Fare Bella Figura - Make A Good Impression, Be A Sharp Dressed Man, Episode #73

I run my own soft skills training franchise business in Tokyo and many years ago, I decided to dress for success. Each day I consult my schedule and that day's work content drives my sartorial choices. Before I head out the door every day, I check myself in the mirror and ask, "Do I look like one of the most professional people in my industry".
This day I had to traipse around in the heavy rain for a very early morning meeting with a food product client I have been chasing after for many years with no success to date, maybe I can finally get somewhere this time.
Following this I had an interview for my podcast Japan's Top Business Interviews with Shota Adam from Koala, who launched the brand in Japan. They make a "mattress in a box" bed product.
A quick lunch at my desk with supplies from Pierre Gagnaire's shop inside the ANA Intercontimnental Hotel, opposite my office.
Back out into the heavy rain to visit a new client over in Iidabashi and luckily got there early enough to dry off, because I got soaked on the way.
Back to the office to collect the gear and then head off to Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi, to do another interview for Japan's Top Business Interviews with Svein Tydlum, head of North Asia for Marsh McLennan.
When I am travelling to the guest do the podcast, I carry my little kit of tripod, camera case, Zoom Handy 6 Recorder case, and a big bag with the mics, mic stands, power extension cord, and mic cables.
It is a lot of gear to lug around especially in the rain, and in my haste to get to the interview, I mistakenly left my Amex card in the card machine in the taxi. I only discovered this when on my return journey, I went to pay with my card and, uh oh, no card. In any other country, I would be panicking and calling Amex immediately, to put a stop on the card.
In Japan, I just called the cab company, using the number printed on the receipt, to see if they had it and they did. The young guy who was my driver came to my house in Shirokanedai and returned the card. This is what you love about living in Japan - it is very civilised.
Later that evening, I was off to the hospital to visit my wife.
In that morning, I knew it was going to rain hard all day, so no light coloured suits work well because they look terrible and patchy when they get wet. I needed a dark coloured suit, so I went for one of my blue Zegna suits.
I wanted to present a credible image for my clients and also sport a combination which would look professional on video for the podcasts.
I chose my blue Zegna silk Trofeo single breasted, subtle pinstripe suit. with notch lapels, double cuffs, side vents, flap pockets, over the calf blue socks. Custom blue and white striped shirt with Lanvin cotton fabric with French Cuffs, blue cufflinks matching the blue in the tie, dark blue tie by Etro, light blue circles on white pocketsquare from Amanda Christensen Sweden 1885 in a reverse puff.
The dark blue in the tie was a nice contrast with the thin blue stripe in the shirt, so it didn't look busy. The pocketsquare was also selected as a contrast to the strong blue in the tie and the small light blue circles were also a contrast to the strong tie.
My watch was my gold 40mm Versace with the Medusa motif, custom cobolt blue crocodile Nubuck strap by Jean Rousseau. Silver corporate badge by Dale Carnegie, pen was my black and gold Mont Blanc, the business card holder from Lanvin.
The shoes were my high shine, black calf leather Pollini Derbys suitable for a very rainy day.
Do you need to sell more? Is your sales manager stressing you about making your monthly sales quota? Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources. There is a perfect solution for you- to LEARN MORE click here (bit.ly/43kQpsN )
To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( bit.ly/4agbvLj )
To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (bit.ly/43o5FVK)
If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs.