Style Is Communication: The Missing Element in Your Personal Brand Bible

0:00Gary Lipovetsky: In person and on social media, do people decide who you are before you even speak? Absolutely. Within three seconds, someone has made a judgment about you based on the way that you present yourself. It sucks, it's unfair, but that's life. Can creators accidentally present themselves as smaller than they actually are online? There's a lot of creators or business owners who hide themselves from their clothing, but I think that's the piece that can actually take you to the next level. Can bad styling cost creators money and opportunities? For sure. Because you can be gifted all the clothing in the world, but if you don't know how to put it together.

0:37Gary Lipovetsky: There's a version of this conversation that sounds superficial. Fashion, clothing, outfits. But that's not this conversation. Because before your audience hears your message, they've already formed an opinion based on how you visually present yourself online. Your style communicates confidence, authority, energy, taste. And whether people should take you seriously as a creator and in real life. Today's guest, Renata Farbman, has built an audience of more than 130 ,000 followers, helping women understand something most people completely overlook. In this hyper-connected world of social media, style is communication.

1:09Gary Lipovetsky: Over the last 10 years building Valeria's brand, I've seen firsthand how intentional style becomes part of the personal brand itself. Not perfection, not pretending, not always polished, but intentional. And ironically, the moments where she showed up in sweatpants often connected even deeper because the audience already understood who she was. There's a difference between showing up and showing up without intention. One creates connection, the other creates confusion. Today we're talking about how personal style affects confidence, authority, audience perception, monetization, and the personal brand you're building.

1:39Gary Lipovetsky: Please welcome Renata Farbman.

1:44Gary Lipovetsky: Renata, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. It's such a pleasure. I'm going to jump in and I have my first question and I really want to hear your answer to this. So in person and on social media, do people decide who you are before you even speak? Absolutely. So tell me more about it. Are these conscious or subconscious evaluations? Within three seconds, someone has made a judgment about you based on the way that you present yourself. And it sucks. It's unfair. But that's life. So when your clients come to you and you work with individuals to style them, do they understand this? Or do you feel that they're coming to you more from the perspective of, I just want to look good and feel confident?

2:28Gary Lipovetsky: Or do they understand, like, let's say, for example, do you have a certain portion of your clients who are corporate clients who understand that this will affect my career? So what would you say is the split between people who are doing this? And I'm going to default to say women, because I'm guessing most of your clients are women just by looking at your content. What is the split between women who simply want to feel more confident in social occasions with their friends, with their family, and women who want the kind of the boost in their professional life. Yeah. No, it's, I think that every woman wants to feel more confident.

3:05I haven't met one that in some area doesn't want to feel more confident. And then it's also, you know, a part of it is the professional life too. For example, I had a client who every time she had a business meeting, she, you know, showed up and she was not happy with how she presented herself. She felt sloppy. She felt frumpy. She felt dated. She gained some weight and she's been hiding behind her clothes. And so in the meeting, you know, when there's a moment for her to speak up, she quiets herself and hides. And she's, you know, really missing out on serious opportunities there in growth professionally in any business for, you know.

3:53Yeah.

3:54Gary Lipovetsky: You know what? I really empathize with women specifically because from my perspective as a man, it's also important how we show up. But like in business, we have a uniform. We're either wearing like a navy suit or a gray suit, a white shirt, a gray shirt, a blue shirt, you know, and various colors. That's where we can express ourselves creatively is in like ties and socks. Right. Yeah. And so I think for women, it's just, it's so complex because it's not only like things like color, which we talked about earlier today, but it's also like the structure. Like it's, is it a suit? Is it a, you know, and, and fit, cause I've, I've been consuming your content.

4:27Gary Lipovetsky: Like fit is such a complex thing for women. I used to think it was a complex thing for men, especially with like irregular shapes. But for women, like it's super complex. From a style perspective, can creators accidentally present themselves as smaller than they actually are online? Absolutely. So do you feel that people are under-representing themselves online through their style? A hundred percent. I think that there's a lot of creators or business owners who hide themselves, you know, from their clothing, which I understand. Like, you know, it's scary to be authentic and to put yourself out there and to tap into that piece of yourself because you're standing out and you're owning the room.

5:17And that is scary. but I think that it's so powerful and I think that's the piece that can actually take you to the next level.

5:25Gary Lipovetsky: Yeah I agree with you you know from what I'm seeing when it comes to content creators is that we as creators and not just creators as entrepreneurs because a lot of the times we're entrepreneurs who are becoming content creators to be the face of our company we make a decision to put ourselves out there we make a decision to get online to get on social media in order to, you know, to have the benefits to our respective businesses. But then we're still hiding, even though we're public, like we get onto, you know, we, we start creating content, but we're still, we don't want to fully express ourselves.

5:58Gary Lipovetsky: And I think a lot of this has to do with just like a lack of confidence. Do you find that when you meet with clients initially, especially with creators, I'm sure you work with, with people who are on social media regularly. And I'm also guessing that more and more the use case of how is this going to appear on my Instagram is coming up more and more for you. Is part of what you do and part of the conversations you have talking about the confidence issue and talking about getting over that? Like, is there a mindset hurdle that you first need to get over before you can even touch the mechanics of the style and the fashion?

6:32That's such a great question. I strongly believe that it all starts here.

6:37Gary Lipovetsky: Yeah. It really does, because I work with so many women and whether, you know, and a lot of them, you know, I'm sure show up online as well. And they are hiding behind big boxy clothing. Why? In many cases, they fluctuated in weight or maybe they have conscious areas. And they believe that by hiding or wearing these boxier pieces, they're doing, you know, their body, you know, justice. and they're feeling more confident. But actually, it's the opposite. You're doing a disservice. And in many cases, you can make yourself actually bigger than you are and do a disservice. So I think a huge portion of it is learning how to dress for your proportions.

