Meet Viktor Mendes 22, half Ukrainian half Cuban, who came to the UK from the Ukraine 6 years ago to live. Originally in Bournemouth where he studied for his A levels, it was this continued studying that brought Viktor to Southampton where he obtained his BSc in Psychology at Southampton University. Viktor now lives and works in Southampton as a ‘Microsoft Guru’...yes that is a genuine job title. This is his story of how he came to see me and how image consulting helped him to step up his game, shedding his student image for good.
As a student, most of Viktor’s time would have been spent studying, at lectures with most of his free time being spent going to the pub, playing sports, namely martial arts and basketball and even a bit of break dancing (nice to see that’s making a come back from my day!). Pretty much the expected life of a student and this was reflected in how Viktor dressed…as a student. Clothes were mismatched . Typical attire was made up of jeans, T-shirt (and not always regularly washed) and a pair of trainers. The opposite of what would be deemed stylish.
“It was almost a bad habit to neglect my appearance.”
As a student, living the student life, there can be a strong sense of needing to ‘blend in’. As Viktor says, “everyone else is looking like a schmuk, so why should I bother?!”. However even with that thought, Viktor did find that there were a few occasions when the environment around him were ‘well dressed’ and it was particularly at these times when Viktor felt acutely under-dressed – almost embarrassed by his look.
Viktor is one of those people who are very aware of themselves and, even as a student, had an idea of how he would like to look but lacked the confidence and knowledge to do anything about it. In fact he did attempt to improve his appearance by buying a few items but, for some reason, never felt right in them with no understanding of why.
“I was told by the recruitment consultant to dress to impress!”
All that was about to change as student life would soon be a distant memory as Viktor would be stepping out into the working world with a job with Microsoft as a ‘Microsoft Guru’. The job, essentially the ‘face of Microsoft’ is a very customer facing position to lead Microsoft’s vision of changing the way PC solutions are sold to the general public. This role would not only require being trained to increase skills and knowledge but also a position of authority where he would be responsible for training staff.
But first – the interview process and Viktor was informed by the Recruitment Consultant that this would involve a day long assessment at the Hilton Hotel and was told to dress to impress.
“I recognised the need for change – quite a drastic one!”
From Viktor’s perspective, this was not just about securing a new job, which was the immediate goal, but also an indicator for having the knowledge, skills and self-awareness for moving forward in life. Having a practical approach, his opinion was to gain this knowledge from an expert.
It was a friend that referred Viktor to me and the services of imaginestyle. Driven by a strong need to get this right, a phone call was made to me. After an initial discussion over the phone about what to expect, the benefits and timing, a ‘Styling for Men’ session was booked in the diary. It has to be said though that Viktor was a little skeptical. "Although I had booked, my initial impression of the session was that it was expensive and I had a genuine concern that I hoped Min knew what she was doing!".
“I wasn’t particularly looking forward to spending 3-4 hour listening to fashion talk!”
According to Viktor, just booking and committing to the session was a wake-up call, particularly. As part of the preparation (the ‘homework’ as I like to call it) was to choose a few ‘successes’ and ‘failures’ from his current wardrobe to bring along, which prompted him go through his entire wardrobe and throw most of it out, as he finally listened to his own awareness and realised that he could not longer wear some of it anymore.
The Styling for Men session started with objective setting. For Viktor the main objective was to create a polished and positive self image, being comfortable with his own sense of style and the ability to know how to dress for all occasions: personal and professional. So although Microsoft would provide a uniform for work, it was also about maintaining a well groomed look and essentially discarding the ‘self-neglecting’ habits of old.
Viktor’s session consisted of a Colour Analysis followed by the Style session which covers all aspects of bodyline, proportions and scale as well as grooming and personal style. A total time of around 4 hours. It’s exhausting as there is a lot to take in but the time goes quickly as you're learning, not only the skills but more about yourself and what is important to help you maximise your personal image impact.
“The shopping trip was awesome, really fun and surprisingly easy to see how this new knowledge works. My confidence in shopping has really increased…I mean I wouldn't even have considered asking the shop assistants for help.”
For Viktor it was important to put all this new knowledge into action to help make it ‘real’ so he immediately followed up by booking a 3 hour shopping trip with me at West Quay Shopping Centre in Southampton…well it was booked for 2 hours but we were having so much fun learning how to approach shopping plus we’d saved money on purchases that we continued for another hour.
A few months on, Viktor has finished his training with Microsoft and is now very busy working his new role. His original apprehension of visiting an Image Consultant dispelled as he considers the money certainly well spent. In fact we are planning another shopping expedition as we work through his wardrobe needs - which are also reflected in the many new social situations he finds himself in…no more student pubs, more sophisticated wine bar!
“It’s not just about the clothes – it goes much deeper. This can really make all the difference and help you be the guy you’ve always wanted to be.”
Need to understand your personal style needs to improve the impact of your image? Need to step up your game and gain that competitive edge? Find out more about how Min and imaginestyle can help you with life long skills, self awareness and a confidence that can save you money and be a success.
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