Advice, Lifestyle Arianna Schioldager Advice, Lifestyle Arianna Schioldager

Making Statements: Your Guide to Being Bold in the Office

Power dressing leads to power moves. 

STANDING OUT IN THE WORK CROWD. 

It's a tricky balance, because what you want is to be a team player while also advancing your career and showing that you're bold as brass. Or perhaps diamonds, in the case of Simon G. The jewelry company knows all about making statements-- from pieces that celebrate achievements and love, to brilliant necklaces that elevate an entire outfit. 

We're breaking down the 6 ways you can be bold in the office. 

1. POWER POSING IS GOOD FOR THE BRAIN AND BODY

Online, content in king. In person, it’s confidence. One of the best ways to “fake it till you make it” is with your stance. Your body language has been proven to shape who you are, affecting everything from the way people view you and your intelligence to the way you speak. The most common power pose is “opened up” and indicates a position of control. Instead of a closed off body language that communicates a more meek personality. 

A power pose can actually change the way you view yourself, even change your body chemistry. Posing for just two minutes can increase your risk tolerance, which makes for bolder and more executive office decisions. 

2.  POWER DRESSING, WELL THAT ALSO MATTERS 

When you look good, you feel good. And making a statement when getting dressed to go before the board or you boss can be as simple as adding a Simon G. necklace that says, my outfit is boss, and so are my ideas. A successful work uniform saves time, energy, and also lets people know what kind of work you do. 

There’s a reason it’s called dressing to impress: it works. You project confidence and earn the trust of people entrusting you to get the job done. 

Fabled Collection Pendant, 18K Rose Gold - $3,740 USD

3. ESTABLISH YOUR CONFIDENCE EARLY

Everyone claims to love the story of the girl who came into her own, but in truth, it’s much more impressive to own the room or a job without being primped. If you’re about to host a meeting, set an agenda, talk about priorities, and ideas moving forward in order for your team to work most efficiently. 

If you have expectations or if goals are changing, put those on the table. The tone you set is crucial for not only establishing confidence but also getting the results you want. 

You are in charge. So act like it. 

4. DON’T FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM

This may feel counterintuitive but it’s so important to bring your past into your present, and allow it to inform your future. In fact, confident but humble is the way to go when it comes to power moves. Being bold doesn’t mean having an ego about what you do, and it certainly doesn’t mean that it’s an excuse to belittle your team or workmates. 

You’re only as good as your team, whether you’re at the top of the ladder or the bottom.  Sparkle and shine in the office or at a meeting in a piece like this from Simon G., while remembering your roots. 

Caviar Collection Pendant, 18K White Gold - $5,280

5. SHOW, DON’T TELL THE WHY AND HOW YOU’RE A UNIQUE ASSET. 

Like a gorgeous piece of statement jewelry that speaks for itself, you need to make sure that you are engaging your peers with tangibles without telling them why you’re great at your job. 

Show them with success. Meeting booked. Partnership deals in the works. A cold call that proves you have the stomach to be fearless. 

6. LOOK AHEAD, INSTEAD OF AROUND YOU

This is simple: comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s also the buzzkill of confidence, and ultimately success. Own the position you’ve found yourself in and you’ll find that all of the sudden you’re no longer faking it. 

(And when in doubt or you feel yourself feeling not so bold, ring up a mentor who will tell you next steps.) 

Read More
Lifestyle, Advice Arianna Schioldager Lifestyle, Advice Arianna Schioldager

3 Ways to Be Contagiously Social

Go forth and infect the masses. 

Strong women can tell stories that simultaneously rock viral reach and niche connection, and guess what? You’re part of this squad, and we’ve got a name: contagiously social. When we’re contagiously social, it’s not just our stories that ignite, but also the style in which we share them. Best of all, this fierce fusion is surprisingly simple. Just do three things:

Abandon. Obsess. Infect.

1. Abandon labels (hashtags included)

You know the nuances of your industry, platforms, and followers, so trust that your social strategy will work like muscle memory when you let go of labels. Share in the moment. This strategy is so real, it might be surprised to hear itself called that. 

Teen Vogue Digital Entertainment Editor Ella Cerón rocks this. She’s a social media savant (Insta, Twitter, Facebook, and beyond), but people know her first and foremost as a funny, know-all fashionista who’s not afraid to get real when breaking news breaks hearts. It’s seamless yet unobvious content strategy focused on real-time stories, personality (on and beyond brand), and community (from close friends to influencers...and by that, I mean Kim Kardashian).

