Fashion and Image Management

Image management is all about using your clothing, grooming, ethique, body language and communication skills to create a powerful first impression. it helps to identify and eliminate the undesired image to create a powerful image for any purpose. Image targets to each individual for grooming to perfection. It will be a direct impact on activities, profession, performance as well as in communicaton. Grooming or image appearance is essential in corporate sector for better communication as every organization expects its employee to be well dressed and well behaved. This will enhance its corporate image. The purpose of image to look attractive is universally accepted. It reflects the personality, style and self-expression. A presentable exterior matched with pleasant manners and a cool disposition is all that goes into the making of a balanced personality. Fashion and trends are related to social moods and ideas. Fashion or more precisely, the changing moods in the world of fashion adds luster and colour to our daily monotonous life. Presently, the world of fashion is fast paced, dynamic, creative and exciting. Fashion like seasons, is constantly changing. Adopting to needs, moods and desires ; moving and evolving, to create new dimensions to style personal and otherwise. TRENDS IN FASHION Age is a state of mind. With right spirit and enthusiasm, every work can be carried out whatever is interesting, no matter what you are doing. At present, age is expanding at both extremes. Today one can find, children are doing things, which normally did in their adolescence. And on the other end of the spectrum, whereas in the past, 35 40 would not be middle aged but ageing, today 40 is young. The young and dynamic women are full of verve, modern, refined, sensitive and feminine. At the age of 17, they can wear skintight jeans and at 37, they had just like their skin to fit the jean a little more tightly. They may be demure lady, coy women, lovely damsel, rosy girl, bewitching babe, captivating youth and simply beautiful. Further, age is a factor that some dont take into consideration at all. Queen Elizabeth II of England has steadfastly stuck to designs that suited her creating her individualistic style. Style is something to do with the whole person, her personality, clothes, hairstyle, way of life, make up, accessories everything. A beautiful woman becomes ten times more beautiful when her clothes complement her moods, her style, and her dreams. The greatest pleasure lies in wearing clothes that one knows flatter one rather than in following traditional fashion blindly. Owing to
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this, the traditional and cultural fashion of Indian women is now blended with ethnic and western fashion. The western comprise jeans, shirts, tops, skirts, frocks, pants, shorts, etc. these are tailored in different styles, say, loose or tight, long or short, concealing or revealing. Churidar, Salwar, Choli, gaghara and gharara are Indian dresses. The lungi or sarong of the South East is a light and elegant apparel and can be worn with a kurta or with a waist length blouse, gathered and knotted at its lower edges. All these fashions are scintillating clash of colours, patterns, styles and above all the art of dressing. Youthful times are happy times, when the beauty is at its blooming best and the world smiles at. Bold is beautiful and creativity is captivating these days. The young people are maintaining a new life style balanced by pragmatism, ambition and also tradition. This means that tradition co-exists with technology, modernization. The young consumer, both boys and girls has replaced the young citizen of 60s. They are the new generation of the urban consumer kids, the luckiest generation of India. They are the generation, who had not seen any hardship and they are sharply focused on success and challenging the permutation of its options. So it is about maximizing the opportunities and getting ahead. In addition to this, the secondary manifestation of the culture such as dress, body, aspiration life style and product awareness are certainly more modernized and/or westernized. Their dress code is simple : you are the world and you belong. It is blending of colour, light and shade, neither sad, nor cheerful, but alluring and elegant, perfect and necessary. Of course, they follow and admire traditional rituals and values. The youth gives a constant emphasis on being a saleable personality who is amiable, well adjusted and can function well to achieve professional stability as well as achievements. All this makes them more stylish, more fashionable, as well as more attractive to enrich own personality. Presently, it is presumed that there is no fat men, just bad tailors. On the other hand, there are no pudgy women, just cheaply made clothes. When clothes are brilliantly designed, cut and fabricated, it will impress that weight is reduced and refreshed youth. There is a large chunk of the middle and upper middle class, just like the elite, who can afford as well as indulge in this new life style. In addition, India has a huge backward class segment that continually apes the middle class who in turn looks for models for their dress. The working professionals want a better quality of life because of their enough disposable income that allows being more versatile. The emphasis is to feel younger and look younger. Overall the trend today is to wear something to look good and beautiful. This is equally applicable to children, young and old. Above all clothing is that fits ones definition of oneself at age whatever and makes one feel good about self. All this leads to a new concept in family, profession, in leisure and that is Image.

