times I was in a meeting
with men who were dressed identically. In finance, the variation
would be their fun socks, you know, like otherwise.
Speaker 5 (18:13):
It really was a.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Uniform all the time, and even with women in finance,
it tended to be the same. And I do understand
the value of that, because there is something about in
the corporate world showing that you understand the culture and
the job they fit into. That that is a part
of your branding as a corporate professional, as a speaker,
as a thought leader, as a writer. We got to
(18:38):
let go of that because you are recognizing that you
are the talent in this scenario, even if you're in
you're speaking to a room full of finance professionals. You're
doing that because you have already achieved respect and authority
as a finance professional and now you are bringing something
else to the table. So I'm not ta talking about
(19:00):
dressing that you're coming in a David Bowie costume, like you're.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
Not like way outside of it.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
But I always talk about this kind of thirty percent
idea that you as the talent, are looking to elevate
yourself sartorially thirty percent outside of what everyone else is doing,
so that across the room and the party after the speech,
people can find you. People You're remarkable for some reason.
(19:27):
I'm very very early on with my business, I dressed
a CEO of an organization for their big annual conference.
It was like a five day event. I went down
with her to dress her for the whole thing, and
I got to sit in on panels and keynote speeches
and stuff during the conference. There were a lot of
(19:47):
people speaking at that event who were corporate executives who
came on stage looking like they would if they were
at any given board meeting, including with her organization. But
they did a They had a celebrity come on for
an interview at one point, and the person from her
organization who was interviewing a celebrity came out to introduce
the celebrity, and when this woman walked out, everybody putted
(20:12):
her fork and knife out, you know, like people stopped
talking turned around to see what this woman was going
to say.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
And it was because she broke the mold.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
She just looked like an interesting, unusual person in this
in this very very corporate space, she was obviously fully
embodying herself, her style, her or her manner of speaking,
which you didn't know because she hadn't already started speaking,
but she already commanded she did. She commanded attention. She
(20:44):
didn't lose respect for commanding attention. Quite the opposite. She
demanded it by daring to look different than everyone else
who had come on the stage before her. M h.
And again that this only works if it's authentic to
who you actually are and who your message actually is.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
But it's it's oh powerful.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
It goes back to you know your your kind of
mantras that visual presence drives results. And the result was
she wanted people to pay attention, listen, yes, and to
put down your fork, stop the chit chat conversations, and
now you have my undivided attention simply because of what
(21:26):
she looked like in her clothing choices.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Right, and because she could shown up so authentically and
fears which really am so.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
With your mistakes being people need to understand that this
is an important decision that they're doing every time they
make a choice for their clothing, that they've got to
it shouldn't be an afterthought, and that you need that
dress rehearsal to make sure that it's appropriate in the
application of what you're using, especially on stage or perhaps
(21:56):
on on camera. And that three that it's okay, hoy
to go. It's not just okay, but you're saying go
outside your comfort zone of what is expected as the
typical arena, because you want to be noticed if you're
if you're out there as a speaker, as a thought leader,
as an author, it's it's not going.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
To do you any good to blend in right exactly.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
And I just want to in a little bit that
it's not so much about going outside of your comfort zone. No,
it's like daring to embody the person that you know
you are on the inside, which I guess can require
elite outside of a comfort zone because because a lot
of people aren't doing that. They're just dressing for function, right,
(22:42):
but working with me or another stylist who really knows
what they're doing. But I do feel like this is
my very particular niche telling me who you are on
the inside, who your soul is, and giving me all
(23:02):
your speaker assets, letting me read your book whatever. In
all of that is the recipe for what your speaker
style can be.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
And I love I love that, and that I don't
want to stop you.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I want to say I'd love to take the next
question is how do you work with people?
Speaker 3 (23:25):
Okay, we've got some goals.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
I want to be that thirty percent outside the norm.
I know this is important. How do you begin working
with the speaker? Because I know we talked about this
in Chicago and it was so impressive how you do this?
And I used to started talking about it, but I
wanted to kind of set the stage here of Okay,
someone is interested in working with taate, what does that
(23:49):
look like in terms of you getting.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
To know so?
Speaker 4 (23:53):
So it always starts with just a quick kind of
get to know you call, which is then followed up
with my questionnaire, which is so important to me because
it goes into a lot of the kinds of questions
that I ask when I meet someone anyway, but much deeper.
Clothes are never, ever, ever just about the clothes. Clothes
(24:15):
are accumulative lifetime of messaging and experiences that we all
have a relationship with and understanding what yours is. What
was the messaging around clothes and vanity in your family
of origin. That is very important for me to know.
Even if you think that that clothes don't mean anything
(24:37):
and that you've never said anything with your clothes in
your life, trust me, you have.
Speaker 5 (24:41):
Oh, and there's a reason that.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
You operate with clothes the way that you do, whether
you're into them or not.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
All of that, I want to.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Know, music, you listen to, all of what you do
on the weekends, Your favorite place is to vacation. All
of these give me a picture of what really truly
lights you up, and it's an indication to me of
where what path we're going to take. And of course
in the questionnaire, there's also all kinds of stuff about like,
(25:08):
you know, what parts of your body do you really love?
Speaker 5 (25:11):
What parts of your body are you constantly trying to
are you struggling with me? And you see it in pictures?
Speaker 4 (25:15):
You know, all of that kind of borderline therapeutic sort
of information. Yeah, sounds wonderful, quite deep, all really important.
And then for the UH speakers and thought leaders that
I work with, then it is just sending me all
the all the assets. So a lot of people come
to me having already having a website, already having had branding,
(25:38):
colors done, speaker reels, you know, press footage, all of
that sort of stuff, and I want to review all
of that to get a sense of what I think
is coming across in the current photos and.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
All of that sort of thing.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
An audit of what sort of a sort of an audit, Yeah,
definitely where a lot of times when I in the
next step, I'll talk about what's currently happening and then
what the opportunities are in that same sort of framework.
So like, here's your current picture of you, like having
a cup of coffee with a client, and.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
This is what you're saying.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
And then here, based on your brand, based on all
the other stuff that you're doing, is what I think
you should be wearing, and you have a cup of
coffee with the client picture that would align better with
the rest of your messaging. But to walk back a step,
so once about the intake questionnaire and all of the assets,
then I'm combining who you are as a person with
(26:34):
what your product is and basically pitching the idea of
where we're going with your speaker style, which is an
hour long virtual session where I'm sort of unveiling it
the way that your graphic designer did, or your website
designer did when they were coming up with their first
batch of ideas, and then from there, depending on the
person that I'm working with, some people just run with
(26:58):
There's enough direction in there and enough kind of aha
moments that someone who already has a personal shopper, or
who has a spouse who's really good at this, or
who is really motivated to go and find someone to
take care of it, you can assemble the wardrobe on
your own without further help from me. But then I
have clients who stay with me through the whole process
where I'm shopping for them, I'm assembling the outfits. I've
(27:20):
even gone so far as far as to coordinate outfits
to events.
Speaker 5 (27:25):
Across a book tour.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
The first time I did this was so extensive, but
it was because she was traveling to like six cities
at a time and lots of different temperatures, being with
lots of different people, trying to do it like in
a carry on, which was.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
Not always successful.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
But you know, getting those logistics sort of sorted out
is the kind of finest level of detail that I
get into with some clients. But it all depends. Every
plan is different. It all depends on their needs.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
You and I know when we talked in Chicago, you
mentioned that you will go shopping and then some clients
come to you and you try things on and I
say yes, no, maybe, and really helping them like be
their professional. I'm going to call it professional front like
(28:13):
that friend that and trust there, like I don't need
I don't need politeness, I need honest to.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
Get and defensive humor, which is very helpful in those scenarios.
But yeah, where we shop depends on the client, and
a lot of it depends on the style. A lot
of it also depends on the size of the client.
Brick and mortar stores are really only set up for
very standard size people, so for people who are shorter
or taller, or bigger or smaller, often it's ultimately more
(28:43):
efficient for me to source it from all whole bunch
of different places and do what I call a homeoutique
in my house or the client's house, where everything is
set up there that we need to make all the
outfits that we've been talking about, And it is like
a shopping experience because there's some things that you're keeping in,
some things that are being returned, but it's all there
in one space, which makes it much more efficient and painless,
(29:09):
especially for people to whom the idea of shopping for
multiple days.
Speaker 5 (29:13):
Or multiple hours is just incredibly tiring.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Yeah yeah, but but either way, it takes a lot
of the guesswork out of it because I'm doing the sourcing,
so you know, likelihood for success is much better than
it is if you're trying to do it on your own.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Sure, and then when when someone comes out in an
outfit or you know, a whole ensemble that you put together,
you can then make that guidance is if this is working,
is it not?
Speaker 3 (29:39):
And why?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
And the practicality of it too will hold nicely in
the suitcase, if the carry on and and on all
that that good stuff, And as you said earlier, is
it bringing your authentic self and communicating to your target
audience what you're what?
Speaker 5 (29:59):
Right?
Speaker 4 (30:00):
Right, So anything that I've chosen will fall into those categories.
