With the corona virus still looming, we are all eager for some of the changes to how we live life go away! However we are also coming to realize many of these changes may not be so temporary.  We at The Clothing Coach in San Francisco understand some of the way we interact with our clients may never be the same. One of those likely new staples, is the increasing reliance on meeting virtually. 

Zoom, Skype, Facetimes and so on…the likelihood many social clubs, company meetings, interviews and others may continue to rely on virtual meets. While we adapt to new changes, many of the same old proven  principles apply. And it’s actually becoming more important than ever to be debonair for your webinar. Here’s 3 tips to better serve your personal branding: 

1. Dress more formally– the earlier in the morning the meeting is, -the better. Depending on the type of meeting, this can be an easy win. Clearly you may be from the comfort of your own home, which is why is speaks volumes to boost your personal brand as a professional that you STILL put on a suit or even tie. The fact that you don’t need to is part of the point. This allows you to stand out without speaking and communicates confidence, respect, professionalism; and a multitude of positive attributes to have associated with your personal brand. 

2. SMILE!- You may feel alone, remember you are not. No one likes a fake smile, but it’s important to relax your brows, ease your shoulders, breathe….and just smile! This will aid your personal brand, and boost your confidence and approachability. 

3. Find The Right Angle- This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Practice with your camera and fight the right height and placement to be viewed. Of course lighting and audio is among the important details, make this routine and will it will become effortless. 

Now that we aren’t having to battle traffic, and can take a few shortcuts like…No shoes (or pants some of you) for example; we should be looking better not worse. Take advantage of this opportunity as many do not. Just because you are home, doesn’t mean you are not engaged.  Personal presentation can be the low hanging fruit to your personal brand, IF you allow it.  

Exciting times at The Clothing Coach in San Francisco! Since last summer (and despite COVID) We are honored to have received The Brick and Mortar Resilience Award by Raydiant, quoted in several publications including Lendio, brought you high quality Collabs with Top tier brands like Dope Era and The Killer Whale brand, suit and clothing giveaways and more!  We couldn’t be more grateful to be able to serve our clients and persevere through these unprecedented times. We had to give thanks and express huge gratitude to our partners and everyone who has purchased our one of a kind products, shared our work…or just plain rooted for us! We truly appreciate you! Our staff of 2 plus a few, (tailors that is) would not be here without your support, and you have made it clear….we must keep going! 

As we look towards our next chapter, we invite you to look towards yours. While we’ve been creative, our unwavering commitment to saving San Francisco one gentleman at a time remains the priority!   Have you thought about what’s next? How your presentation can help grow your network? Leverage new business opportunities? Improve your personal brand?

We realize our clients are ambitious and want an edge, or else they would just click & order and not bother with master clothiers! We just want to help guide you through non-verbal communication, and powerful confidence.  Ya we have new projects and partnerships on the horizon, and so do you! So let’s be prepared together, let’s keep going together! 

Right now we have some exclusive fabrics and hand woven art tapestries. As we look towards reemerging into the world, we can still safely serve you an experience to dazzle the senses. Guided Virtual personal shopping is now available, and we have been saving clients some serious money and even more time this year. Message us for more details, or how to shedule a call to learn more. As retailers shift to online strategies, remember so does there stock and pricing. We can help you get prepared in more ways than one, and our tailors are always on stand by.

Click to listen to our latest interview podcast 

We at the entire Clothing Coach family hope you’ve had a wonderful holiday season, as we now look forward to our favorite holiday to end it all, New Years! The end of the holiday season however means the start of a new beginning,  Everyone celebrates new years and it’s a great time some say to start over, or as we say to update and re-brand.  This is the time to upgrade and elevate in more ways than one. As you think about your goals and resolutions,  think about wardrobe as the low hanging fruit! With a few tools and understanding you can give yourself a boost of confidence to impact both inside and out.

Whether you’re in San Francisco or beyond, here’s 3 quick tips to help you take advantage of this opportunity and re-brand! 

1. Post Christmas is the best time to shop, Great deals and savings with most major brands and department stores both online, and often even more in-store as they look to clear inventory , and offset holiday returns. 

2. Just because it’s on sale, doesn’t mean it’s a good deal for you. Often understanding your needs is a big part of value. Pure price point shopping is just a recipe for over-consumption and unnecessary buys. 

3. Time to try a new style. Don’t confuse this for following a trend. Maybe your style has been to casual or too dressy for your goals. Hone in and elevate. And if your worried about how it is received, -first off, DON’T. However amongst your community and environment, you may not want your change to seem so sudden and this is the best year yet! Remember  as we spring from a pandemic, utilize the new year re emergence as an opportunity to sophisticate your presentation and re-brand.

