Our new CEO came to my hospital today to speak to all the employees; she's been making the rounds this week to all the facilities, laying out her vision and strategic imperatives for how she wants to re-build our company (something we badly need). She spoke very well, with a refreshing honesty and engaging style, and I found myself really liking her a lot right off the bat.

A large part of why I warmed to her so quickly was her outfit. She's in her late fifties, with the kind of hair that easily turns into helmet-head, with 30 years in a conservative industry where women are literally either nuns or might as well be dressed like nuns. (Catholic healthcare -- not kidding about the nuns!)

She had on a white cotton pinstripe suit (pants and jacket) with black piping on the collar and pockets. Under that was a black cotton top with a large boho-style embroidering around the neck. At her waist was a funky black belt, and killer black peeptoe heels with an almost-harlequin pattern in thin white stitching finished off the look. She looked summery, classy, comfortable, non-threatening and yet still very fashion forward. I could not stop marveling at her!

This just isn't how executive women in my company dress; for them, it's a battle of the St. John monochromatic power suits. She is just so refreshing and chic! They gave us paper so we could make notes on the meeting and give them back to her as feedback afterward; one of my friends leaned forward at the end (she knows I love dressing right) and said, "I honestly just want to tell her that I love that suit!" Hee.

Even better, her clothing style emphasized her personality, which became more apparent the more she spoke. She's savvy smart, pays attention to detail, gets passionate about things she cares about, and knows what she wants and what she wants for us. I know most of the people in the room missed how her outfit was underlining her points, but I sure didn't!

Definitely something to think about as I build my own new wardrobe...