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A Return to Elegance

Written by: Gloria Starr

Article Overview: In a world of average what are you doing to raise the bar and set yourself up for greater success?

A Return to Elegance

The dot.com companies are suffering, business casual has turned into weekend casual and sloppy dressers have crossed the line too many times. Wall Street is rethinking the dress code, yacht and country clubs are hiring me to rewrite their dress code, party dresses for little girls are in and women are ready to look feminine again!

I've never been an advocate of slavishly following fashion however, wonderful things are happening. With the Return to Elegance, clothing is becoming more luxurious, dinner parties more lavish, men more dashing and women more feminine.

So, it is out with those clunky heels and old lady shoes and it is in with the low cleavage and slender heels. I'm speaking about shoes here men, not dresses. Pant suits are out, skirts and dresses are in . It is out with the dark, harsh colors in nail polish and lipstick and in with light and approachable looks. Femininity is back! It is out with the stodgy rep ties in heavy fabrics and in with the light weight silk ties in patterns so irresistible that I can't resist touching. It is out with the Docker pants and in with the pleated dress trouser.

So, if you have more " dash than cash "......

MEN: a few great ties and to ensure the best possible choice, bring the jacket with you when shopping. Throw out those boring socks and splurge on the wonderful new looks in subtle patterns and colors. No white or loud patterns in socks. Cuff links, tie pins and suspenders are in for a truly dashing look.

WOMEN: More feminine styling in business suits, sheer stockings (Hanes Silk Reflections make a great choice), softer fabrics in dresses and glamorous evening dresses are back.

Dress to be memorable. Dress to conquer the world and strike a profile for profit. When I say that clothing can make you look good, what I'm really saying is that it makes you look authoritative, powerful, rich, reliable, responsible, friendly and other traits that are meaningful to you and others in business and social situations.

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Article Tags: dress for success, fashion, wardrobe Gloria Starr



