How 3-Inch Heels Instill Respect

By Keri Foy

 Bambi's outfits aren't complete without a good pair of high heel shoes. Photos by Sunni Wigginton

Bambi Wiggins dishes on her daily work outfit and how confidence is built from the ground up.

Bambi Wiggins’ high school years in Florida shaped her attention to style and her drive for a professional appearance.

When Bambi graduated from high school, Disney World invited Orlando high school seniors to Grad Nite. Entrance to the amusement park was free for this event as long as seniors wore prom attire. “I just didn’t get wearing heels to a theme park,” Bambi says. But the reasoning for the dress code formed Bambi’s professional sense of style.

Bambi wears solid colors often but occasionally wears top or pants that have a print design. 

If you dress professionally, you’ll act professionally. While the office of Bambi’s employer, FBC Mortgages, recommends business casual, Bambi shifts her style to the next level in her role as producing branch manager.

How 3 inches instill respect
Heels are a must. If anything, they’re the foundation, Bambi says. Three-inch heels in all colors help Bambi build on her confidence to keep customers and loan officers happy throughout the day.

To top off her high-heel routine, Bambi loves pants from Express. She makes a couple of shopping trips a year to Express to buy the latest season’s colors. For tops, she casts her net a bit wider, hitting up stores such as Dillard’s and H&M.

This colorful blouse is from H&M, the pants are from Express and her necklace is by Park Lane.

Bambi’s Beauty Do’s
Bambi applies dry shampoo for the in-between-washing days, and Lancôme Hypnose mascara coats her lashes.

Every two weeks, she religiously takes advantage of manicure and pedicure services but keeps the color palette traditional. She’ll select coral for the summer, although she not-so-secretly yearns for black polish but doesn’t want her customers to get the wrong impression.

Why she wants to look older
“I look young for my age, so I need to dress the part to get the respect,” says Bambi, whose experience in the financial world has left her wanting to shed her youthful appearance for a more corporate approach. “I love trendy things, so my wardrobe outside of work is completely different,” she says.

When Bambi was 19, she got a job as the receptionist at a Tampa-based mortgage company and found that her teen trends fell short behind a desk. At the time, Bambi lived with her dad and stepmom, who Bambi describes as a tomboy. “Two women who worked there mentored me and taught me what to wear,” Bambi says. “You can’t wear your Friday-night dress to the office.”

“Any shade of blue and orange are my favorite colors, and I integrate them into my wardrobe often.”

These women helped Bambi learn how to be both feminine and office-appropriate.

What’s your strategy for looking feminine and powerful? Please grace us with your comments below.