7:25And, you know, it's not your big boobs and it's not your big butt and it's not your tummy. It's the clothing. It's the clothing. It's not your body. it's really when you understand how to dress for your unique shape that is when you can truly become confident and tap into that authentic um style and that part of yourself and it's a massive

7:50Gary Lipovetsky: confidence booster so regardless of well let me ask you this because i it really there's some overlaps to how men look at this but i want to know for women so for women when it comes to their to their, I want to be sensitive in the way that I say this, but when it comes to their body shape and it comes to a certain level of fitness, quite frankly, when even, you know, when it's, when it's postpartum, when, when that happens, do you feel that through correct styling and fit, it's possible to achieve a level of comfort and confidence when in the outside world or specifically on social media, like can, can, can a certain level of confidence be achieved that will make people overall just far happier a thousand percent because yeah because my concern is that is people who women and men but women specifically who feels like they're stuck in their bodies because of certain circumstances do you feel that through the work that you do you can actually help them show up far more confidently it's it's transformational really um i had a client recently who she had twins uh she had some complications and you know for lack of a better word, she's left with a tummy that you could, you know, suggest that it might even look pregnant still.

9:06Like she just has a protruding stomach and it's not her fault. She's just got a couple conditions and she truly believed that she could never find clothing to fit her shape. She could never find pants. It's just not in the cards for her. And she was just going to live her life, you know, feeling just, just, just very low self-worth. And it was really affecting her confidence, really affecting. Um, and you know, when we found the right pants to fit her proportions, which she believed was impossible. And when that moment came and she looked in the change room in the mirror and she got emotional and we both just started crying because she just looked in the mirror and said, I just didn't think this was possible.

9:50Wow. I didn't think this was possible. And it's just about finding the right pieces. It's the right silhouettes. It's the right cuts. It's the right styles to suit your body shape, to best flatter your body shape. That's what it's all about. And it's out there for you. Whether you're a size four or a size 22, it doesn't matter. It's out there for you.

10:11Gary Lipovetsky: And do you think you probably have less experience working with men, but is the same true for men? Absolutely. Okay. Okay. Good to know. It's good to know. It's good to know. Um, just, I want to, I want to switch gears back to content creators. You as a, you, you have a unique perspective when it comes to social media, because you're going through your feed with the eye of a creator. Well, you have three perspectives, right? You have the eye of a creator. Um, you have the eye of, of somebody who is also in, you know, in fashion and can under, and can understand the fashion. And you're also looking at it as like, what is stopping you to, to get you to engage in certain pieces of content?

10:47Gary Lipovetsky: So why do some creators become visually unforgettable while others disappear in the feed? but specifically for that use case because that's what's applicable I think very much for this conversation so for the people in the live audience or the people listening or watching how do you as a creator style yourself in such a way or what is it about creators that make them visually unforgettable and gets people to stop their scroll and engage when you're looking at it from the perspective of being a stylist and a creator and a user on social media confidence Confidence. Talk to me about the mechanics of confidence.

11:26It's a journey. It takes time, but I think it's tapping into who are you? How do you want to feel through your style? What are some adjectives that come to mind? Do you want to feel powerful? Do you want to feel empowered? Do you want to feel approachable? Do you want to feel, you know, what comes to your head? And so you really need to tap into that and lean into the clothing that aligns. And I think that that is like the ultimate form of not only your authentic style and your authentic personality, but your authentic self. And I think you can show up on camera in a different way, in a really, really meaningful way.

12:10Gary Lipovetsky: there was a piece of content that you you put out recently and you were you were joking around and i believe it was your husband who was filming you and you were wearing sweats yeah yeah you were what was the top where was the top from again i remember it was like a brand but it was like that what a bagel yes and you called it a vintage what a bagel sweatshirt which is swag from a local bagel place uh here in here in toronto and i thought that was really interesting because most of your content you were so intentional with your fashion you show up in such a meaningful way. And then you gave yourself permission, which I found really, I mean, I just found it very effective.

12:45Gary Lipovetsky: And it's something Valeria has been doing for years. And, you know, it's, when it comes to content creation, this is for the benefit of all the creators here, is that I find that from an ego perspective, and again, I'm going to say this about women, because I feel it's less with men, although there are some men who are, you know, like this. But from an ego perspective, a lot of women, I feel they won't allow themselves to look a certain way, like non-intentional, not put together in sweats, not wearing makeup. They're scared. And the thing is, is that in order to really develop a personal brand, that'll kind of stand the test of time to create that real long-term asset that I often talk about.

13:25Gary Lipovetsky: You need to have the aspirational quality of looking and feeling your best and showing up, But you also want to have the approachability to be like, to allow people to connect. So my next question for you is, can creators become too polished and emotionally disconnected? Yeah, I think so. Definitely. And what's given me the most success as a creator, and by the way, I just started posting consistently about a year and a half ago. I had about 3 ,000 followers. um sorry you gained 127 000 followers in 18 months yeah wow congrats thanks that's great that's great um i think that whatever i have done um has been in raw form there if you take a look there is no crazy lighting i have like nothing fancy going on it's on the flow it's on the fly it's you know and i think that when i'm being my most authentic self and it's not too polished is when it actually becomes relatable, authentic.

14:30And that is, I think, the point that you can scale because you're really showing who you are. And when it's too polished, too produced, I just, it's just not there. Right.