What inspires or surprises you right now? Tell that story, even if it’s not ready-made with a hashtag. There’s both freedom and followers to be found in this relatable-yet-reckless abandon.

2. Obsess over what you love

Reclaim obsession. It’s now a powerful, positive word that screams, “I’m passionate and my own person!” Be the #bosslady of can’t get enough. Champion what you love and pay no heed to “trending.” Start the social convo. Chances are, other women and brands obsess over cheap lipstick, hot sauce, and puns, too. (No? Just me?) Create a project, campaign, or partnership together! When you celebrate shared passion, the right people follow suit, and bam—obsession transforms into collaboration. 

Jazmine Hughes and Jessica Kane rock this. Hughes, associate editor at The New York Times Magazine, wrote a brilliant Cosmopolitan story for which she dressed as Empire’s Cookie to explore a question on many women’s minds: Do I deserve this job? (Spoiler alert: Yes, you do.) Kane, director of millennial outreach at the Huffington Post, loves donuts. From HuffPost’s first-ever donut gif to deliciously-hyperlinked out-of-office emails, she bakes this love into her personal and professional brand like a boss.

Share what you love. Feelings and followers will be mutual. It’s the best answer to Mariah Carey’s enduring question, “Why you so obsessed with me?”

3. Infect with unique style

How is a huge part of storytelling. Take Tasty, for example. All it took was some sharp overhead camera footage in the kitchen, and now our Facebook feeds (pun intended!) are filled with BuzzFeed’s mac and cheese miracles. It’s all about style, so once you have your story, shake up how you share it. This could be visual or verbal, but it’s gotta be vibrant.

Fashion designer Misha Nonoo rocks this. Nonoo launched New York Fashion Week’s first-ever #instashow with her SS16 collection. Nonoo brought it to the hashtagged height of #NYFW with the help of 30 #bosslady influencers like Lena Dunham (hey, 2.4 million+ followers, nice to meet you). Media loved it, and it caught on: Nonoo just wrapped up her fall 2016 instashow in partnership with rewardStyle, this time using her personal Instagram and shoppable links with LiketoKnow.it. Now you see this content—monetized-yet-meaningful, Insta over in-person—and this style—larger images made from the ‘gram grid—from the best brands, corporate accounts, and small creative projects.

Stories and style infect our industry, and soon, we see their symptoms everywhere. We spread a brilliant bug. And don’t worry—“new” doesn’t have to mean “never before.” It’s all about finding fresh ways to fuse your what with your how.

---

You’ve got something compelling and contagious to share. Go forth and abandon, obsess, and infect. I can’t wait to catch this wildfire. 

 

 

Aileen McGraw is a writer on on a mission to redefine sartorial by fusing all things social, art, and editorial. Her work intertwines stories and strategy to amplify the bold and the not-yet-told. She’s been published in the Huffington Post, majestic disorder, and Chickpea Magazine, among others, and currently rocks content strategy at Microsoft. She lives by the words, "There's no such thing as too spicy." Find Aileen’s portfolio here.

Read More
Q+A, Profiles JACKIE JOHNSON Q+A, Profiles JACKIE JOHNSON

Q+A: Natalia Borecka of Lone Wolf Magazine

I'm Natalia Borecka (@nataliaborecka) the Editor-in-Chief, Creative Director and Founder of Lone Wolf Magazine. We’re putting substance back into fashion and turning it into a vehicle for personal empowerment and education.

 

Name, @username, craft, elevator pitch:

Natalia Borecka@nataliaborecka, I’m the Editor-in-Chief, Creative Director and Founder of Lone Wolf Magazine. We’re putting substance back into fashion and turning it into a vehicle for personal empowerment and education.



What tools and/or apps are essential to your work? 

I’m kind of like a one-person marching band—I do it all—so making sure that I’m using my time effectively becomes the greatest challenge. I've found that the only way I can be productive is when I use a timer system. I give myself a pre-specified amount of time on any one task, and I literally set a timer. This helps me make sure that I have enough time left over to do all the important stuff. One app that I couldn’t live without is Boomerang, an email manager. Boomerang is really incredible for anyone who is inundated with emails. For me the problem is that a lot of my emails take time and deliberation, even if I want to reply right away it's not always realistic to do so. But when you get so many new emails daily, any unanswered email from a few days ago often goes completely forgotten. Boomerang really solves this problem. I don't know how I ever lived without it.