We are all looking different nowadays any how. Let your different be better! Your not alone, find a clothing coach today and book with us!

As a clothing company, we appreciate and realize the importance of fashion. It is technically what we do. However to make it work for you, you have to understand your passions. Without understanding your goals and accepting your challenges, we can’t help you non-verbally reflect your personality to help you create opportunities. This is how you develop a personal style vs. follow a trend. Why does that matter you may ask? Well if you are still asking, your likely in need of developing your mindset; so you haven’t yet understood the importance of developing your wardrobe. 

The first step to dressing with purpose, is understanding you have a purpose and believing in it.

Similar to air and water, to function in the is world we must get dressed. Even if only partially virtually, it’s not much of a choice.  Like many things in life, the choices you do not consider carefully can be left open for interpretation. No area is this more evident than with your wardrobe, hygiene and overall personal presentation. Don’t take it seriously, and you might find others not taking you seriously. In San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, the leader in tech and virtual technology, we have led the trend in dressing down. Many have misinterpreted this into not caring how your dress; a common misconception. The dressing down of the technology sector was full of intent and care. A revolution of geeks and nerds trying to tell you they don’t care about conforming to professional dress codes. They were communicating they are the future, they can set the rules, and you can just shut up and take it, because Tie or not, suit or not, your gonna want the this tech. 

They may have dressed terribly, but they dressed with purpose, and the purpose was accomplished. 

The point has been well taken, and I’d say we’ve had enough. Which is why The Clothing Coach was destined to launch in San Francisco. A city of trendsetters and go-getters, we are back to save the city one gentleman at a time. Now that we all agree technology is impressive, and rules the world, the nerds can come out of the shadows and look their best, to complete their goal crushing. I know you prefer virtual everything, EXCEPT  a virtual partner. You see, whether it’s personal or professional goals, your presentation matters so you should consider dressing with a purpose. 

We do not live alone on an island, although social distancing might make it seem so.  We want to first and foremost feel our best, but why not share the best version of us with those we encounter? Especially those we just met, why not make their job easier? Why should they have to see through your ear wax or un-groomed neck hair? Why should they have to wonder if that stain on your shirt is fresh or more likely looks like it has been there? Let them focus on your charm, be impressed by your skill sets, talents and intelligence! Let that be the center of attention and remove unnecessary barriers.

Courtesy goes a long way, and doesn’t stop at please and thank you.  Building your wardrobe and caring for your presentation benefits your brand and community. And if you think you are doing it to please others, you certainly haven’t learned how to really please yourself….at least hands free that is. God Bless you! 

No doubt this pandemic has been a challenging adjustment for everyone. As we saw phases of re-opening businesses and cities, just to here news of delays and spikes in numbers. The impact has been strong here in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. We have great empathy and feel for anyone affected by the virus and now also the shutdown. We are doing all we can to be compliant here at The Clothing Coach and eager to open ourselves, now that we have added quality masks to our custom clothing options. 

Nonetheless, “new-normal” or not, we are going to have to venture outside again. While people are still seeing each other virtually, no doubt your probably out of your groove if as you are going out again. Haircuts are out of wack, but listen, its likely you didn’t have a style routine anyway! Let’s make the best of it and use this as a perfect time to re-brand. New hairstyle or new outfit, maybe even a new outlook; why not look undefeated non-verbally? If your ready to emerge strong from this setback,- we certainly didn’t ask for it; but maybe there’s some silver linings. Especially when it comes to your presentation, while it’s low hanging fruit, I do know it can be uncomfortable to re-brand yourself. AKA looking different! But we are only re-branding to the real you that’s been hiding that is, we can’t turn you into something you are not. But nonetheless, you may not want people to necessarily notice the changes. 

This is the perfect time when everyone is looking a bit different. Be ready to update your style and upgrade your wardrobe to match your goals; with less questions and more compliments! Personalize and internalize the process. It’s more than a shirt on your back, it’s how people see you -and how you see yourself. Confidence radiates, so might as well radiate on over towards your goals in the new world. (Really not so new!)  Find a clothing coach (if you don’t call me or stumble down to Union Square SF that is) and develop the look to pull out that personality so you can speak less, and do more. Are good looks an advantage to help ones goals? If you said yes, what if I told you that you too can have this advantage? Yes you, but it’s a state of mind. So if you said no, I couldn’t help you if my life depended on it. 

Doesn’t have to be a suit and tie, just find your personal style and develop. There is rarely a better time, at least not collectively. Now go out looking better than ever! 