14:41Gary Lipovetsky: Yeah. Right, right. No, and yeah, I think it's definitely, it's definitely about striking that right balance because I believe that you attract audience through that intention, those intentional, just really well put together outfits, many of which I see you really put together really well. And when I see that, but then you also combine those organic moments at home or, you know, whatever it is that you're doing, that's really the magic. And that's something Valeria has been doing for years. So speaking of Valeria as an example, why do you think Valeria can show up in sweatpants without weakening her personal brand?

15:23Gary Lipovetsky: because it makes her real right because it makes her real not everyone is running around in cocktail outfits 24 7 right like she's wearing her sweatpants but she's doing it intentionally too right like she's and she's herself and i think that is where you get the connection yeah and i think it's beautiful yeah i also want to add to that that it's also because she shows up when... Fall never arrives all at once. First the air, then the light, and slowly the things you love begin to find each other. A jacket meets a dress, a hoodie slips beneath a blazer, an old cap finds a new scarf. Because you don't simply step into the season, you create it layer by layer until it finally feels like fall.

16:15Find fall your way at Ross.

16:20Gary Lipovetsky: and she does show up intentionally whether it's like in a photo carousel or a reel when she does her out for the day or when we have a photographer come to the house and we're like going out somewhere for a special occasion she really leans into that when she does do it and so having that ratio where x amount of like x percentage you are super put together and you look great you can allow yourself those other times when you don't have makeup on and you don't have and And it's the combination of the two and it's finding that right, that right proportion that, that to me is where I've seen her, her really excel.

16:56Gary Lipovetsky: What do you think is the difference between authenticity? However, on the flip side of that argument, what do you think the difference between authenticity and a complete lack of intentionality is? Like, where do you draw the line to be like, if you're, if you're too not put together, is there, is there a place where you're too not put together? Yeah. I mean, I think, yeah, I think like to your point, I think you need a bit of both. You do need a bit of both. Like, especially if you want to be an ex, like if you're an expert as a creator and you, if you have a business or you're building a brand, you want to be intentional about that side.

17:28And if it is about styling, then you have to show up put together, but then you also want to show that you're human as well. So I think it's, yeah, 50-50.

17:35Gary Lipovetsky: Let me ask you this. When you have someone approach you as a client, and let's say you're consulting someone, whether it's for content creation or whether it's for just day-to-day life or corporate applications, is there a point where you have to pull someone back and say, don't try too hard? because again with your content when I look at the outfits you put together everything it feels very organic like in your outfit today it feels organic it doesn't feel it feels like you've given it a sufficient amount of effort which is the correct amount of effort but you're not trying to be like a people pleaser you're not trying to gain favor how do you how do you draw that line with your clients how do you explain that to them so for clients it's focusing on the meat of the wardrobe and that's what I always begin with when I especially when I'm starting from scratch with clients.

18:23The meat, right? The staple items that will stand the test of time. So many women are buying, you know, the seasoning, the vegetables. No, we need the meat. It all works together. It will never fail you. Then I have a concept called the third piece. So you've got, you get dressed, you've got two pieces on, you always add a third piece. So whether it's a layer, Maybe if it's too hot to layer, it's an accessory, a belt, sunglasses, shoes. That's kind of where you want to end so that you're effortless, but not over the top. And it's attainable. It's actually attainable. And so my clients can actually digest it and repeat it.

19:06Gary Lipovetsky: Yeah. When it comes to dressing for your body style, I think this is something that I keep hearing over and over again. And when it comes to content creation, you know, it's obviously very important for creators to feel that they look good on camera. So are there specific techniques or do you take into consideration thing? I mean, talking about color or textures when it comes to being on camera, is there is it separate or do you feel it's all one in the same? Like the way that you prepare people to look good on camera as creators versus the way you prepare people to look good socially or at a corporate event?

19:44I think it's the same.

19:45Gary Lipovetsky: Yeah. Yeah. I think it's like just about being authentic and not, I think we get so caught up on social media about like, oh, I need a white t-shirt and oh, I need white jeans and I need the whatever they're called in the trendy butter yellow or whatever. I need it. I need it. But you don't. You don't need it. Just kind of hone in on who you are. What is authentic to you? Not you three years ago. Yeah. Today. and just whatever makes you feel confident and works for your shape and fits and focus on that and just weed out all the noise i have a question okay so i have this i have a following question if you have a good friend of yours scratch that not a good friend if you have somebody who you kind of have started developing a friendship with and she is not wearing clothing that is flattering to her body style how do you politely tell someone that they need to make a change that's a good question it's a really good question because that would feel awkward to me because as a man it would be easy you know i just look at another man say dude that looks stupid i know i actually would never say anything i don't know i would never say anything unless they ask me really yeah you would wait even as a professional stylist yeah you should tell more people i know maybe you should because i don't want to overstep you know no i understand bad but but i think you'd be doing people a favor like you'd be doing another woman a favor if you as a stylist i have one friend for example you know she lives in black and she shops in multiples everything she buys just the same color you know 10 of them the same color so what happens is every day you look the same you're boring right there's no versatility in your wardrobe and and you know she's she's stuck in sweats too so there's a couple you know factors there but um yeah she could use it why why do so many women wear clothing that actually works against them visually is that a true statement by the way no 100 it's why do they do it 100 i see it all the time okay so first of all um they they it's safe they think that they are hiding or covering their conscious areas that's one of the biggest ones I've seen.

