Does Personal Brand PR Starts With What You Wear? Lessons from Stylist Lauren Lua
When people think about personal brand PR, they think about press coverage, podcast appearances and LinkedIn posts. All of that matters. But before anyone reads your quote or hears your story, they see you.
On the latest episode of our podcast, On The Map, my co-host Sabine Claus Carter and I sat down with Lauren Lua, a personal branding stylist, coach and strategist who works with founders and professionals. Lauren and I go back a long way: we worked together at a PR agency in London years ago. She started as a journalist, moved into PR, and now uses that same storytelling instinct to help people show up as the most confident version of themselves.
Her core belief is simple: style isn’t surface, it’s strategy. Here are the biggest lessons from our conversation, plus what happened when I put her advice to the test myself.
Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd6rJJ6uyZY&feature=youtu.be
Why style belongs in your personal brand strategy
In PR, everything comes back to perception and positioning. How you’re seen shapes whether people connect with you, trust you and remember you. Your visual presence is part of that story, yet it’s usually the last thing founders think about.
Lauren sees it all the time. People spend thousands of pounds on personal branding photoshoots, then pick an outfit from the wardrobe the night before because they were once complimented on it. The photos come back and they’re “fine”, but they don’t feel like them.
As Lauren put it, clothes are just a tool. The real work happens before anyone goes shopping: understanding who someone is, what they value and where they want to go, then translating that into a visual language people recognise.
That’s exactly how we approach personal brand PR at Bold Minds Media. The message comes first. Everything else, from your media pitch to your profile photo, should reinforce it.
Six lessons from our conversation with Lauren Lua
1. Start with how you want to feel, not how you want to look
The first question Lauren asks every client isn’t about outfits. It’s how they want to feel. Her advice for bad days is just as clear: don’t dress for how you’re feeling, dress for how you want to feel. Reaching for the hoodie because you feel rubbish usually keeps you feeling rubbish.
2. Know the difference between your taste and your style
You can love something on someone else without it being right for you. Taste is what you like. Style is what represents who you are, suits your lifestyle and helps you show up the way you want. Confusing the two is why so many wardrobes are full of clothes with the tags still on.
3. Magnetic confidence beats performative confidence
Lauren talks about “magnetic confidence”: not the loudest outfit in the room, but the quiet presence of someone who knows who they are. She points to research on enclothed cognition, which suggests what you wear affects how you think and feel. Wear something that feels right and your posture, energy and conversations change with it.
4. A signature look can work, but don’t box yourself in
We asked about the founders who wear the same black t-shirt every day. Lauren’s view: visual cues that people associate with you can help recognition, especially on social media. But a uniform that ignores the room can make you look and feel out of place, and that gets in the way of connecting with people.
5. Your colours are a tool
Lauren’s Colour Code Method builds on traditional colour analysis (which colours harmonise with your skin, eyes and hair) and layers in colour psychology and your personal associations with colour. Clients leave with a palette linked to feelings: a “magnetising” colour for networking, a grounding colour for nerve-wracking days.
6. Three words can edit your whole wardrobe
Lauren uses a three-word method: an overall word for how you feel at your most magnetic, an aesthetic word that pushes you a little, and a grounding word that keeps it real. For one busy client juggling family and a business, the grounding word was “functional”. It didn’t mean dull; it meant clothes that move with her day. If something doesn’t fit the three words, it doesn’t belong in the wardrobe. Lauren’s own are intentional, detailed and comfortable.
Bonus: what to wear on camera
For video, podcasts and Zoom, Lauren recommends:
Wear colours that suit your skin tone, as they reflect directly onto your face
Avoid busy patterns, which look jumpy on screen
Prioritise fit and comfort
Sit down in your outfit before a shoot, because clothes shift when you’re seated
Check your lighting and framing a few minutes before you go live
What happened when I tried it myself
I’ll be honest. During the recording I admitted I’m a hoodie-and-jeans guy, and that my only colour theory was “I looked all right in dark blue once”. When clients have asked me what to wear for a shoot, my expert advice has usually been “you look great”.
So after we stopped recording, I took Lauren up on it. Since the episode, she’s been helping me with my own look, starting with understanding my colours. For the first time, I know which colours actually work for me and why, rather than guessing.
The result? I’ve thrown out half my wardrobe. It was more freeing than I expected. Getting dressed is quicker, I’m not reaching for things that don’t suit me, and I feel more confident on camera and in meetings.
It’s a useful reminder for someone who spends his working life helping others get visible: we all need someone outside our own heads to show us what we can’t see.
Simple style tips you can use today
Dress for how you want to feel. Decide the feeling first, then choose the outfit.
Edit your wardrobe. Remove anything that doesn’t fit or no longer serves you. Lauren’s point: clothes that are the wrong size quietly undermine you every time you open the wardrobe.
Keep a “feel good” folder. When an outfit works, take a photo and save it. On a bad day, pick from the folder.
Invest in the everyday. We’ll happily spend £200 on a wedding outfit we wear twice but baulk at good jeans we wear every week. Flip that.
Plan your outfit the night before if mornings are rushed. Intentional beats thrown on.
Personal brand PR is the whole picture
Visibility isn’t only about getting featured. It’s about being recognised, remembered and trusted when you get there. A strong personal brand lines up your message, your story and how you show up, whether that’s in a national newspaper, on a podcast or walking into a room of investors.
At Bold Minds Media, we help founders, leaders and experts build that visibility through personal brand PR, media relations, thought leadership and video content. If you’re ready to get yourself on the map, get in touch with our team.
Watch the full On The Map episode with Lauren Lua: [VIDEO LINK]
To work with Lauren, find her on Instagram at @laurenlua or visit laurenlua.com.
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