Like you'll be walk into an addressing room looking at a
rack full of stuff that feeds to your brand. Alright,
all this stuff is already pulled together, So then the
next thing is to figure out what are the outfits
head to toe. I'm always only working head to toe,
never piece by piece, because that's where the wheels come
(30:21):
off for a lot of people. And just to reframe
a little bit what you just said, I always dress
clients away from a mirror, so I call it barbiing them.
I am like getting them dressed incomplete outfits where they
can't see what's going on, because I think, especially for women,
we are so judgmental without our bodies and so quick
(30:45):
to shut something down that may just need a tweak
here or there. I want to do those tweaks on
the client before we can then go to the mirror
and talk about how the client feels in it and
whether or not the outfit is successful.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
And there's a lot of coach also involved in why
or why not it's successful.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
So part of what I do, even I call those
civilian clients who are not necessarily public speakers, is learning
why some things work well on you consistently and why
some things don't. To try to again sort of streamline
the process of choosing clothes that are successful.
Speaker 5 (31:20):
That gets a little into the weeds, but it's very.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Go on in the dressing room because you're not just
giving them a beautiful wardrobe that will work for them.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
And their brand.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
But you're also sounds like giving some guidance so that
when they are shopping on their own after they have
a sense of what works for their their unique body
structure type, all the different components age, you know, proportions. Yeah, absolutely,
so that they become better at understanding their brand and
(31:55):
themselves and what works.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
Because fundamentally, my whole is to help people feel empowered
by clothes instead of demoralized by them, and to not
dread getting dressed every time they go at the house
or on camera or whatever. To just understand what they're
doing to make it a quick, pleasant, productive experience. So
(32:20):
any of my packages inevitably involve a lot of coaching
on how to make that happen, just to take the
guess workout and make it, you know, sustainable for the
rest of your life, whether you're on stage or not.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
And I know that some people, and I don't mean
to pick on men here that might not have a
natural interest in fashion, not all, of course, but I
overheard you in Chicago giving one of your clients some
really good tips on the jacket and sports coat and
(32:54):
how to wear it and what and when he was
going to film, and just giving him that for a
little polish that he might not have naturally been paying
attention to.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
Right or naturally care about, you know, but ultimately everybody cares,
especially in these things that wind up being legacy representations
of your brand. You know, you may forget which button
is supposed to be done or not the next time
you go to dinner, but like having gotten it right
on camera for this thing that's going to last you
the next five years is priceless.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
It's priceless to do that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
So seeing you in action and the care that you
gave to that gentleman as he was, you know, going
into I'm assuming a very expensive you know, filming of
who he is and representing his brand, he looked phenomenal
and you just did like one or two little tweaks
and he was like thank you, and off and off
he went to how he was presenting and and I
(33:52):
didn't know this gentleman, but he looked so confidente and happy,
and you could tell he was nervous because he's going
to do something, yeah, but you could tell that he
felt comfortable and.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
Well, thank you for thank you for noticing that. Actually
the photographer after that session with him came up to
me and said that he had done a photo shoot
with that same person a year ago before he worked
with me, and he said that he was a different
person this time in the photo shoot that he that
he just seemed so much more confident, so relaxed, that
(34:23):
it was just like an entirely different experience. And you know,
there's lots of lots of things that could contribute to that,
a better mood, you know, there's a.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Million things, but I'm going to give it his outfits. Okay,
all right, we did look he looked fantastic and just
your kind of extra whispering on the side to reinforce
I'm sure the messages already gave him until he stood
a little taller, you know, just just walking in with
with confidence and it was really fun to see you
(34:52):
and your magic. I'm sure lots of work behind the scenes,
as he was then going off to hopefully make great
photos that again are going to last few years. And
you use them as as we do in publicity on
in my use on a book cover, you use it
on your speaker, really use that on your social profiles.
(35:14):
You know that that photo, that image how you look,
carries so much weight as as people get to know
you and to ultimately in this world to trust you
and so that that's that's a big that's a big
part of it. And to remember you.
Speaker 5 (35:33):
Right exactly, Yeah, and to trust to use.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
That authenticity and.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
Yeah, that's where the authenticity piece come. It's so so
important that you I think there are there's the perception
and to some degree the truth that there are a
lot of stylists who will dress you in something that
looks good, you know, but like from a technical perspective,
it looks good and send you on your way. But
(36:01):
you know, we've all been in a situation where we've
been wearing something and just felt weird in it. You
just feel wrong in it. It's you know, it's uncomfortable.
You're pulling at it like something about it just doesn't
feel right. The pictures are terrible. You just you wish
that you'd warned something else. When the clothes are really
aligned authentically to who you are as a person, that
(36:21):
that really doesn't happen.
