NAWBO-Columbus Member Blog

NAWBO-Columbus member Shelley Menduni was the first speaker during the December luncheon.  Shelley is the owner of Professional Imagery where she works with individuals and companies as an image consultant.

Shelley started off with this interesting fact: People form opinions and make decisions within the first 5 seconds of meeting you.  So the question is, What kind of first impression do you make?  What kind of impression do you want to make?

While there are three factors in developing your presence (visual, nonverbal, and vocal), the visual component makes the greatest impact.  As you’d market a product or service, you must “market” yourself with a good brand.

She reiterated how important color was, saying that you should find colors that make you feel good about yourself.  Wear a color you feel good about, and people are sure to notice!

Christina Getachew and Shelley Menduni during the fashion show.

Your personal style is also important.  Finding clothing that is appropriate to your body shape and fits you well is essential.  Wear clothes that flatter your body, not camoflauge it.  She commented, “dress the body that you are today, not what you hope to be tommorrow.”

And lastly, she explained that a professional woman needs to know how to apply make-up properly.  It should look soft, natural, and professional, and work with the color pallete that is appropriate for not only your makeup, but your clothes as well.

Shelley ended with a great quote: “The greatest discovery a person can make is that it is possible to alter one’s life by altering one’s attitude.”

After’s Shelley’s presentation, three more NAWBO members presented a fashion show of wonderful professional cloths.  Christina Getachew of Substance, Donna Musilli of CaBI, and Sue Kantor of The Carlisle Collection provided an array of styles and explained how to match different colors, styles, etc.