Actress Kerry Washington says she purposely upgraded her fashion sense to get a boost in her career.
The 36-year-old didn't know the importance of looking good on the red carpet earlier, but she admits that she gradually realised what she was missing, reports contactmusic.com.
"There were a couple of actresses whom I felt were having the upper hand career wise-because they knew how to work that red carpet. I was like, 'I'm missing a really important tool," Glamour magazine quoted Washington as saying.
"So I sort of developed a new character: Red-Carpet Kerry. And I researched her like any other character," she added.
Washington, known for her role in "The Django Unchained", then took actress Tracee Ellis Ross' help.
"I actually called (actress) Tracee Ellis Ross, who's a good friend, and literally asked, 'How do you pronounce (French retailer) Hermes?' Red-Carpet Kerry needed to know," she said.