OUTFITS FOR THE BODY All women want to look attractive and it depends upon the type of figure. All women fit into 4 types basic figures. Each of 4 has the potential to look stylish provided they select their dresses as per the specific figure. These figures are (1) Mesomorph, (2) Endomorph, (3) Ectomorph and (4) Petite. The first type of figure is the mesomorph or the athletic body type. Women with this type of figure are of average height and are well proportioned with matching hips and shoulders and a well formed waist line. In general, the mesomorph women are active and interested in sports, mascular and heavier than she looks. When mesomorphs put on weight, it hits them either on waist or the rear end. They look short waisted and pear shaped. As because she has a tendency to look short waisted, a contrasting colour which meets at the waist may look improper. The knee length garment may make appearance shorter and the figure may look disproportionate. Any apparel of longer variety like long skirt or kameez may match with the body. This means that a waist coat, sweater of jacket may be of bigger variety. The endomorph has a soft, generous, more voluptuous figure, with a sloppy shoulder. She is usually slightly over-weight and bottom-heavy. A slight tummy adds to her curve. She has a womanly figure and gains weigh easily. When she does put on the kilos, they settle on the hips, thighs, tummy and derriere. Always, her shape will have a rounded and feminine look. With her full blown figure, the endomorphs should avoid clingy clothes that reveal every curve and bulge. Dark and warm colours will make the appearance slimmer. Loose apparels like loose jackets and kameezs will be better than tight fitted or exact fitted apparels. Smaller prints are more favourable than bigger ones. The ectomorph women are willowy, tall, slender and long limbed with a model look. This makes other envy on these women. They do not gain weight easily. They can wear all catwalk designer clothes. Monotone dressing like plain sari or single colour dress may not be suitable to enhance their personality. She will look better in outfits in contrasting colours with dramatic, stylish ensembles with vivid colours. Long, loose sleeves and tapering calf length skirts is more preferable. The petite woman has a small, slight frame and is less than average height. She has narrow bones. Because of this, she is well proportioned but in miniature small body, a narrow waist and slim hips. As she is slim, the petite woman is active and quite good at sports and other athletic activities. She often looks younger than her years because of her diminutive body. They are mostly young looking. They can
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dress like teenagers and it can be attractive. However, in workplace, they should dress in proper manner that they should look more mature. They should dress in bright colours with bigger prints or accessories of bigger size. Every woman has something about her body, which she might be like to hide, whether it's heavy thighs, a pudgy tummy or a too-round bottom. Proper selection of the garments to suit the body will enhance the look, beauty as well as style. Bottom-heavy A classic pear-shaped body has wider hips than the shoulders and round thighs. The positive aspect of this body is a shapely waist, delicate upper body and attractive shoulders and arms. Sometimes this gets mistaken for a maternity look with fuller figures. Dresses that nip in at the waist and slightly flare out over hips and thighs is best suited. They should avoid anything too tight at bottoms. A-line skirts that hit around the knee area are ideal because it draws attention away from problem areas. Miniskirts are generally a bad idea because the garments accentuate heavy thighs. Pant waists should fall somewhere below the natural waistline for a better fit. A straight or slightly bootcut leg is the most flattering. Patterned or light-colored pants may be avoided. Shorts can be tricky, but for workouts and casual wear choose lightweight, loose-fitting shorts but no bike shorts. An empire, or raised waist dress brings the eye up away from problem areas. Requisite garments like a full-skirted ball gown will hide heavy hips and thighs. The looser tops will look large all over, the tight tops will expose out of proportion to the hips. Fitted, but not skintight T-shirts with some stretch and button-front tops may be preferred. V-necks, turtlenecks and open collars all call attention to the face, which is always preferred. Jackets and blazers should modify widest point of the hips i.e., below the waist to mid-thigh, depending on the height. Jackets and blazers open for the best vertical lines may also be used. Top-heavy The apple-shaped body is usually softer around the middle and has heavier chests, with narrower hips and slimmer legs. The womanly figure can be showing off by the legs and great cleavage. Tight tops and too baggy tops that just look heavier should be avoided. Anything too tight like from pencil skirts to skintight jeans should be avoided because it will only accentuate top heaviness. The fabrics that skim the body can be opted, preferably knits and woven with stretch for a better fit. V-neck, boat neck, turtle and mock necks and shirt collars will be most flattering necklines. Full sleeves or puffy sleeves may be avoided. The bottoms can be balance with a topheavy figure with an A-line skirt that will give the look of a waist and more of an
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hourglass look. Flat-front, never pleated, pants that have a lower rise than the natural waist can also be chosen. Shorter (an inch above the knee) skirts can attract nice legs. Enhancement of Style Garments and accessories form an inseparable part of a womans in terest and stimulate her charming personality. It means much more to a woman than to a man. Men have their own limitations. The colours that look decent on men are limited. While women can gleefully drape her in any colour colour sari, a man may look odd in some of the colours. Men look fashionable in the style of their dresses as well as how it fits to their body. Fashion is unpredictable in womens world. It is the ladies who revel in and make most of the changing fashions. The colour, the style, the dress, as well as the accessories make ladies more fashionable. In addition, a woman is generally identified by her outward appearance, such as her skin