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5 Entrepreneur's success stories - My local paper's business section profiled 5 successful entrepreneurs in the Jan 6, 2008 issue of the paper. Thought I'd share just a bit of it here. Bill and Heidi Dittmar: Executive Lifestyle Jeff Wassmer: Spectrum Deloise Hawkins, Star Whitaker and Lenzy Hill: Touch of Elegance Stephen Brosius: Advanced Door Systems Pam Watson: Goodrich and Watson Insurers Bill and Heidi Dittmar: Executive Lifestyle founders of a magazine called Executive Lifestyle. Started in 1991. Revenue has grown more than 200% since 2004. 4 full time, 3 part time employees "We started off with $1,000 and a stupid idea." It began as This Month, a guide for tourists, and morphed into Executive Lifestyle. Jeff Wassmer: Spectrum Company specializes in computer network security and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. Wassmer was an 11-year Air Force guy, so he had "ins" in order to form this business. Deloise Hawkins, Star Whitaker and Lenzy Hill: Touch of Elegance Founded business in 1994. 12 employees. Their company designs and plans an average of 25 events each month in Hampton Roads and other parts of Virginia. Stephen Brosius: Advanced Door Systems Started company in 1995. 5 full-time employees, plus subcontractors. After having worked as a subcontractor for others in the construction business for 20 years, he decided to start his own business. Pam Watson: Goodrich and Watson Insurers At age 49, she was approached by an insurance colleague to buy out their employer's insurance division. They did so, and became employers themselves., witj 4 full-time people.
Re: When do you process online orders? - [quote="OmnivoreInk":21q56s98] If I may speak as a customer, I expect anything I order to be sent out the next day! Of course, all I ever order are books from used books dealers on Amazon.com.... I've also ordered a few things from Ebay and again, as soon as I pay - and I pay immediately, I expect that item to be winging its way toward me... I hate to speak ill of my sex, but the only problems online retailers have are, *I* think, with women who buy clothes and then send them back! I think 90% of women who buy stuff from catalogs do that! (I used to work at a catalog phone center and half my calls were from women wanting to get a Return Authorization Number so they could send stuff back...).[/quote:21q56s98] Hi OmnivoreInk, While I agree with you, I don't think that woman are the problem, the big problem is buy clothes out of a catalog without trying them first. Women just buy more.
Re: When do you process online orders? - [quote="BuzzAroundBooks":2aypnt64]I'd like to ask when do you process an online order? The reason I ask is because I'm sure there are many customers who change their minds and request refunds, exchanges, address/payment changes or wish to make additions/subtractions to their invoices. So if you're an online retailer of any sort, what is the best amount of time to wait before processing an order and shipping it out (to avoid future hassles/customer adjustments)?[/quote:2aypnt64] If I may speak as a customer, I expect anything I order to be sent out the next day! Of course, all I ever order are books from used books dealers on Amazon.com.... I've also ordered a few things from Ebay and again, as soon as I pay - and I pay immediately, I expect that item to be winging its way toward me... I hate to speak ill of my sex, but the only problems online retailers have are, *I* think, with women who buy clothes and then send them back! I think 90% of women who buy stuff from catalogs do that! (I used to work at a catalog phone center and half my calls were from women wanting to get a Return Authorization Number so they could send stuff back...).
Betting on the law of averages - Dale Carnegie says "As the years went by, I gradually discovered that ninety-nine per cent of the things I worried about never happened... The most famous insurance company on earth-Lloyd's of London-has made countless millions of dollars out of the tendency of everybody to worry about things that rarely happen. Lloyd's of London bets people that the disasters they are worrying about will never occur. However, they don't call it betting. They call it insurance. But it is really betting based on the law of averages...don't happen nearly so often as people imagine" ("How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" 67 & 68). In the past, I think I spent an additional $130 for "3 Year Return to Depot Service and Technical Support" when I bought my Dell laptop and $30 for 2 years of replacement protection for my glass desk. While I've had to call Dell for technical support for my laptop on a few occasions, I've yet to replace any glass panel on my desk.
Seeking Angels: Australian FMCG retail and distribution - GroCo.com.au is our online grocery endeavour aimed at plugging the gap between the existing A$900M and potential A$2.2B Australian domestic market size in the online grocery market. The A$71.9B domestic fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) retail industry is currently 70% dominated by only 2 players: Woolworths and Coles. GroCo will establish its online grocery retail store, market and deliver to a fixed area within Melbourne to start. Warehousing as well as cold-chain and ambient logistics will be managed in-house. Staged expansion that follows will see the business operating across the entire Melbourne within 1.5 years, and nationally by 2015Q1. Forecasted turnover is A$858M per annum by fiscal year (FY) 2015 with a net profit margin of 3.1% after tax, and A$1,689M by FY2020 with a net profit margin of 4.9%. Five year net present value (NPV) based on cash flow less 30% corporate tax is A$19.3M, and for ten years is A$283.6M. Compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in five years is 31.0%, per annum and for ten years is 124.3% per annum. Return on investment (ROI) for five years is 3.9x and for ten years is 56.7x. GroCo can be successful in the online grocery market space as it will address several pertinent issues such as price-points, limited stock range, unsatisfactory logistics, supplier ire of retail monopoly, and existing web store usability problems. This business can be successful also because it starts on a clean slate without any conflict of interests as do the major players with retail property investment interests. The business can be built in the short-term by emulating the range and price points set out by existing retailers. However, long-term success and differentiation strategy that needs to be implemented include developing alternative income streams, range diversification and expansion, driving ultra-small package distribution efficiencies, and creative discounting. GroCo has in the last 6 months established the commitment of circa 100 local and international suppliers to support our business model and to trade directly. The business can thus start-up and start trading within 2 months of securing funding. Market assessment, business feasibility and financial projections over 10-years are also complete. 7 key persons are willing to forego their comfortable senior professional careers to join GroCo upon startup. Expertise of these men and women include general management, financial operation and management, purchasing, importing, trading, information technology (IT) as well as marketing. GroCo is seeking A$2M in startup funding in return for a 40% equity stake in the company, neg. Participation from the investor is optional. The investor may opt to divest or remain with the business after a five year period. Funds will be put towards hiring, infrastructure, marketing and inventory. Full business plans and financial projections available subject to signed confidentiality undertaking. Contacts: Vincent Tan (vincent@kossel.com.au and +61 449 950 795)


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