22:03Or it is a past version of themselves, which is a huge one too, right? Like 2016, I love florals and all I wore was florals. And so I love florals today. Well, do you? 80 % of your closet, do you? I don't know. Do I? Right? So it's just as women, we evolve, right? So the woman we were a few years ago is not the woman we are today. So you really want to make sure that your clothing reflects that because you're not going to wear it with confidence otherwise.

22:36Gary Lipovetsky: How does a woman know if something looks good on her? Besides going to a professional like yourself, how would a woman know if something looks truly flattering? If they feel confident. So confidence trumps everything. Yeah. So I could tell a woman, for example, you know, stop wearing skinny jeans. They don't serve your shape. They're dated. Whatever. you know, for example, and she says to me, but I feel confident in skinny jeans and they truly represent who I am and I love them. I will tell them my professional opinion, but then I will honor that and teach them how to wear skinny jeans today because confidence to me trumps every rule.

23:23Really?

23:24Gary Lipovetsky: Yes. Okay. So I want to talk about specifically about monetization. when it comes to content creation and styling when it comes to monetization. So brands are buying not only reach. I mean, they obviously care about how many views we all get as content creators, but they also care about the perception. So it's not just about the reach, it's about how we're perceived. So in the visual world that we're in, because of mass communication through social media, aesthetics are, they're more important for everyone. one they're more important than they ever happen even for non-fashion creators and they need and they need to even non-fashion creators need to show up so i really want to talk about the importance of being correctly styled just like we talked earlier about the importance of being having your correct colors um how it pertains not just to fashion creators but for creators across the board because i really do believe that style and fashion and especially the way that you you know that you're explaining it to people and quite frankly more so for women than men as you can see um it's it's really important it is such an important communication tool and i remember valeria was talking with uh a fairly large business creator who i won't say i won't say her name but it's somebody who most people in this room will have heard of uh this woman and she pulled her aside and she said listen like you need to start showing up You need to go get a stylist and start showing up and you have to dress.

24:56Gary Lipovetsky: And she said to Valeria, she was wearing up. My value is in what I talk about. It's about how to build businesses. It's about, you know, all of this. And Valeria said, you're still a woman. So regardless of what you're talking about, if it's business, if it's whatever it is, you have to show up and you have to be more fashionable and you have to be styled correctly. And I was, I have to say that I was so blown away by Valeria because she's talking to a person who's worth hundreds of millions of dollars literally and you know i was intimidated yeah just being in the same room as this woman yeah and my wife is telling her that she doesn't know how to dress right and she went then she got a stylist and she skyrocketed after that she was already at a massive not massive she's already at a decent scale she tripled or quadrupled her audience size within a year well i believe it because you could be talking about anything in the world right but if you are showing up on camera looking you know disheveled unpolished maybe you're looking a bit dated maybe matronly maybe frumpy yeah that's all that the person's going to focus on i agree they're not going to hear your words and what you're selling and what you're doing i'd be staring yeah well the thing is you're appealing to like if we think about what we're trying to do on social media right we're trying to in many cases we're trying to monetize right So we're trying to build careers out of it, whether it's direct monetization through brand partnerships, right?

26:25Gary Lipovetsky: Brands are going to be very, um, judgmental about your appearance and how you carry yourself from a styling perspective. But even, even if, and actually, especially if you have your own product or service. So for yourself, it's completely applicable, you know, for anybody it's, you know, it's applicable if you're working directly with the audience. and yeah, so it is ultimately important that we do keep conscious of it. We do keep conscious of how we show up, more so for women. But can bad styling cost creators? Do you feel that bad styling can cost creators money and opportunities? For sure, for sure.

27:04Because you can be gifted all the clothing in the world, right? But if you don't know how to put it together, if you're not cuffing, if you're not defining your waist, If you're not, if you don't have the right length of pant and it's the wrong tailoring, you know, if you don't add an accessory, for example, if you're not putting it together correctly, you can make the entire outfit fall flat and do a huge disservice to the brands that are watching. So it's massively important to figure out how to dress for your proportions, how to style yourself, how to put the clothes. Anyone can receive product.

27:39Right. How do you put it together so that it shows up on camera in a meaningful way?

27:45Gary Lipovetsky: Do creators need expensive clothing to look elevated? Absolutely not. These are$60 Uniqlo pants. You know, absolutely not. I work with all kinds of budgets with women. You know, we can buy entire wardrobes for a very affordable price. um i i do believe that you need to invest a little bit more on those timeless staples yeah right like a beautiful black trouser it will stand the test of time great pair of denim sometimes you need to spend a little bit more everything else you can certainly save on and for creators you know a lot of people you know you can buy do a little video in return that's an option that is something that does happen yeah that is and by the way the brands are the brands are fine with it by the way the retailers don't really care but the brands are really happy about it because as long as they're getting tagged and they're getting that you know frankly free exposure you know it's uh they're they're they're good with it um one of the things that uh i'll share kind of like a personal story on the topic of you know expensive clothing when valeria and i first got together um i was kind of going through this phase of like everything has to be lux and i've outgrown that thankfully um I mean I still enjoy nice things but it's not I don't attach my self-worth to it anymore and so when we first got together um I would say okay let's go shopping and I would of course do the silly thing of taking her to Louis Vuitton and taking her to all these places and I said oh let's buy you a shirt or whatever it is like a top from Louis Vuitton for like$1 ,500 right and she's like Gary you're so stupid like this is so dumb like absolutely not she goes it's a piece that I'm going to wear, like, it's one piece.

29:27Gary Lipovetsky: She said, don't get me wrong. I'm still going to spend the$1 ,500.

