Ask any fashionista if clothes are an important part of our identity and they will probably talk about how vital style is to their success. To break it down a little further and step away from high fashion and instead focus on the man in the street, how important are his clothing choices? Was Mark Twain right in saying “the clothes make the man” and has this adage been taken too literally of late? Everything that we do has a cause and effect impact on the world, so in that aspect our clothes will to some degree have an effect on how we are treated by others, but in what way?A simple example can be found at a high-end Michelin-starred restaurant. Unless your face is immediately recognisable as being wealthy and successful, it will often be your clothes that the host or waiter makes their decisions on and, if you’re not wearing the right clothes to a restaurant or nightclub, then the chances are you won’t get in. Call it ‘power dressing’ or dressing to impress, but the fact is that a man’s clothes determine how society sees him, this is something that women probably got to grips with a lot earlier than most men too.We’ve all heard the expression ‘first impressions count’, and it is absolutely true; as the average stranger takes no more than 30 seconds to assess another stranger on first meeting them, and this impression can then take up to five years to erase. You can forget the other saying ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’, as anyone in publishing will tell you that it’s the covers that make the books stand out on the shelf.Obviously Hollywood has taken this idea a little too far, with movies like Jackie Chan’s ‘The Tuxedo’, where a down-and-out cab driver’s life is turned around thanks to the discovery of a technologically advanced tuxedo, and obviously James Bond has been known to pick particular threads too. To find serious real-world examples, you don’t have to look far. Politics is full of power dressing, where subtle messages are portrayed in candidate’s clothing choice, like Gordon Brown’s persistent red tie, or George W Bush’s choice of slightly oversized suit jackets to larger his appearance. In the first Kennedy-Nixon presidential race, radio listeners favoured Nixon thanks to his authoritative voice, while TV watchers favoured Kennedy as he looked fresh-faced compared to Nixon’s tired and unconsidered choice of mens clothes.To really understand how clothes can make a man’s appearance though, you can think back to childhood fairytales like ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ or try a simple test. Picture in your head the manager of a petrol station, and then picture the manager of a successful advertising agency. The two managers might be in charge of the same number of people and earn the same salary, but they will probably be dressed pretty differently.
Personal Branding – A Way to Avoid Google Slap When Running a Home Based Business
When running a home based business, various risks cannot be prevented if caution is not properly maintained. One of the many risks associated when operating a business at home is the so-called Google slap. A Google slap is considered as a punitive action when Google finds out that the page visited by potential customers and the ads that they clicked are not related, have poor quality and takes a long time to load. The Google slap punishes home based companies by increasing the amount to be paid per click of the ad and reducing the rank of their page. This results to them having to pay more for their ads to be featured through AdWords.Naturally, Google owns the right to identify which pages make a representation of the greatest quality product and good service that is why Google slap may never be avoided. However, at present, many home based business owners who have been slapped by Google raise their arguments basing on the fact that their pages still conform to the rules and recommendations provided by Google AdWords. This means that the punishment of paying for high fees per ad click may be prohibited if you can prove your stand that the content of your page really followed the rules and regulations provided by Google. Google slap may also be avoided through personal branding.SuccessIt is a fact that one way to gain success in Google is to learn how to brand yourself. Being successful in marketing or business field is not dependent on purchasing an expensive marketing method. It is by knowing how to brand your products and services and positively position them on the eyes and minds of the public. Make sure that your products and services are branded fixedly on the minds of people and that the entire page, blogs content and articles presented within your Google site are related to what you offer. This is one way of avoiding Google slap which will be a huge help in promoting your personally branded products and services.A home based business may be constantly associated with various risks but with proper planning and through inculcating focus and determination in the hearts and minds of business owners, these will be prevented. You no longer have to worry about being slapped by Google especially if you learned the ins and outs of it and if you have created your own personal brand that continues to prove high quality.
Hip Hop Fashion Trends – Then and Now
Hip hop fashion trends are not a newcomer to the fashion scene by any means. In fact, this style has been around since the 1980′s, when celebrities like Will Smith and Christopher “Kid” Reid showed youth how it should be done. Of course, hip hop fashion trends have evolved over the past two decades as tastes and styles have changed to correspond with the culture of the time. The following will offer you a brief but colorful history into the world of hip hop, with some of the current fashion design today.Early Hip Hop In the 1980′s, major brand names became synonymous with the hip hop fashion trends. Brands like Nike, Adidas and Clark shoes were sported with leather bomber jackets and brightly-colored track suits. Sports jerseys were a hot commodity, with Will Smith showing them off in his hit television show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire. This was the time when heavy gold jewelry and large sunglasses came into play, creating an image of wealth and luxury in the hip hop culture of this time. In the latter part of this decade, MC Hammer and other rappers introduced hip hop fashion trends like baggy pants and baseball caps.The Gangsta Look In the 1900′s, hip hop fashion trends shifted to the gangsta look in the fashion of the Los Angeles Chicano gangsters. This style sported baggy pants that were worn low and without a belt, shirt tails hanging outside the pants and bandanas on the head. In the midst of this fashion trend, designers were also providing something that the youth of this time liked, and brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Polo and Nautica also came into vogue. At this time, hip hop fashion trends evolved into urban streetwear, with names like Mecca USA, Lugz and Rocawear coming into play.Flash and Bling The turn of the century saw hip hop fashion trends switch to flashy ensembles and bling bling jewelry, made popular by the likes of Jay-Z and The Hot Boys. High end designers like Gucci came onto the hip hop scene during this time as well. Today, the hip hop look has toned down somewhat, with hip hop fashion trends that are more tailored and professional – preppie hip hop, if you will. However, since the hip hop fashion trends are primarily embraced by youth, this style will always be cutting edge and separate from the fashion mainstream. After more than two decades on the fashion scene, it appears that this trend is more than just a trend – it is a fashion icon that is here to stay.