Speaker 5 (36:23):
That's when you really shine the way that you saw.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
That that Yeah, absolutely so, And I know we're going
to wrap up here in a minute or so. It
seems like Kate, you are I'm trying to get a
percentage here. You know, maybe fifty percent you know the
costume designers, stylus expertise, maybe twenty five percent you know,
(36:47):
branding marketing expertise, and maybe twenty five percent psychology.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and maybe take those two a little
bit and.
Speaker 5 (36:59):
Humor, yes, yes, and definitely with a dash of humor
for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:05):
Someone I just I recently worked with wrote a recommendation
on LinkedIn that said that the qualities that I bring
to this are the same as as a good therapist.
And I'm very cautious about that because I'm not a therapist,
and like, I don't like it's best to come to me,
you know, with a with a solid grounding in who
(37:27):
you are as a person. That's where the cherry on
top comes in. But the depth of understanding a person
and then pulling it through the clothes is so gratifying
for me as a stylist. But it's also just so
to see it sort of open someone, uh, not just
(37:48):
to the possibility of what clothes.
Speaker 5 (37:49):
Can do for them, but of.
Speaker 4 (37:54):
That feeling of joy and empowerment and really living in
yourself that that eludes so many people their whole lives
to have to have things that make you feel like
that is just really profound and really valuable, and you
know it can be life changing in a little way,
in a.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
Lot of way.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
And that must be so satisfying to you, because yes,
you could help someone very surfacely walk out the door
and feel better, but to know the depth of knowledge
and care that you take for each of your clients
and to see that transformation must be so personally satisfying.
Speaker 5 (38:33):
It is wonderful.
Speaker 4 (38:34):
I still get bumps when it happens in the dressing
room and there's like, it's so funny because there's a
particular posture that people take in the mirror.
Speaker 5 (38:43):
Where I'm like, that is it? That is it? And
that's and I'm getting.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
Goosebumps even just telling the story right now, But I
get goosebumps when it happens in the dressing room where
you just see somebody being like, right, like, this is it?
Speaker 5 (38:59):
This is it. It's so good. And then it's so
fun because once you hit.
Speaker 4 (39:03):
That and it's quite it's much easier to repeat that
and do it over and over and over again and
have that as sort of the the benchmark of what
you're headed for.
Speaker 5 (39:15):
Does this dress make me feel like that noble? Then
I'm not getting that dressed.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
Is you know you've you've felt it once, you can
feel it again and again and again.
Speaker 3 (39:23):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I think that this is more than a cherry on top.
This This seems like an essential for people who are
truly investing in their you know, their personal brand, their
thought leadership. It must take your game from a C
or B to a bush when you have this this
(39:44):
final kind of ice, ice on the cake, cherry on
the top. But it really is, it's more than that.
It is it is kind of a completion of a
whole journey you have for all the years that you're
you're getting your knowledge, your research, passion, your expertise, building
your brand, building your keynote building, writing your book, getting
(40:06):
your content out there, building your audience, and then showing
up in a way that's authentic, memorable, trustworthy and let's
have some fun, right fun? Life is this is hard work,
you know, putting yourself out there. And I love that
this also translates not just to work.
Speaker 3 (40:26):
But to every aspect of your life.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Yeah, because that's that's that's how how we operate today.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
There's no real work and home.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
It all kind of blends espectually for people who are
out traveling.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
And speaking and new people.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
Right, Absolutely, you can't just have your work based on
so have to be definite.
Speaker 4 (40:47):
Although I do think there's some freedom for people and
feeling like in starting with the workface, because that is
sort of an alter ego, you know, like it's it's
if you're putting yourself out there in media or in
public a lot of the time, that is sort of
easier for people to understand or be excited about doing
in a way that shows up with a lot of
(41:08):
polish than dressing a lot differently when you're going out
with your girlfriends or when you're going to the grocery store.
So we can start start top down works for a
lot of people.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Well great, well, Kate, thank you for your time. I
would love you to share where people can find you.
Speaker 4 (41:26):
The easiest thing is to go to my website, which
is get Dressed Go dot com and there's contact Kate
funds all over the place to reach out to me
if you want to set up a quick call. And
I'm also on LinkedIn at get Dressed Go and Instagram,
which I'm not.
Speaker 5 (41:45):
That great at but I'm there.
Speaker 4 (41:47):
Which is get underscore dressed, Underscore go. Best thing though,
is my website site. Yeah perfect, Kate, Well, thank you
for your time. Such a pleasure to.
Speaker 2 (41:57):
Have you, and I hope that authors and thought leaders
and speakers learn something today. I certainly did and see
the value of what that next level of brand presence
really could great.
Speaker 5 (42:12):
So thank you, thank you so much for having me, Sandy.
This is really fun. Thank you great.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Smith
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