29:32Gary Lipovetsky: Pass it over. She said, we're going to go, but we're going to go, like, to Zara. We're going to go to H &M, and I'm going to buy 30 pieces. You know, why would I go with one piece? What do I care about what the inside of the label says, right? I would argue that there's a certain quality and this and that, and she goes, it doesn't matter what the quality is Cause I'm not, I'll wear this thing three times, four or five times. What's the point. Right. And so that was, that, that opened my eyes for the first time. And so I guess, does that transfer to your client? Like, are you giving that kind of advice?

30:05Gary Lipovetsky: It's like, don't, don't invest so much money into these pieces where you can get so much more, especially with, from what I'm seeing with like, with, um, with retailers and manufacturers, the products are getting much more advanced. Like I'm like myself, I don't know, Valeria, she outed me and she talked about the fact that I get Costco t-shirts and I pay like$12 for them and they're great. Amazing. It's wonderful. So do you advise your clients and basically like break things down for them and explain to them that they don't need to be spending this kind of money? Yeah. Like I have some clients that are more, you know, higher end and they're definitely like label whores and that's who they are.

30:42And, you know, it's their thing. And I work with various budgets. But I myself am not a name person. Like all my clothing kind of is nameless. It's just my preference. But in terms of them, I think that I work with everyday women. And I don't think you need to be spending a ton on those.

31:03Gary Lipovetsky: I think there's just, it's so much more affordable and accessible to look elevated online and off for women and for men than it ever used to be. It's true. it's and it's incredible it's incredible to see yeah so i think there's no more excuses you know when we make excuses as creators as well i can't afford this couture this and that and this and that it's not an excuse it's not an excuse we just i just bought for a client well we got 30 pieces for okay 20 20 500 but it was a whole new wardrobe and we're talking the bag we're talking the shoes we're talking the layer we're talking the accessories like this is it's you know what I mean like so it's definitely doable and it could be doable for less absolutely so it's it's no excuses I want to I want you to talk to me about modesty I'm going off script here I want to talk about modesty because one of the things and this is from I'm kind of jumping around a few topics here but one of the things that really attracted me to my wife when I first met her is that I mean obviously she was and still is a beautiful girl and with a great figure but the way she put herself together, she did it with such taste that she could have been much less modest and been more revealing, but she found the exact correct balance between being modest and being sexy.

32:30Gary Lipovetsky: So when your clients come to you at various kind of stages of life, do some of them say, hey, look, like I want to feel sexy. And how do you advise them to do it in a way that is tasteful or and do you have the courage to say that's a little too low cut yeah i'm being guys i'm this is what's called a creative risk what i'm doing right now for me as a man to talk about this in this environment no i love this and you know what's so funny you're saying that because women are not sexy enough for the women that i work with i have to tell you that a lot of choice I think so. And I think that most, I would say 80 % of the women that I work with are on the more conservative side.

33:11And I want to tap into their sexiness. Let's show a little, let's a little this, a little that. Life is short. You got a great body. Let's do it. Right. But I would say that it's about me kind of bringing that part out of them because a lot of times we are feeling stuck and we are disconnected between our body and how to dress it. So, no, I love that question. And if they are too sexy and there's too much going on and the clothing is too revealing and one of their goals is to be polished and more put together and maybe they want to climb the ladder in some professional manner, then I'm going to absolutely tell them to hone it in and to, you know, cover up the tatas a little bit.

33:53Yeah, sure. Right. And many times they think that the smaller they go in sizing, if I squeeze myself into tight, tight things, right? Like that's that it fits. It's sexy. It's a size eight. I used to be a size eight, you know. And so three years ago and that also is an issue that comes up to where we're putting ourselves into clothing that's too small. and then it doesn't align with how we want to show up, how we want to feel on camera, off camera.

34:22Gary Lipovetsky: I don't envy women. It's so complicated. It really is. It's the communication that's complicated because everywhere you go as a woman, and I mean, I'm observing this, everywhere women go, they have to understand or they have to take into consideration that whatever it is that they're wearing, it's communicating a certain thing. Whereas men, we don't communicate in that way. We don't communicate in a way where it's like that much visually. What I wear as a man is less important, I believe, in how I convey my value as a human being than what a woman wears and what she looks like aesthetically. So a woman's aesthetic is far more communicative than a man's.

35:05Gary Lipovetsky: A hundred percent. And so I really don't envy you guys. Like it's a real, not only in content creation, content creation specifically, but in general, it must be so tiring being a woman and having to like think everything through before you leave the house. And it's really hard. I can imagine. It's a joke. No, it's not. It's not. In content creation, we often talk about content pillars, different pillars that we have. But we don't really talk about style pillars. And I believe we should. And I believe is, you know, part of developing a personal brand Bible is talking about style pillars and talking about potentially how you would dress for certain occasions, how you present yourself.

