- Personal stylist Kimberly Gant works with clients in the tech industry in the Bay Area.
- She's been a stylist for nearly five years, and has one major pet peeve she's noticed among tech workers: the wrong socks.
- "If you're wearing a shoe that is designed not to be worn with socks, heed that message," Gant told Business Insider. "If you are wearing a sneaker, investigate no-show socks or low-profile socks."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Kimberly Gant has been a stylist in the Bay Area for almost five years, which means she's seen pretty much the full gamut of personal style.
It also means she's had plenty of time to figure out her biggest pet peeve.
"If I could give one PSA, it is mostly on socks, specifically," Gant told Business Insider. "If you're wearing a shoe that is designed not to be worn with socks, heed that message. If you are wearing a sneaker, investigate no-show socks or low-profile socks."
It's not just about whether or not your socks are showing, though.
"If you're wearing white sneakers, please do not wear black socks," Gant said.
Socks may seem like an afterthought when you're getting dressed, but they really do matter, she said: "It can change an image so quickly."
An investment portfolio, but for clothes
The Bay Area hasn't historically been known as fashion-obsessed, in part because of the tech industry. After all, it's a region made famous by tech wunderkinds who wear pajamas to pitches with venture capitalists and stick to a uniform of hoodies and jeans for years on end, or VCs who don the ubiquitous, branded fleece vest for coffee shop meetings.
Plus, unlike New York or Washington, DC, San Franciscans tend to be more outdoorsy — for example, Gant said many of her clients need footwear that works for walking meetings.
Gant owns a personal styling business called Canvas Styling, and said many of her clients work in tech. (Starting her own company has helped her relate to her startup clients, she said.) But Gant has also worked with tech workers at all levels, from those just starting out in Silicon Valley to VCs and upper management at tech companies.
Regardless of where her clients are at in their careers, however, she takes a business approach to their wardrobes.
"I kind of look at it as an investment portfolio," she said. "When I see someone's wardrobe, I figure out, 'OK, what can we build an assortment off of? How can we make sure they have mix-and-match options?' And that they have a good wardrobe that works for Bay Area living."
Gant said she's noticed a shift in the fashion industry in the last few years that's trickled down to the Bay Area: the capsule wardrobe. Rather than having a large closet full of clothes, Gant's clients are investing in a few basic items they can wear all the time. She thinks the capsule wardrobe appeals to Silicon Valley specifically because it's modular, and because the Bay Area doesn't have much seasonality.
"I want to make sure if we're going to be investing in pieces that you're wearing all the time, I want to make sure for clients it's a really great quality and something that will last," Gant said.
And while the wrong socks top her list of pet peeves, Gant does want tech workers to know one other thing about investing in their wardrobes: "Jeans — please get them well fit. And make sure your belt is up-to-date and not falling apart."
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