This is Mrs. Aileen. She is a Laid-back Bombshell, but you already knew that. You could see it in the sharp silhouette of her color-blocked dress, juxtaposed against the soft ruffles of her open cardigan. Aileen is a laid-back bombshell Monday through Sunday. There are no bohemian ponchos on Thursday or modern career jackets on Wednesday casting doubts on who exactly this diva is. Aileen is unmistakeably, undeniably Aileen 365 days of the year.

Now think of your most favorite icy cold, bubbly fresh soda. Imagine its pretty little can or bottle. What if each time you purchased your treatie-treat, it wore a new color, a new typeset, a new name. How would you know which of those cans held your signature nectar. How could you fail to doubt that they weren’t adjusting the magic formula as well?

Sartorial branding delivers a similar function. While I don’t suggest a strict uniform for individuals (other than those who have an Einsteinian schedule and a detestation for clothing selection), I do suggest personal consistency.

Consistency doesn’t necessarily come from wearing the same twinset and chinos everyday. You can be consistently offering the same message while switching between hues and textures.

Soder-pops consistently change their advertising, they even have special holiday addition packaging, but you never doubt that they’re the same delicious internally.

Stone-washed Levi’s 501s, black mock turtleneck, gray New Balance trainers, and no belt. It’s more than a uniform, it’s a personal brand, and Steve Jobs has been loyally enforcing his hallmark for handfuls of decades. The ensemble says simple, easy to use, a dedication to only making additions and decisions which prosper your master goal.

Now who is this computer guy in the suit? This first revision of Steve Jobs looks kind of fancy and complicated. With all those buttons, one might fall off. His computers probably have lots of buttons too. What do all those buttons do?

Clothing does more than aid your feeling of personal prettiness, nay clothing places you in society. Perhaps not in the clean little class boxes that it did when only Aztec royalty could wear cotton, but certainly it speaks to what you believe in, what you’re rebelling against, and whom you care to share tea with.

In the last month Cardigan Empire has executed some sartorial branding itself. First, we (that would be in the royal sense as Cardigan Empire is a community of one) outfitted a greenish (environmentally friendly hue, not inexperienced cast) high tech company tailored towards the young techno-savvy demographic. In preparation for filming their commercial, they needed ensembles that said, “Shalom, not only do I plan to shield the earth through the power of my technology-savvy conscious, but I also intend to squirrel away a few bucks in the process.”

Then there is the creatively successful CEO straddling both ancient societal wisdom and emerging media revolution. She needed outfits that said, “Yes, I am clever and creative and commanding and certainly more than a little bit fabulous.”

Brands are not just for dr. professional multinationals. No, a brand is for your exclusive introduction into the world’s drawing room as well.

This week on Cardigan Empire we will be reviewing the benefits of a personal brand, and demonstrating how to put one together yourself.