ESA Optician Award Winner 2020

Styling Men: The differences

I often get asked the following: Do you get many bookings from men who are looking for styling? If so, how do these men react to being styled? And, do these men go for colourful frames?

I have to confess, I was reluctant to write this blog as I am a big believer in unique personalities and not categorising people, but in most cases, however, styling a man is very different to styling a woman!

IT’S ALL BLUE TO ME

Firstly, from my experience, many men see and describe colours much more simply.

With a women, the nuances of colours are more pronounced i.e a deeper red is a crimson, or brighter red a scarlet. A blue may be described specifically as a light sky blue, or a richer royal blue.

To most men, it’s just a STRAIGHT FORWARD red and blue. In fact, if you start going too deeply into the subtle shades & nuances of colour, their eyes can start to glaze over.

Whereas from my styling experience, women tend to enjoy exploring and talking about the variation of shades which are special to them.

Which is why, if you are a male selecting eyewear for your female client, it’s worth getting to grips with the subtleties of colours if you want to impress her! But if you are a female dispensing a man, remember to stick to the simpler colour names if you want to keep him awake!

While I analyse a man’s colour type – the same way as I do for a woman – interestingly they seem naturally drawn to different colours i.e. men prefer more solid bright colours or deep dark colours like black, blue, green and red, whilst women gravitate towards softer tones of pinks, purples and teals.

Now of course there are always exception to every rule, my husband for example loves shades of pinks and purples, and some women wouldn’t be seen dead in pink!

Which is why I always discover my clients personal preferences and combine that with their colour type for the best possible outcome.

RULES PLEASE

Secondly, in general, men prefer rules or direct advice and women want collaboration or a trusted friend.

I.e. a man is more  “tell me what shapes and colours suit me which make me look good” whereas women want to feel good, confident and sexy too. So the styling process tends to be a little more slanted towards coaching them to make their own decisions and be empowered to embrace who they are, whilst offering advice on colour and style. Of course there are a handful of men in my practice who enjoy being styled this way too, but in my experience it’s mainly women who prefer this kind of collaborative coaching style/guidance.

STYLE SAVVY OR STYLE SOS!

Finally, I typically get two distinct groups of men who book for styling consultations. The first type are business men who understand the importance of image, and take the whole process very seriously. They will bring in their suits, their shirts and we will help them discover the perfect eyewear to help them look good, and stand out for the right reasons at networking and business events.

The second type are those are forcefully sent by their wives, who are actually quite reluctant to “be styled” but ironically, despite their initial reserve, end up loving the process!

Regardless of gender many of our clients love our dedicated one-to-one personalised attention and styling process. Our aim is to help people look and feel the best version of themselves and our clients respond positively to that, whether they are male or female!

Have you noticed any clear differences between styling men and women and do you adapt your approach accordingly?

Eva x

Eva Dave

Eva Dave is a multi award winning boutique practice owner, Optometrist and Image Consultant and creator of Eyewear Styling Academy.

If you want to learn an eyewear styling process that creates and elite client experience and can triple your average dispense value check out her free training here

https://bit.ly/freeeyewearstylingtraining

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