FASHION REPORT HOW TELEVISION AND MAGAZINES AFFECT THE WAY WOMEN DRESS by Cathy Berger Fashion magazines have been around since the mid-1800s and style TV shows like “What Not to Wear” for over a decade. We can’t readily change our facial features, height or build but we can change our look by the clothes we wear. After all, our dress and appearance does impact how others view your image, a plus or negative in today’s competitive business market. International super model, and “Project Runway” TV host and executive producer, Heidi Klum’s well known motto is “Image is everything,” and for good reason. Your image is your passport to the world. It tells people in an instant who you are and how you perceive and feel about yourself. Fashion, taste and style - commonly interchangeable words yet they’re quite different elements. After all, Fashion is a material expression of the current times garments offered by designers and retailers who feel will
sell. Taste is the preference for a particular design and ranges widely to the extent that the “best taste” is usually considered one’s own. And Style is the most complex derivative of clothing and expression. Funny enough, what really influences a woman’s wardrobe more than any style show or fashion article is seeing a star or royal wearing a trendsetting piece on you guessed it - TV or in a magazine. The Duchess of Cambridge and future Queen of England, Kate Middleton, wore that famous blue wrap dress at the announcement of her engagement and the stores couldn’t keep them on the shelves. Whatever they’re wearing, the important thing to consider is to make sure that the little blue wrap dress complements your body type. Don’t follow fashion trends that are not suitable for your build, age, career and lifestyle. Being properly groomed and wearing clean, unwrinkled clothes are far more important than keeping up with the Kardashians. • Cathy Berger Fashion Societé fashionsociete.com cathy@fashionsociete.com 8
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