Before there were the outrageous couture costumes, the high budget “Telephone” video, and a whole lot of thought to personal branding, Lady Gaga was Stefani Germanotta. She was a very talented singer and pianist with not a very terribly distinctive look other than looking like any girl, every girl, anywhere.

But boy, could she sing.

The question is would she have made her enormous impact in the music world as a stringy haired brunette with no discernible fashion style? Maybe not as easily or as quickly.

The point of this is to understand the whole package that makes up brand YOU!

We’re not asking you to turn yourself into some fantastical diva like Lady Gaga, unless as Andre Leon Talley says, “you are Lady Gaga.”

But YOU do want to put some thought in how you look.

Take a peek at early Lady Gaga before she became the new diva of pop in her early videos below. Think about the attention paid to create her image, which would be fair to say has soared over most other recent pop stars.

Then, we ask you to please polish up your edges because you never know who is watching…

The Stefani Germanotta Band live at The Bitter End 1/20/06 video: