What to Wear to My First Show?!: An Absolute Beginner's Guide

[PCBritt]

This is absolutley crazy but today is my first show!! I have no idea what to wear?!? What does everyone wear to their shows??

 

[Kathytnt]

Dress how you would like to represent your business - I usually wear khaki's and a polo or logo shirt. Kind of business casual.

I have seen and heard people wearing flip-flops, capris, jeans etc but I personally think that is too casual. Dressy capri's maybe but I am not a flip flop fan in the first place. I think they are akin to shower shoes.

You should dress just a notch above the audience.

Have a fabulous first show and let us know how it goes!!

 

[jenniferp417]

I agree - business casual is good - even dress pants and a not-too-dressy blouse would be ok.Neat and clean and no wrinkles. Something that looks good with the apron if you're wearing it.

 

[dannyzmom]

I generally wear slcaks and a blouse.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

I wear nice jeans, cute shoes and a PC polo shirt.
Started my business wearing a dress or jumpers...
switched to dress pants then khakis and for the past 3 years have worn nice tailored jeans. I ALWAYS ask my host first though!!

 

[angmillar]

I usually wear capris and flip-flops with a nicer shirt.

But... I live on an island, so everything here is very casual. Plus, it is HOT and HUMID all the time. In fact, I think I've only worn pants very few times since moving to Oki 18 months ago!!

 

[amy07]

I usually wear slacks and nice blouse. If it is a plain short sleeve shirt, I always dress it up with a chunky necklace.
I've worn capris too, but only with a nice top and always with dressy sandals.
My biggest tip? Make sure you bring something to keep your hair out of your face if you're not wearing it up!

 

[Dawn4]

I usually wear capris too, but I always wear an open shoe with a heal, a dressy blouse and I wear some sort of chunky necklace.

 

[angmillar]

Yeah, island living is a bit more relaxed than other places. And, I've adjusted quite well.

If I was doing cooking shows in my homestate (Kentucky), I'd definitely dress nicer.

I totally agree about hair. I always, always, always make sure my hair is pulled back in a ponytail with no loose hairs. I went to a show once where the consultant kept having to tuck her hair behind her ears and kept pulling the rest of it back. And, that is the only thing I remember from that show!!

 

[PCwithStay-C]

Ive done a dressy denim skirt and white polo shirt at both my shows and will keep the shirt and go to jeans once it cools down a little. I wore flip flops to my first show and these shoes
Swell - ROXY MARYANN SHOE
to the second. This will be my 'uniform' from now on. I dont do business casual very well. So I want to stick to me.
I think it depends on the area where you are too. If I were to have a show in the town where I work I may dress it up a little more. But once we move to FL I cant imagine getting too dressy.

 

[KellyTheChef]

I agree with Kathy- if you dress just slightly "dressier" than your audience, you look professional without over doing it!

(So, if your host is a jeans/Tshirt/tennies person, you COULD wear nice jeans, nice top, and flats or dressy sandles.)

I have always taken my que from the host. If you don't know them or have never met them, ask them on the phone! It's always better to look professional than to dress too informally and wish you hadn't!

 

[PamperChefCarol]

I usually wear slacks and nice blouse. If it is a plain short sleeve shirt, I always dress it up with a chunky necklace.
I've worn capris too, but only with a nice top and always with dressy sandals.
My biggest tip? Make sure you bring something to keep your hair out of your face if you're not wearing it up!

Speaking of hair...

Another use for the twitit clips... they hold your hair back in a ponytail!!!

I wear slacks (not jeans) and a 3/4 sleeve PC white blouse. In the winter, I have to layer up. I know a lot of consultants dress more casual, but I look at PC as a real job. Not that those who wear jeans don't. (Don't want to start a war!!) It's hard to teach an old, yet highly fashionable and young looking, old dog new tricks.

I don't wear my apron, I hate the denim one, but seeing that I am soooo close to being a Future Director, I will be getting a nifty red one soon. My Director gives those out to her FD's. I don't know if everyone does, but she does. Plus a cute little FD pin. Anyway, I will wear that! I will probably sleep in it for the first few days. Not sure what husband is going to think about that.......but oh well!!

 

[ginamkiely]

my first show i wore capri's and a nice v-neck t-shirt. nothing too crazy, it was in my yard

 

[PCBritt]

I wore a capri's and a cute green top with the denim apron!! It was so so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!! I sold $900 in products!!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I wore a capri's and a cute green top with the denim apron!! It was so so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!! I sold $900 in products!!

Yea Brittany! Great First Show!

 

[tlennhoff]

Congrats on a great first show. You are really close to qualifying.

 

[PCBritt]

To qualify I have to submit $1250 or 4 shows, Correct???

 

[jenniferp417]

Yes, that's right!

 

[Dawn4]

Great job!!!! Keep up the good work.

 

[pamperedlinda]

I always try to wear a PC Logo shirt - summer is the new scoop neck shirt and winter is the button-down. In the summer I wear either capri's or a khaki skirt. In the winter I wear either khaki pants or nice jeans. I always wear cute shoes, sandals in the summer and boots or loafers in the winter.

 

[chefann]

Linda brings up a good point. I try to keep a cute pair of loafers or slippers in my kit in the winter so I can have on something clean in the house, and don't track snow all over the place. It's a little thing, but your hosts will appreciate it. And if someone mentions your slippers, you can say that you like to make it as easy as possible for your hosts, and that doesn't include mopping up snow tracks.

 

[jenniferp417]

That's a GREAT idea Ann! I'm self-conscious going shoeless in someone else's home when I'm there on business... a pair of shoes worn ONLY inside is perfect.

 

[PCBritt]

well, down here in Louisiana, we don't have any snow~ haha! Wish we did!! But right now we're kind of hoping that Hurricane Dean doesn't come our direction!!

 

[bethsbiz]

I work full time and my office attire is business casual most days. That is what I wear. For weekend shows, I do tend to mix it up more, depending on the crowd/town, etc. If I wear jeans -- and I do on occassion -- they are very nice jeans. I always wear either a logo shirt OR my name tag (Merrill).

For 2 years now I have not worn the PC apron. My original apron was wonderful but as it needed to be replaced the fabric must has changed just a bit cause the last 2 I've purchased just were uncomfortable.

I actually comment on my not wearing an apron at the show: I say something to the effect of..."you may notice that I'm not wearing the standard PC apron...my business allows me to have a lot of flexibility and so I've chosen not to wear an apron".... (If I'm wearing pants I often tuck in the current dish towel around my waist.)

 

[mommyhugz1978]

I usually where nice pants and a blouse... if it is summer time I wear capris too.. and a nice shirt and nice shoes. Business casual is pretty safe to do....

 

[chefpenny99]

Alot depends on where you live. I live in the desert in CA and I wear jeans and a PC polo shirt. When I first started and was a few sizes smaller I would wear nice khaki shorts and a PC polo shirt when it was really hot. If you live somewhere that's more formal then you definitely want to go a bit "nicer" but where I live it's really informal.

 

[abrahamlaur]

I don't wear my apron, I hate the denim one, but seeing that I am soooo close to being a Future Director, I will be getting a nifty red one soon. My Director gives those out to her FD's. I don't know if everyone does, but she does. Plus a cute little FD pin. Anyway, I will wear that! I will probably sleep in it for the first few days. Not sure what husband is going to think about that.......but oh well!!

Carol, if thats all you wear I'm sure your hsuband wont mind one bit LOL

 

[PCJenni]

I have a "uniform"... black or brown slacks and a white long sleeve blouse. I feel that it allows the guests to focus on what I am saying instead of what I am wearing.

 

[Cindycooks]

I always wear a PC logo shirt. I have a green sleevless shirt and a black one with the sparkly pink logo for summer. For winter I have a couple 3/4 sleeve shirts. I always wear them with dressy jeans or capris and nice sandals. I have cute flip-flops for very casual events - I've done backyard deck parties and I live on the coast and it is very casual here. I usually keep one of our towels close by or thru my belt loop. I usually do not wear the apron - I get so hot! And long sleeves get dirty at the cuffs and in my way!

Congrats on a great party Britt! Did you hit $1000 yet with any outside orders?

 

[angmillar]

Most houses here (even those on base) are run Japanese style, which means NO shoes in the house. So, just about everyone is walking around barefoot. I always make sure I have really nice pedicured toes.

So, no one even knows which shoes are yours, since they're all left at the door anyway.

And, of course, we never get snow. It barely even ever gets below 60 degress in Oki.

 

[PCBritt]

I'm at about $950! But i've got a catalog show going too, so hopefully i'll qualify by the end of August because my 30th day is the 30th!!

 

[chefmelody]

It really depends on the type of show I'm doing, but most of the time I wear nice jeans and clean athletic shoes with a PC logo v-neck shirt. I also have bad ankles, though, so standing for a couple hours in dressy or even casual shoes becomes painful for me. If the party is going to be more dressy, though, like say a Sips & Dips (Bites & Bevs now!) party in the evening, I'll wear long slacks that mostly cover up the shoes. The ones I wear are pretty nondescript grey anyway, so it's not a big issue, I think.

 

[chefann]

You can totally dress up an outfit, too, just by wearing a fabulous necklace or pair of earrings. Not anything that looks "hoochie", but something striking that fits your personal style. It's really amazing what a difference that can make, even if you're wearing a pair of jeans.

And don't forget a little touch of makeup, too. A little lip gloss will make you look so put together.

(KG, Jason, John, Dave and the other men here are free to ignore both of these suggestions.)

 

[angmillar]

I'm at about $950! But i've got a catalog show going too, so hopefully i'll qualify by the end of August because my 30th day is the 30th!!

WOOHOOO!!!! You're almost there!

 

[angmillar]

You can totally dress up an outfit, too, just by wearing a fabulous necklace or pair of earrings. Not anything that looks "hoochie", but something striking that fits your personal style. It's really amazing what a difference that can make, even if you're wearing a pair of jeans.

And don't forget a little touch of makeup, too. A little lip gloss will make you look so put together.

(KG, Jason, John, Dave and the other men here are free to ignore both of these suggestions.)

OH YES! I always wear some cute earrings, necklace, and make up.

I always did that when I was a full time teacher as well. I always worked with a few teachers that looked like they had just woke up, and I didn't want to look like that!!

 

[PCBritt]

Everybody cross your fingers, I'm almost to $1000 for my first show!

 

[tlennhoff]

Everybody cross your fingers, I'm almost to $1000 for my first show!

That is fantastic. Make sure your host knows what she'll get for getting it up to $1000. What a great start to your business. May all your shows be this great.

 

[chef_kimmo]

Everybody cross your fingers, I'm almost to $1000 for my first show!

That is so awesome. Call your host and challenge her to get to $1,000. I am sure she can get you one or two more orders. That after the show host coaching really works. You could be qualified from your 1st show.

I had a host one time that I just kept pushing her saying Oh, I know you can make it to the $500 level and when she was almost there I would add another $100 to it (of course, she was a friend) and it worked so great - her show ended up being $800 and that was a catalog show.

Congratulations!:balloon:

 

[PCBritt]

We made to $1000!!!! I am so motivated now to do more shows since my first one did so well!!

 

[pamperedlinda]

Woo Hoo! You go girl

 

[cathyskitchen]

We made to $1000!!!! I am so motivated now to do more shows since my first one did so well!!

Woohoo! That's awesome Brittany!! Way to go! Keep up the momentum and we'll see you on stage in some capacity next year at conference, I'm sure!

As for dress code at a show, I never wear jeans - I just personally think it's too casual for a business person to wear (I'm very traditional). I wear "business casual" attire, meaning khakis and a shirt - either short-sleeved cotton tops in summer, or 3/4 button-down or cotton tops in winter. I get too hot (even in winter!) to wear sweaters or anything like that, so I keep it to just a few choice tops, and it makes it MUCH easier to get ready for a show if I know what I'm going to wear ahead of time.

I love Ann's suggestion about the slippers or loafers in the winter, too, if you live in an area that gets snow. I hate tracking in salt/brine or whatever my boots have on them, so I always change into something at the host's house in winter. I also have done shows at host's houses that are "shoeless" and wore my big pink fuzzy slippers, and everyone loved it!

I think it makes you look more "human" sometimes if you add a little fun to your wardrobe. I usually wear my silver whisk (for reaching $15K in sales), my charm bracelet (from 25th anniv. year) and a pair of knife earrings that I got from a catalog last year when they came out with the forged cutlery. Whoever notices my jewelry and that it is "chef" themed gets a freebie from me for noticing ;-). They always think it's neat that I do that, too.

 

[jenm42]

I guess I must be completely in the minority!Wow! I think I must be the only one here who does NOT dress up for shows! I mostly wear jeans and T shirts, denim shorts or capris in the summer. Most of the time sneakers, sometimes sandals.

I don't give a hoot about looking professional. =) I want to look casual and FUN, like someone you would buddy around with. My shows are mostly party, and not like a "show" at all. Sometimes I wear an apron, but not always.

I do make sure that I look (and act) clean, however. It's just not okay to be touching your hair or wiping your face while you're touching people's food. So, that I do pay attention to. I also make sure to wash my hands (again) just before we start, just so everyone's sure.

I'm sure that a great lot of you out there will totally disagree with my super-casual approach. However, I don't think this has hurt my business in any way... I earned TPC in sales (this was my first year with PC) and promoted to Director with 13 recruits in 12 1/2 months. So.... is it hurting me? I have so many bookings that I can't do them all.... I have a wait list for September and October right now, and have bookings into Nov and December already.

I normally stay pretty quiet here... but there were so many of you with the business-casual thing that I thought I might pipe in, for those who don't want to be business-casual and weren't sure if that's okay. I guess it just depends on YOU!

Hope that helps someone out there... everyone else... please don't attack me too badly... =)

=) Jen

 

[cathyskitchen]

Hey, Jen - if it works for you, GREAT! Like I said, I'm just very "traditional" when it comes to "dress code" and I would feel funny if I wore jeans. But, if you're more comfortable and are making TPC while wearing jeans, then hey, who am I to tell you any different!! Good for you!!

 

[PCwithStay-C]

Jen, I like your style!! NJ hey?? Wonder how close you are to me??I was feeling a little like maybe I am a too casual for shows, but that is how I am. I would feel 'wrong' being dressed up. And that would probably show in my manner!?!?!? I also have never worn a lick of makeup in my life (all 25yrs of it!!) so thats another thing I dont do. And the only jewelry I wear is my wedding rings (usually take them off when we start) and my anniversary necklace. Once I get my charm bracelet fixed Ill wear that too.
So I keep everything pretty low key. Its nice to know Im not such a loner

 

[jenm42]

Hi Stacy...

It's good to hear from someone else with a style more casual like mine. I thought perhaps that I was the only one! =) And honestly, if I had to dress up, I probably wouldn't do this anymore. I like running MY business the way I want to. =) I'm glad I'm not alone!

You are about 2 1/2 hours from me, according to Mapquest. I didn't realize that you were so close! =) I'm all the way in south NJ near Atlantic City. Visit sometime!

=) Jen

 

[JAE]

You can totally dress up an outfit, too, just by wearing a fabulous necklace or pair of earrings. Not anything that looks "hoochie", but something striking that fits your personal style. It's really amazing what a difference that can make, even if you're wearing a pair of jeans.

And don't forget a little touch of makeup, too. A little lip gloss will make you look so put together.

(KG, Jason, John, Dave and the other men here are free to ignore both of these suggestions.)

Ann
What in the world is "hoochie"?

 

[Addie4TLC]

I don't wear my apron, I hate the denim one, but seeing that I am soooo close to being a Future Director, I will be getting a nifty red one soon. My Director gives those out to her FD's. I don't know if everyone does, but she does. Plus a cute little FD pin. Anyway, I will wear that! I will probably sleep in it for the first few days. Not sure what husband is going to think about that.......but oh well!!

Red? Really? I got the Blue as a FD and the red once I became Director. I thought those were the colors, maybe it is just my Director's choice. Good for you congratulations on your upcoming promotion!!

I love the denim apron personally and I only wear my other aprons for my trainings especially when I'm going to recognize someone for promoting to FD, that way we both take a pix with our color aprons.

As far as shows I vary a lot. I'm most comfortable in a skirt, pc logo shirt or a nice blouse with nice but comfortable shoes. If I wear sandals and the host has people leave their shoes a the door then I pull out my "footies", but spare "indoor" shoes is a great idea!! I don't wear jeans because with the extra weight I've gained I don't feel they look good on me. But I'm working out and maybe soon I can wear dressy ones to my shows. I agree with the person that said to follow the Host lead. If they tend to be very casual, showing up too spiffy (sp?) may be a turn off. If they are known for dressing up then maybe dress up slightly. Everyone has their own style though, what's important is to wear a BIG SMILE.

 

[GourmetGirl]

I am another person on the jeans side of things... For me, I am 23 and PC is my fun job. I tend to wear Jeans/khakis, a PC logo shirt and a nice pair of pointy-toe flats or I have done capri's, a logo tee, and flip flops. It all depends on the audience/weather outside. I feel so stuffy after being at work all day in heels, slacks and a shirt, that I am not about to keep wearing that all night while I am trying to have a good time! I think no matter what type of home show I am at, I could care less about what the consultant is wearing as long as she is comfortable in it. I do always wear make-up, jewelry, and my hair pulled at least half back with my bangs pinned back...

 

[Addie4TLC]

I am another person on the jeans side of things... For me, I am 23 and PC is my fun job. I tend to wear Jeans/khakis, a PC logo shirt and a nice pair of pointy-toe flats or I have done capri's, a logo tee, and flip flops. It all depends on the audience/weather outside. I feel so stuffy after being at work all day in heels, slacks and a shirt, that I am not about to keep wearing that all night while I am trying to have a good time! I think no matter what type of home show I am at, I could care less about what the consultant is wearing as long as she is comfortable in it. I do always wear make-up, jewelry, and my hair pulled at least half back with my bangs pinned back...

I LOVE pointy-toe shoes!!! I wore them too much in the 80's though and it messed up my feet! My big toe has never been the same.

 

[heather9892]

when it cools down again and i can fit into them!
i will be wearing my black jeans with the pc shirt i have and i always have my "indoor" shoes with me