colour, height, weight and the way she carries herself. Whether she clad in a sari, in jeans or pants, her feminine structure cannot be changed. The sari give the Indian women a real, perfect, natural, soft and silky appearance with glitz, colour, splendor and aristocratic, brings out her feminine grace and translates the dreams of her beauty. This also induces a festive feeling, vibrant look, gentle and enchanting ethnic touch. There are some typical innate qualities in almost every woman. A woman is blessed with an inborn tenderness manifested by her motherly charm. Her gentle look bestows her a natural grace. Her shapely body contours make her look attractive. The basic principle of Indian women is to satisfy her desire to look great and feel good and comfortable. Every woman has in born desire to look beautiful. She does her best to look attractive, chic and stunning. Some of the guidelines to enhance the personality with proper selection of the design are discussed below. One-piece dressing is tricky. A sleeveless black sheath, a soft princess seamed dress, a strapless dress with corseted top resist the urge to cover up head-to-toe: showing a little skin, whether it's bare arms or shoulders, is much more flattering. Hues that compliment most complexions are: pink, blue, white (change the intensity of these colors to suit the coloring, i.e. hot pink for darker skins, carnation for fairer, ivory for olive tones, etc.) The short necks can be elongated by means of particular hairstyles, collars and necklines. It will expose a section of the neck. So women with short neck should go in for dresses with deep Vs or round necks, which can add length to the neck. The collar dresses should normally be avoided. The saris will look pretty with such type of blouses or cholis. Similarly salwaar kameez with deep cuts can enhance the neck. On the other hand, the long neck is referred as swan neck and it is always considered
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as an asset. The western outfits will better match for this. With Indian clothes, the gazelle neck can be highlighted by means of deep neck blouses. The garment will hang from the shoulders. So the way the garment will be fixed and highlighted depends upon the type of shoulders. Broad shoulders may be more of a plus than minus. But the shoulder attention can be avoided by avoiding such type of garments, which will highlight. Narrow shoulders may go for boat necks. Jackets and shirts may be encouraged in this case also. Big bustline requires special considerations in fashion silhouette. For tall and bosomy, there may be little difficulty but it is not meant for short height. Relatively loose fitting dresses of simple design will minimize the bustline. Similarly dressing a small-busted figure does not have much problem. In this case, the visual dimensions can be added. Wearing of tight fitting clothes will highlight the bustline. But this can be hidden by means of soft fabrics. The waistline can be small, thick, short, or long. A small waistline is universally accepted as ideal. Dresses nipped at the waist as well as skirts and slacks will fit the waist. Thick waistline is more common and it will not create any problem. It is advisable not to wear tight garments. So vests, shirts and cardigans will be helpful. Short waistline people look better and comfortable in pants rather than skirts. Skirt lengths have to be adjusted properly. Long waistline have better advantages in fashion and style. Any fashion will work here. Hips, thighs and derrieres are common trouble for ladies. Indian sari hides a lot of body blemishes. The beauty of the sari is enhanced a hundred fold with the perfectly matching blouse or choli. Fashions on choli front are extremely fluid. The choli pattern should match ones physique and flatters it. A plump figure is flattered more by the square necked choli than one with the round one. The latter will only accentuate the roundness of the wearers shoulders and throat. The generously built woman should also avoid very wide boat shaped necklines. A close to throat neck, which dips deep down at the bosom, creates the illusion of a slender long neck in the wearer. Halter necks and shoulderless cholis are very fashionable. Sleeves of choli may change from time to time with the fashion trend. A sleeveless blouse is usually favour with informal wear and that of long sleeves with formal dress. Beautifully rounded arms will be more beautiful. Very thin arms or fat ones require looser sleeves. Women on heavier side should collect saris in Georgette, Chiffon or Chignon. Heavy Mysore Silk sari looks beautiful and one tends to look slimmer. Shorter women should buy saris with small borders or no borders. They should definitely avoid big borders as big borders make one look shorter. Organza, Cotton, Tissue and Tussar Sari is preferred for thin woman. These Saris gives a fuller effect. In addition, big prints may be avoided as it gives a gaudy and a huge look. Delicate print on a Sari, gives a
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delicate look. Dark colours like maroon, red, blue or brown look very good on dark women. The kameez should be a little longer in height to look taller. For broad shoulders then avoid wearing puffed sleeves. For fat arms, who cannot wear sleeveless then go in for sleeves of about 5 inches length. This will hide the flab on the arms and the hands will look thinner. Churidar looks good on long kameezs or Kurtas and it should not be preferable with short Kurtas. Chinese collar (closed neck) makes to look tall, but it should be avoided for the persons having broad shoulders. A shalwar around the naval area will pull in stomach. The impact of an individual on others is because of the impressive and attractive personality of the individual. Physical appearance, well grooming, personal cleanliness with healthy and well proportionate physique are all part of the attractive personality. In addition to this, one should wear clothes that suit ones body shape and personality. Clothes should be worn according to age. A colour that highlights the complexion should be worn more and all the accessories should either match or contrast amicably. The type of dresses and accessories one wears should also enhance the effect of total personality. Some colourful personalities carry off startling styles and colours. Basically one should dress tidily and neatly with colours and fashions that enhance own personality.