It’s no surprise face coverings are becoming mandatory across the nation, and required to enter many buildings. From the San Francisco Bay Area, LA the rest of California and states beyond; everyone is covering up whether they like it or not. Here are some helpful Do’s and Don’ts that I hope are able to add some clarity. 

Please Do:

-Understand and follow your local Laws and understand where masks are required.

-when shopping for masks, your primary concern is what fabric is it made of?

-Do sanitize by regularly washing your mask in between wearing.

-Buy 2 or more and rotate within wearings.  

-Add a coffee filter or cut up Hepa bags if your mask has room for inserts.

-The CDC states masks are NOT a substitute but in addition to social distancing. 

-wear a tie on vs. elastic if you are having sizing or fit issues. 

-Spread tightly across face once.

-Support tailor shops and clothing companies making masks. 

-Buy 100% cotton or natural fiber masks. silk, cashmere, linen or variations is great.

-select layered masks, 3-ply preferred. 

Add the words ‘Do not’ before these statements:

-Wear any polyester masks.

-Wear when alone or driving.

-wear N-95’s, leave for healthcare professionals. 

-wear when damp.

-leave your nose exposed.

–Exercise with a mask.

-put style, color or logo over the fabric used. 

Our tailors are hard at work making multiple styles and types of masks, but only of the finest fibers and natural fabrics. While our shop in Union Square remains closed, we appreciate your support of our custom hand made face mask orders. If you have any questions or special requests, please feel free to reach out to us immediately, we are here to help. Thank you! The Clothing Coach SF will be back soon! 

Can you believe shirt sales for men are up 40%!? In these times? Wow! But wait a minute. It makes a little more sense when you realize that pants and bottom sales have mostly remained flat with a slight dip if anything. What does that tell me? My expert systematic clothing coach machine is crunching the numbers as you read and has come back to say: “Everyone is working from home on Skype and Zoom meetings. 20 minutes earlier they were in bed, and a quick comb of the hair and shirt is all you need. Pants!? What pants!? Coffee! Men like bare minimums.”

Well the Clothing Coach of Union Square in San Francisco is here yet again to help you step your game up! Forget the mug, and my machines stereo-typing, but keep the comb. I want you to think what it would communicate, to not just your self (motivate), but colleagues, supervisors, friends and such? When you still show up looking like a million bucks!? At 7 am!? In the comfort of your own home? Exactly! Again we don’t want to over do it, no jewelry or face masks for example. But put on a nice jacket, fresh shirt. Some of you look like we never want smella-vision to come to fruition. I know you can read me yelling at you, but trust me, -it’s for your own good.

Show your team how much you care! Nothing will stop you, even from home you are focused and ready to go. Challenges are there to be solved not feared. Heck, you may even be able to work this remote thing into a permanent gig. Seeing as your productivity isn’t impacted, and even if it did a little, it must be the covid -because you look ready to go! Non-verbal cues, are an art, no; a secret weapon in the business world. Arm yourself. Perspective is a weapon, yes even in these challenging times. 

Current shirt sales show, even in a mandatory shelter in place work from home epidemic; presentation still matters. In the Bay area and beyond. Let’s continue to customize to your goals, and remain awake when they are all asleep. 

The impact of the covid-19 pandemic has clearly impacted all of our lives. The way we interact with each other, coming out of the house for essential business only, quarantine, gaining weight no toilet paper, etc.! In all seriousness these are certainly challenging times and we are all on the same team here. It’s disheartening to hear of the lives lost and the potential to come. While I hope and pray for the best, we can all do our part by taking the health orders and recommendations seriously. 

Face masks are a great way to help limit interaction and exposure in your daily social interactions. Here in California, with all the fires we’ve had that have impacted the San Francisco Bay area and beyond, face masks were again a staple seen worn on the streets.  While N-95 masks and more professional grade masks are best in terms of safety, a protective cloth at minimum greatly minimizes exposure and transmission to air born toxicities and virus. 

With the fear of an expected shortage on masks and protective wear, the CDC and many hospitals have put out requests for tailors and others to make home-made masks.  We put our tailors up to the challenge and found we can make double panel, stylish and luxurious 100% woven or Su-pima American grown cotton. Again not as protective as masks with filtration, but it is the next best thing. While the demand has put a strain on supplies like 1/4″ elastics sold out everywhere, we use bias fabric strips that can be tied on to a more comfortable fit, and better for hand or machine washing. 

Just a bit of warm water and detergent, soak and ring mask and lay flat to dry over night. Have 2 for times like now with this corona, when you need more of a rotation and regular use. Especially when you can’t shelter in place and are out for essential business, or maybe a nice jog. Our masks are made to order so you can select a more complimentary fabric, rather than looking like the apocalypse is among us.