Alberta female party leaders illustrate dress for success do’s and don’ts
Are their fashion choices subconsciously hurting them in the voters’ eyes?
Recently I was interviewed by CBC radio as a corporate image consultant to critique the image of the two female candidates for the leadership of Alberta.
Similar but different
Alison Redford and Danielle Smith are two women not much different in age or in political leanings but very different in their image. Has either of them got it right? And what can we learn from them?
Consistent but bland?
Alison Redford is consistent in her brand to the point of being bland. We always see her in brownish, severely tailored, ‘mannish’ suits, (so similar some people think she only owns one suit) with pale collared shirts, wearing her signature triple strand of pearls. The pearls soften her look somewhat, but that’s a lot of work for them alone to do.
The Iron lady?
Fiscally conservative is how I would describe Alison’s clothing choices and they make her appear inflexible and a little iron lady-ish. Statesman or stateswoman like (or should that be states person like) but no pizzazz to lift her out of the background.
Vote for my outfit
Danielle Smith on the other hand appears to be a bit of a clothes-horse. Her choice of colours is bolder and she favours red, which certainly makes her clothing, if not her, standout.
Youthful premier
Danielle’s style is modern and a bit fashion forward, young and feminine. But does she look stateswoman enough for the position of premier of the province?
My advice for Allison
My suggestion is for the two woman leaders to meet in the middle. Alison could use more colour and feminine styling like collarless Chanel suiting or blouses with more colour in the mid tone range (teal blue, terra cotta, jade green) still business like and professional but with a little zing.
My advice for Danielle
With Danielle, we notice her clothing before we notice her. She could continue to select strong colours, however opting for more business like tones, like burgundy over ruby red. This would ensure that her face and not her clothing acts as the focal point. These colors will make her fashion forward styling more easy for the voters to visualize her as premier.
Other Articles:
- How important is business dress to your successful personal brand
- Executive Etiquette Power eBook – PDF
- Executive Image Power eBook – PDF
Did you see the photo Ms. Redford in today’s Edmonton Journal on page 6? Certainly a departure from her typical attire. Perhaps we are having some influence after all.
Great article Joanne!
If this were not the time for glowing first and best impressions there never will be!
You would think the PR folks surrounding these leaders would be sensitive to this important detail. Maybe someone should suggest they call you!