35:41Gary Lipovetsky: Because again, for women, it's so multifaceted because, you know, if you're going to, if you're going to, if you're going to like a school event with your, you know, for your kids, you dress and you want to, um, convey yourself in a certain way. And I have to say, I've seen some women that I would question, how are you showing up to a school event? Even teachers. I once saw it like, but developing, I think style pillars is something that's important. I believe that, you know, visual consistency is important when you're talking with your clients, for those who are content creators, for those who are not, when it comes to visual consistency from like outfit to outfit, and just like we talk about, you know, consistency and messaging from one piece of content to another, do you consider when styling someone or, or do you advise someone when styling them to have consistency from outfit to outfit or do you believe that you know you can be wild and crazy one night or one day and then the next day you can be like totally conservative and there's no continuity do you consider continuity i love that i think it depends how you want to feel so i strongly believe first of all in your wardrobe working for every facet of your life i don't think that it should be segregated your wardrobe should work for every occasion um you know whether it's going to the school the work it shouldn't be segregated but I think that it's about how you want to feel so if you show up you get up sorry and you are going to a school function and you want to feel current and you but put together and maybe a little cool maybe a little edgy that's how you show up that day and if you're worse is if you're going to a professional event and you want to feel really polished and empowered and you know what you're saying that you're going to show up differently but you have to have the wardrobe that kind of serves every purpose and works together harmoniously harmoniously harmoniously harmonious oh my god harmoniously is probably something else that's yeah x-rated now let me let me ask let me ask how does someone actually develop a personal a personal style instead of just copying trends i want to know that that is good because when my wife dresses me I don't even know who I am anymore because like she's like did you see some movie star wearing yeah seriously so it's so funny you're saying this because I work with so many clients and they're like you know oh I need to have the white t-shirt and I need to have whatever it is that's trendy right um but I strongly believe in the 80 20 rule so having 80 classic and timeless and 20 % trend.

38:20The truth is you do need a little bit of trend. You do because you can look outdated. Really? Yes. But the trick is you do, you can do it in, if you don't want to go over the top, you do it in a little way. Maybe it's the accessory that's trendy. Maybe it's the shoe. Maybe it's today I'm wearing, you know, pants that have a little bit of a barrel shape. So that's, you know, on trend, but everything else is pretty classic. So it just, you do, you need a little bit to appear current?

38:48Gary Lipovetsky: So, you know, I kind of look at trends in content similar to the way I look at trends in fashion. So with trends in content, I look at kind of macro trends and I look at micro trends. And the way that macro and micro, a macro trend to me on social media is a piece of content that is universally like a format is being used. It's a trending sound or a dance or something. I think we all know kind of what I'm referring to and we see that across social media. And then micro trends, I see... Afternoon glare totally ruined my watch party for the big game. That's when my buddy recommended Blinds.com. With custom window treatments made to fit your style, space, and budget, customers who shop at Blinds.com experienced overwhelming satisfaction.

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39:44Gary Lipovetsky: Like certain creators, they'll do something in their content where they get some kind of a blip on views. But the way I look at it with fashion, there's like macro trends, like some new handbag comes out and everybody has to have it. Or the macro trend, and if anyone's wearing them in the room, of like the Cartier love bracelets. Which, you know, it just got to a point where Valeria appreciated them and we had them early for her. and then she just literally said that's it like it's over because then everybody had them yeah so how do you as a stylist and as somebody who wants to find that balance between being being current but yet jumping on these macro trends that are just they actually they do the opposite of elevating you because everyone has them and then you lose your individuality how do you how do you kind of how do you reconcile yeah yeah yeah I think that if everyone has something it's just an immediate turnoff.

40:41Like I kind of go sideways. Again, I think that you need to hone in on your authentic self. That's when I think you need to take a pause and be like, do I need this bag that everyone else has right now on social media to make myself feel cool? Or is that actually what I want and is authentic to me? Right. And so I really think you need to take a deep dive into to who you are? How do you want to show up? Is it authentic to your personality? Not Joe Schmo, yours. And just really hone in on that and stay true to that. Because you can start buying up the way, anyone can shop, anyone can buy, right?

41:23But then you end up with clutter and chaos and it's impossible to get dressed.

41:27Gary Lipovetsky: Yeah. When you have too much stuff. We talked about the fact that staying fashionable and staying on point with all of this, it's overwhelming. but in terms of like practical you know practical styling advice so you know if a creator wants to completely upgrade how they show up online where should they start first what's the first thing that they need to do um okay so learn how to dress for your proportion okay obviously uh but if you want to get just honestly it's the staple items if you're you know first of all take inventory of your closet, get rid of the items that are no longer serving you.

42:03They are taking up precious real estate and they are doing you a disservice. And then you need to focus on your staples. Do you have an amazing pair of denim that fits you impeccably? Do you have, you know, a beautiful, you know, tank top or t-shirt that you feel like a million bucks in? Do you have an amazing trouser? You know, amazing footwear, for example, footwear, so underrated. Women leave that for last. It should be first. But the staple items, right, the transitional spring coat, whatever it is in your life that's important to you, if you have those just few items, those key pieces that you feel like a million bucks in and that are authentic and fit you well, that sky's the limit.

42:48They can be paired up in multiple ways and you'll show up on camera with so much more confidence every single time.

42:55Gary Lipovetsky: Amazing. Yeah. I have some rapid fire questions for you. So these are just like, I'm going to ask them and you just like, don't think. Okay. Because if you think you're going to ruin it. Chick-chack. Okay. Got it. Okay. What's one thing women should stop doing immediately when dressing for social media? Overthink. Okay. Okay. What is the most common styling mistake women make? Wearing clothes that don't fit. One thing creators should stop wearing on camera immediately. Too much, too much. Too much stuff. Too much stuff. There's this one woman that we know, and she has, like, it's that she sells Amazon stuff.

43:28Gary Lipovetsky: Oh, my God. I love to do the jewelry. Yeah, don't say her name. No. She's a friend. Yeah, yeah. Oh, no, I love. I love. But it's so much. It's amazing. That's a good look? Well. That much? Well. Every finger? You know what? It's just, it's just, I'm dangling, the dangling, like, I guess. It's mesmerizing. But it's very caricaturish. it is it's a shit like everyone has a stick right and i like it it's authentic to her what is the most underrated wardrobe investment jeans underrated really no no underrated um shoes shoes shoes shoes good shoes good shoes number one giveaway of outdatedness okay footwear Yeah.

