The clichéd phrase: Dress for success. Everyone has heard it, most people understand it, however, it is one of the least used tools by people. Every day, throughout many situations; first impressions are critical.

Remember, you are marketing a product -- yourself -- to each person you meet. The first thing an individual sees when meeting you is your appearance (clothing, hair, makeup, jewelry, teeth, and eyes). So you must make every effort to have the proper dress for the type of activity you are engaged in and for the type of message you want to send about yourself.

Will dressing properly get you the job/win a friend/get you success?

Of course not! But it WILL give you a competitive edge and a positive first impression.

Should you be judged by what you wear? Possibly not, but the reality is, of course you are judged.

When I was in sales, I dressed immaculately. I was always in a suit. With a skirt (as I realized I sold more when wearing a skirt...no comments on the psychology of that!).

• conservative color.

• clean and polished conservative dress shoes (closed toe)

• well-groomed hairstyle

• cleaned and trimmed fingernails (or conservative polish)

• minimal cologne or perfume

• no visible body piercing beyond conservative ear piercings for women

• no visible tattoos

• well-brushed teeth and fresh breath

• no gum, candy, or other objects in your mouth

• minimal jewelry

• no body odor (believe me, no one really thinks that because you stink—it is a sign that you work hard)

• no cleavage (that means in back, too!)

• skirt length right at knee

Later, when I was a stay at home mom—yes, I am ashamed to say—I became Miss Frumpy.

What happened? I was deceived into thinking that I was too busy to worry or I made excuses about how the children were only going to barf on me or put their sticky fingers on me anyway...so why care?

I also think because I wasn’t in the business world anymore, I felt I did not need to dress professionally.

Inside my head though, which is really ironic. Is that I saw MYSELF as a professional STILL. I was a top notch mom who educated herself about nutrition and diet, medications and treatments when her 12 year old son almost died and was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. I home schooled my children and learned about curriculum, standards, testing and measurements, and about intelligence, learning styles, and teaching.

I gave birth to six of my children at home and learned about medical procedures, the history of birthing practices, anatomy, and nursing. I read books about parenting, marriage, relationships, finance, budgeting, contracts, law, etc.

When did I stop realizing that although, I knew I was an educated professional, how could anyone else possibly guess that when I was running around dressed as a frump?

Of course, over time, as individuals got to know me, they realized that...but isn’t it better if I can SHOW them that even when they are meeting me for the first time?

Let me tell you something else, too. When you are dressed as a professional—you are treated as a professional. I like that. I like going to a store and being acknowledged and treated with respect immediately.

In a perfect world, that shouldn’t happen, however it does...so why not send the message to the world that you are professional. You are friendly. You are caring and helpful, and then viola you are treated in those ways.