When Style Turn Into Success...

The Caroline Doll, CEO of POSH PR®, talks YSL, Le Smoking, and a woman's uniform. Read more to see how all three are a lesson for success!

Let’s talk power dressing. 

I recently came across an article about “Le Smoking.” Don’t worry, I totally translated it as “the smoking,” thinking it was going to be an article about, well, smoking. Instead, it was an article about Yves Saint Laurent’s culture shock: the tuxedo for women. 

Can you believe it’s only been a little over fifty years since a woman wearing a suit was considered taboo? Once, a woman wearing her YSL tuxedo was forbidden into a restaurant, the look caused such a stir! 

What I loved learning about Le Smoking was Saint Laurent’s mission behind it. Reading about him, you learn he grew up surrounded by women — his sisters, aunts, and mother. He loved femininity and wanted to celebrate it! He was known for wanting to design clothes that made a woman feel like a woman. 

To the fashion critic of the day, creating a pant suit for women was anything but feminine. The look wasn’t received well, but Saint Laurent insisted, saying “For a woman, Le Smoking is an indispensable garment with which she finds herself continually in fashion, because it is about style, not fashion. Fashions come and go, but style is forever.”

To me, a woman’s style lives in her heart. Its her personality, the things she loves, her passions. Those things are forever. Style is forever. With Le Smoking, Saint Laurent was inspiring the idea for authenticity and personality. Be bold! Be powerful! Doing so HEIGHTENS your femininity! Walking confidently in who you are is one of the most powerful things a girl can do. 

A uniform is defined as “not changing in form or character.” As soon as I decided to embrace pink as my uniform, in a sense, POSH PR took off! Fun fact: many CEOs embrace a uniform outfit. It saves time, yes. But what I find interesting is that successful people know that who they are is what makes them different. What makes them different is what makes them have no competition. They're not going to change anything about themselves — they capitalize on that fact. THAT is what I call power dressing!

Empowering women to live their dream lives is what I love to do. I’d love to learn all about your dreams! Join the #THEPRDOLLS Facebook group, where we can talk on the daily! Learn more here!

(Fun fact: I still thought “Le Smoking” translated as “the smoking”, describing an outfit that looked “smoking hot!” Not so. “Le smoking” is French short-hand for black tie!"