44:14And proportion.

44:15Gary Lipovetsky: I think I know the answer to this one. What instantly makes someone feel more confident? I think you're going to say fit. Fit. Yes. I'm answering the rapid fire questions for you. What visually communicates insecurity? Big boxy clothing. Hiding behind your clothing. Okay. All right. Got it. No, you're not. Got it. Got it. The most timeless fashion piece? probably like a great fitting blazer black blazer i've you know i've seen over the years is it is it like is it just my imagination or have blazers for women become even more popular than ever used to be men and now men don't wear blazers anymore and yeah the blazers went to the women women stole the blazers from the men i think that yes because it can be worn for your everyday life it used to be that the blazer was like just for the workplace or just like for a professional woman but no The blazer can be like a transitional layer for spring and summer and can be worn with a T-shirt and a pair of like, you know, elevated joggers, for example, or a pair of relaxed denim.

45:19So we're having a lot of friction now in our clothing for women. So it's like having dressier pieces with more casual pieces. And that's kind of what makes it more cohesive and look more current.

45:29Gary Lipovetsky: So very versatile. I have a more philosophical question. I'm going off script. I just came up with it now. Do you feel, because I feel this way, but I want to hear your take on it. Do you feel that designers are often playing on women's insecurities in order to sell them clothing? Because I feel that's the case in the world of cosmetics. But do you feel that's the case in the world of fashion? I do. A hundred percent. Especially with size. You know, certain designers only go up to a certain size. And I think it's so, so my heart breaks because there's so many women that if you are fuller figured, It is harder to find clothing.

46:11There is less inventory in many cases. So I do think that in terms of that perspective, it's very, very challenging.

46:19Gary Lipovetsky: And it does play on their insecurities because it makes them believe that they're not good enough if they are not having their size accessible to them. So that's a real hardship. Yeah. So in conclusion, before we get into questions, if we have some questions from the audience, I want to say that, you know, I'm always looking for levers to pull. Can I get just some nods? Do you guys know what I mean levers to pull? Things that are relatively low effort that will increase the velocity of your personal brand development, both from a quantitative perspective on data and a qualitative perspective on the perception of your personal brand.

46:56Gary Lipovetsky: And I believe being correctly styled in fashion for a relatively low cost, meaning to do the analysis, to spend, you know, to invest the money it takes to create a capsule wardrobe. Is that the correct terminology? To create that capsule wardrobe, to be able to show up online. Because I believe in the observations of the last almost decade with Valeria is that fashion played a major, major role in it. And it is important and you don't have to be a fashion creator to look well put together. And, you know, we talked about color earlier today of the utmost importance. These are, again, in my opinion, easy levers to pull.

47:35Gary Lipovetsky: If you don't want to do it in your personal life or in your day-to-day life, although I suggest you do it in your day-to-day life, because I do believe that feeling happier and confident, I don't feel like it's true. feeling happier and confident in your day-to-day life from a style color fashion perspective translates directly to your content because i want to repeat to everyone and i apologize for being so repetitive but i have seen and i and i know it to be true a direct correlation to valeria's happiness and confidence on a daily basis and how it translates directly into the performance of the content not only into the performance of the content but in directly into the monetization so I'm very fortunate because the happier my wife is the more money we make quite frankly and it works out well for me because I want my wife to be happy regardless and now we're making more money as a result and so that's the case for all of you guys so treat yourselves get the color analysis get the stylist advice spend the money on the on the on the wardrobe on the capsule wardrobe capsule wardrobe capsule wardrobe so do that um and on that note do we have any questions so i have a question how about my style because i just jumped 32 going through a big leg change and i my whole life i've kind of just done what's comfortable um but it happened really wrong my style so can you summarize the question repeat it and then answer it okay so the question is how do you find your style you've been dressing the same way you're 32 years old right now you're looking for something different um so where I would begin um is asking yourself how do I want to feel you know I really think it's a journey it's not something that we can you know figure out together in five seconds but it's about um just asking yourself how you want to feel it could be more mature it could be like what are some words that come to your mind in terms of how you want to feel right now yeah I guess confidence uh because I don't think that I lack confidence but I don't know if it's confidence or it's just like not caring like I think a lot of people will look at me and friends also and think like oh you're so confident but to me I'm like no I just don't care about a lot of things that people care about uh but I think like confidence will do much different strength and power than not carry me so yeah confident um I guess having like the strong identity uh polished but also also comfortable because I'm not comfortable it's not an area yeah comfortable that's a big one that word it's a trigger word for me every woman says that but yes listen it's an evolution it's really about digging deep and figuring out kind of how you want to feel and then having how you dress align with that.

50:34So I think it's something that you can totally research online and put together maybe a little Pinterest page of some images. It doesn't have to work for your body. Don't even think about that. Just kind of put together a little collage and over time you're actually going to see that you're repeating yourself over and over again. It's going to be the same images and that's when you can really hone in on and start to get a sense of who you are and who you want to become. And it takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day.

51:05Gary Lipovetsky: And I want to add to that from my observation, it's the proactive, it's the activities that you're doing on an ongoing basis. I feel Valeria's reinvented. I often use her as an example because I've just, obviously because she's my wife, but I'm just an observer of her process at all times, like literally seven days a week. So I see it. She's very intentional. So her activities, like she's constantly creating mood boards, constantly creating mood boards for herself. She'll have mood board parties like where she'll bring her. No, she does. It's crazy. As a man, I just think it's foreign. I think I'm living with an alien, but it's apparently I'm just living with a woman.

