This week’s blog post comes to us from the fabulous Katy Wheatley. Katy recently joined us on The Sofa of Success, and we loved her practical approach to dressing for special occasions such as awards ceremonies – great advice which she kindly shared with us, whist making us all giggle…

 

Finding the right outfit for an award ceremony, where it’s likely all eyes will be upon you, can be daunting.

It’s up there with shopping for wedding outfits in terms of stress, so it’s understandable that people put off thinking about it until the last minute.

Unfortunately, this is the exact approach that will guarantee more, not less, stress in the long run. This ensures the kind of panic buying that leads to weird (and not always wonderful) last-minute purchases.

Instead of that photo of you winning small business owner of the year taking pride of place on the office wall, the hasty decision to go with neon leopard print and shoulder pads that would make Joan Collins weep, sees it relegated to the bathroom, behind the spider plant and half empty bottles of Domestos.

If you want to get the best out of your award outfit shopping, here are my top tips:

If you’re entering a competition, you have to accept the fact that you may well win, especially if you’re working with Rachel and Pam. Start thinking about your outfit in plenty of time.

If you’re unsure about what you’re doing, ask an expert. Just because you manage to put your vest on the right way round every day, it doesn’t make you ‘practically’ a professional stylist. There’s a reason I don’t do my own plumbing, it’s because I’m a terrible plumber. Find a stylist you like and use them.

If you’re sure of your style, stick with, just make it smarter. It makes no sense in a high stress situation to make the stakes higher by deciding that tonight is the night you need to get to grips with pleather jeggings for the first time. Pick your battles. You’ve got enough to do glad-handing the great and good and smiling in tights.

Be comfortable. If you cram yourself into a corset, or something scratchy, or stagger about in six-inch heels you’re going to spend the whole night being miserable. You’re supposed to be celebrating being at the top of your game, not looking like you’ve got the scrofulous itch.

Be your best self. Have confidence in who you are and what you represent, and you can turn up in a pac a mac and everyone will be delighted with you anyway. It’s you they’re here for at the end of the day, not your tailor.

If you would like to get some specific advice from Katy – or indeed enlist her help to choose something wonderful to add to your own wardrobe – she can be contacted via katy@boostique.co.uk and watch out for her incredibly entertaining vlog which will be uploaded to The Awards People website very soon.