Where do you like to go on a day off? 

My job is to come up with new ideas, so on my days off I gravitate toward places where new ideas live. I particularly love those shamelessly large corporate bookstores that are all three stories high with coffee shops tucked into them. You can get lost in all that amazing content. Really, if you think about it, being in a big bookstore is kind of like spending time online; you get so much information at your fingertips, but unlike the internet the content is all carefully curated and brought to the world with painstaking effort. It’s like an idea museum. Every time I’m there I feel like a Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.

 

Who do you look to as an example of success? 

I don’t look up to one particular person as an example of success, for me it’s more an idea of the kind of woman I want to become: a woman that is self-realized and living to her full potential. I look at J. K. Rowling, Phoebe Philo, Gloria Steinem, Diana Vreeland and Maya Angelou—these are all women I admire for being tuned into their life’s purpose and living up to their fullest potential as human beings.  

 

What’s something you know now that you wish you’d known when starting your business?

I really wish I had known that you can’t hire someone just because you like them personally or think they have potential. You can’t give someone a fancy title and expect them to live up to that title. People just don’t work that way. A title has to be earned, fought for and conquered to mean anything. It took me a long time to get my business on the right track when I first started it because I collaborated with people I personally liked, and thought had potential, instead of seeking out those who actually had the skills that would help grow the business. 
 

"You can’t hire someone just because you like them personally or think they have potential."

tweet this

 

What other businesses are you excited about? 

I’m really excited about calm.com, a startup that helps you relax if you're having a stressful day at work. I love it because I'm not that great at meditating, and this app breaks it down into digestible portions, guiding you through it. You can do it anywhere, on your own time, on an as-need basis. Just pop your headphones in for two minutes, and ta-da, you’re calm.

 

What’s the next thing on your to-do list today?

Right now I’m putting together the creative direction for a fashion story about the Pre-Raphaelite Muses and casting models for an upcoming blog shoot. 

 

Sometimes procrastination is a virtue—what are you putting off right now?

Emails! I’m always putting off answering emails, but to my defense, I couldn’t get back to everyone even if I tried. Right now I have over 2000 emails to respond to. As it is, I spend about four hours a day replying to emails…and every morning, there’s a new batch waiting for my attention. Sometimes I feel like Sisyphus, except instead of pushing a rock up a mountain I'm replying to emails all day. Heaven is definitely going to be a place with no emails to answer.  

 

What was your career catalyst?

I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but when it finally happened it was really organic and more out of necessity than anything else. I graduated when the recession was in full bloom and there was simply no work. Strangely enough, at a time when no one would hire me for a respectable office job, I started making really good money through my on-the-side-thing as a fashion photographer. That experience was a huge paradigm shift, and showed me that what they say about doing what you love and the money will follow is completely true. My work as a fashion photographer proved integral to eventually starting Lone Wolf Magazine, which was a childhood dream of mine.

 

Best piece of advice for someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

My advice to anyone who wants to start their own magazine would be to stay true to yourself and focus on what it is that makes you different. Everyone seems to follow the same formula in the world of magazine publishing, as if there is only one way to make a fashion magazine. Not every fashion magazine has to look like Vogue, not every lifestyle magazine has to look like Kinfolk. If you want to stand out, you need to do something different. I think part of the problem is that a lot of people are guided by the wrong things; they’re either hungry for a fancy title, or they want to feel that their lives are more extraordinary than their peers. That’s not really a good reason to start a fashion magazine. When I started LoneWolf I wasn’t looking to be the next Vogue, but to put something very positive into the world in an industry that was particularly known for making women feel bad about themselves. I focused on filling a void in the market, and doing it in the most authentic and honest way possible. I think that’s the key to being successful. 

A book recommendation and a peek at Natalia's desk

A book recommendation and a peek at Natalia's desk

 

 

Be sure to follow @lonewolfmag for more from Natalia & co. It's a seriously stunning publication with inspiration (both written and visual) for days and a truly refreshing perspective on fashion.

 

Read More