51:40Gary Lipovetsky: And so, yeah, she'll create mood. She'll have parties. She'll bring, she'll go to like a mood board gathering and they'll do this. So I think mood boards are definitely something. It's a lot of trial and error. You actually need to set aside dedicated time for yourself, not with anyone else, not with your kids, not with friends. An hour at the mall trying things on. Try on the Mary Jane. Does it feel like me? Does it not feel like me? Try on the loafer. Does it feel like me? Does it not feel like me? You have to try these on. Look in the mirror. See how you feel. How do you feel? Is it aligning with how you want to feel?

52:21So I think there is a psychological part to it. And it does take time. It's a process. And I know you just like one-player style. No, it can be multifaceted. Absolutely. Like I, you know, I'm pretty neutral and minimal, but I love to be sexy and I love to have fun pieces. And I love, like you don't have to be just one thing. It just has to be authentic. And the pieces have to work in multiple ways to create a wardrobe. You can't just have one-off pieces. They have to work in at least three different ways with the rest of your closet. Or else it'll get worn once, twice, or never at all. So that's a big one.

53:00Gary Lipovetsky: Do we have more questions? You're easy. Aw.

53:06Gary Lipovetsky: Now we don't have to repeat the question, right? All right. So my question is if we follow you and want access to Europe right here. So are we waiting for Vipico surreal? Is there a shot? My, I like to know it, or is that thing through the future? How can we get, you're so generous with good content and sharing so many free, amazing suggestions. And in addition to following you, like how can I buy your laser? How can we get this amazing? Well, I love the shoulder of hatch, like it's very current, the whole capsule, just like Gary said, that you're it's effortlessly gorgeous and so how can we all you're so sweet i have to come here more often everyone's like so it's what we do um okay so i do have a shop my store and i usually um do follow up every day when i'm working with clients i will post on my stories um of what i'm kind of wearing i'll follow up with links i do believe in shopping with intention so a lot of pieces a lot of the times are old but I'll always find something similar um so yeah I have to shop my store and uh I have to get better at posting everyday outfits when you well I don't know when you show up like your your dress is but except the what a bagel thing but but when you are are you that you caught that my husband forced me to do that that's so funny yeah I saw that um are you tagging all of the brands in your content are you tagging them both in the reel itself and in the caption yeah uh in the reel itself what do you mean well so you know on the reel on the bottom left of the reel there's a little uh icon it looks like a profile icon oh yes yes so you're doing it there but are you also doing it in the caption you're doing it in both places yeah so that's that's that's how you do it yeah and i believe in by the way like when you're creating content i just want to add this even if you're not a fashion creator i'm looking at youtube courtney um if you're not if you're not a fashion creator you need to be a little careful with it but if you're not a fashion creator, you should still tag the brands that you're wearing.

55:15Gary Lipovetsky: Because what we discovered early on when Valeria was creating content about like zucchini muffins and earlier on, like back when she started in 2017, she started getting the question, where did you buy that? And so by tagging the brands, you're making yourself more valuable as a creator because you're becoming a discovery tool for other creators, especially if you're a female who has female audiences. If you're a female who has male audiences, nobody, they don't care what you're wearing but i mean respectfully right but that's not typically like you know um the type of creators that we work with so if you're a female with female audience tag all of the stuff because you become more valuable to them even if you're talking about negotiations or whatever it is that you talk about all right yes how can you balance approachability with professionalism because I find I'm torn between wanting to wear the power suit because I'm in a professional environment with also wanting to be like a relatable, approachable mom's and a Corrigan, Drake over her shoulders and denim and loafers because like I'm just a mom at drop-off.

56:20But my business conversations can happen to the mom at drop-off who's like, it's not all I'm sold yet. So how do you blend the two worlds of my, I feel like it's such a juxtaposition which being like the power suit versus the like denim and crew neck striped shirt. Afternoon glare totally ruined my watch party for the big game. That's when my buddy recommended Blinds.com. With custom window treatments made to fit your style, space, and budget, customers who shop at Blinds.com experienced overwhelming satisfaction. Side effects may include a fuller, deeper night's sleep and the sudden urge to host the watch party again.

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57:09I think you're overthinking it. Yeah, I honestly, I think as long as you feel polished, put together, ready to run into anyone at any time at the grocery store and have a conversation about real estate at any point and that you're feeling confident when you walk out of the house, I think that's what matters. The most. Yes. Because I've seen so many clients miss out on opportunities by being at the grocery store and running and hiding in the aisle because they're in sweatpants or pajamas. When they see a potential person in the store that can help elevate their career or give them an opportunity of some kind or is one of their employers.

57:54And they had a moment, but they're hiding because they're not showing up. And you don't have to be. You can even wear sweatpants in an intentional way. Absolutely. Right? Valeria does it very beautifully. It can be done. So it's just about feeling put together. It's about feeling polished. It's about feeling like if you run into your ex-boyfriend at any moment, you're ready to go. Like, let's go. Hi, how are you? Right? Like, it's very important. And your image does matter. It's not vain. We have to get dressed, just like you have to brush your teeth, just like you have to shower. We can't walk around naked.

58:28We have to get dressed. So it matters. It matters in content creation. It matters in business. It matters everywhere. So I agree to your point. It's imperative.

58:40Gary Lipovetsky: Yeah. Renata, thank you very much. This was very informative. I think we have a lot of great takeaways as content creators and quite frankly, as people in general. Thank you for being here. You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you, guys.