Why is your blog called Eligot?

The first question many people have is, Eligot?  Eligot is a play on the Latin word meaing "to select".

From the venerable Wiktionary:

eligo

Etymology
From ex (“out of, from”) + legō (“choose, select, appoint”).

Pronunciation
(Classical) IPA(key): /ˈeː.li.ɡoː/, [ˈeː.lɪ.ɡoː]

Verb
present active ēligō, present infinitive ēligere, perfect active ēlēgī, supine ēlēctum

I pluck or root out, extract.
(figuratively, of persons or things) I pick out, choose, elect.

What to wear to work: Computer Science Professor

My friend is a freaking computer science professor, people, and she is young and gorgeous.  What can she wear while she is teaching over 100 horny computer science nerds?

My friend told me that she's started dressing a little better this semester and her students are being nicer to her.  Previously she rocked a hoodie and jeans (and not the trendy kind).  

Now, I cannot definitively say that dressing better can be directly correlated with nicer student interactions, because I know she is also trying a new teaching style, and she's probably also getting better and better every semester.  But I do think that caring leads to better results.

Typical lecture outfit this semester, Fall 2014

There are a ton of positive things about this outfit.  The scarf draws attention up to the face and balances out her smaller top half.  The Prada glasses are absolutely stunning.  The pants and shoes are the same color, creating a neutral bottom.

Another lecture outfit

I think she can take it up a notch and still maintain professionalism and credibility in the land of techie hoodies and tee-shirts, without being TOO SEXY.  Which is hard, because, well, she is one sexy lady.

After - dark bottoms, attention to the face!

What a difference!  At this point her fiance walked in and demanded to know what was going on.  The sparkly necklace shows fun and style.  The polka dot collared shirt shows fun, brings the attention to the face, and the collar adds some professionalism.  Bright sweater on top brings attention to the top, balancing the proportions.

Some small tweaks: I would add dark socks to create a continuous line, and ideally, a small heel, but besides that this outfit is perfecto!

After

The classic black wrap dress.  Again, we have the scarf bringing attention to the face and balancing out the proportions.  Neutral flats extend the legs.

Classy and flattering!  She thinks this dress is too sexy to teach in, so I have some work to do finding good examples of professional ladies in wrap dresses.  Just last week a director at work was wearing the new DVF dress to a big meeting, heels, no tights, no jacket, how can I inspire my friend?

Your looks hugely impact your credibility

My mission in life is to enable YOU, gentle yet fierce reader, to bring value into the world. To make YOU more YOU, an enhanced and self-improved YOU.  It has been proven that when you look good, you feel better, and you perform better.

A study from the Kellogg School of Management finds that people perform better on a test when they wear doctor's white coats.  When the participants believe they wear artists coats, however, performance remains unchanged.  The takeway is that you must feel good about your clothes.

 “It reminds people that clothes aren’t just a device of perception, but a tool that can really affect how you perceive yourself,” Galinsky says

Analysis from the Washington Post, Match 2012

What to wear for a big meeting - power outfit

When you have a big meeting, you need to feel powerful.  The best way to accomplish this is a well tailored blazer.  Study after study finds that even fashion ignorant people can tell how much you spent on your suit. (Imagine those Times Square surveys for US Magazine Who Wore It Better?  Where they ask 100 CLUELESS tourists their opinion.)

If you don't own a power blazer, you need to invest in one pronto!!

Power blazer and skirt - needs better power necklace and shirt

The definition of a power blazer will change depending on your industry and where you are in your career. For one of my friends in marketing, that was a $500 Helmet Lang Blazer that is now her go-to.  Another one of my friends just bought a gorgeous Sandro blazer.

Traditional

What to wear on the second date

On the second date you can show some more personality, such as branching out into patterns, etc.

Maybe you will be doing some kind of activity.  You still want to remain as feminine as possible, and this means, hair down, dress, heels!  Light makeup.

 Event: Second date

Time: Work to date, Day to night
Season: Winter
Mood: Flexible, adventurous, open

Dress: A.P.C

First Date Outfit

If you are a successful career woman and single, you might be going after your love life with the same drive and determination that brought you success at work.  You might be going on a A LOT of initial dates.

For a first date, the conventional wisdom is to look feminine and conservative. You want to emphasize your strengths without over-sexing it.  Did you know that men cannot concentrate when they see cleavage?  They actually can't. I find this true for myself, so I can't even imagine how strong this effect is for men, who are more visual than women are.

Event: First date
Time: Day to night, work to evening
Season: Winter

1. Hair down - to appear girly.  Also, did you know that we release pheromones through our hair?

First date outfit - day to night

2. Wear a dress - solid color, fairly conservative.  The wisdom is that a pattern dress will make you appear high maintenance.  Also, guys love bright colors.

3. Heels - Heels are an absolute must.  I had a HUGE disagreement with a friend because she didn't want to wear heels on dates.  After her first date in flats, this guy she went on a second date with told her to wear heels next time.  He was about her height and she thought she was being considerate by wearing flats.  Plus they lived on the west coast.  Of course, they fact that he requested heels made her NOT want to wear them. I don't think they made it past the 3rd date, but lesson learned: wear heels.  no. matter. what. 

4. At most one piece statement jewelry.  You don't want to detract from your face.  Keep it simple so as to not appear high maintenance.

Guys like color!

Accessorizing makes or breaks your outfit

Last night I spent several hours putting together outfits with one of my best and of course stylish friends!  We proved some time old lessons, the main one being, to look stylish and fashionable YOU MUST ACCESSORIZE.

In addition, you should accessorize for your body shape.  Dressing for your body shape is all about creating balance.  

Work Outfits - Finance, NY.  Ambiguous business casual/business formal.  Conservative.  Some ties.  Winter.  

No accessories

My friend has a long torso so we needed to balance by extending her legs and de-emphasizing the torso.  When you have a long torso you need to extend your legs, and the easiest way to do that is dresses and belts.

Do you have a long or short torso? Do this test: Put a hand under your rib cage and if you fit your entire hand between your ribcage and hip bone, you are likely have a long torso. 

Gold pendant - A.P.C

Since her top is smaller than her bottom half, it's especially important to accessorize on the top to draw attention to the face.  

This gold pendant brings attention to the face. It's professional enough for work.

Three strands pearls - vintage

The pearls also bring attention up to the face, but I can't tell if they are too girly/traditional for my friend.

My friend usually doesn't wear jewelry but I think she's coming around...

Costume pearls (my favorite outfit)
 This personally is my favorite, bringing lots of attention to the face.