Dress well and be remembered for you, dress badly and you will be remembered for the dress.
In July 2010, SF Gate published an article about how to dress to impress for a job interview. Apparently its not just about power suits and sensible shoes anymore. Making a statement is in! Getting dressed for the office, has become more of an art and definitely does not mean leaving your personal style behind. One thing that remains consistent across the board is the button down top or blouse; it is a staple that can be dressed up or dressed down.
In today’s job market, it is harder than ever to decide what to wear. Whether you are a recent grad or been in the workforce for a while, styles are changing but some things will always remain the same. Here are some helpful tips:
In any interview, you need to look polished, clean and professional. The styles, colors, lengths and fit of your fashion choices will speak volumes about your ability to do your job. “There’s a difference between creative style and (style that is) just plain odd or distracting,” says Keylee Sanders, a San Francisco style expert who has worked with businesses on corporate dress codes. “You want to be remembered for a positive reason, not because you decided to wear a weird hat or you had on heels that were too tall and you fell when you walked toward the door.” In general, the more distracting a piece of clothing or jewelry is, the less appropriate it is for office wear.
Women’s Fashion on About.com defined more guidelines to looking polished:
- Color- Traditional career colors include red (aggressive), navy (trustworthy), gray (conservative) and black (chic). Most of these colors work well in pantsuits, skirts and shoes and mix back with softer feminine colors that are appropriate like ice blue, lilac, soft pink and ivory. Loud colors like hot pink and wild prints are much riskier in the office, but some creative types can still pull them off.
- Jewelry – that jangles (chandelier earrings, stacks of bangles) is distracting. Opt for stud earrings or single bracelets.
- Fit is everything when you are talking about tailored work clothes. Pants should be fitted, but free of visible panty lines. Skirts, especially straight styles like pencil skirts, should be loose enough to sit down in comfortably. Jackets should be able to be buttoned.
- When purchasing a button down, ensure that it does not gape at the bust and that it is fitted around the waist.
- Hair- make sure that it is well groomed and swept away from the face.
Dress Like Your Female Boss
Does she wear mostly skirt suits? Or does she rely on pantsuits? Does she wear hose or bare legs? Open-toed shoes or pumps?
If you don’t have a reliable female executive to emulate, then trade on what the men are wearing. If they don suits and ties every day, your best bet is to use pantsuits and skirtsuits: the most formal of business looks.
Some organizations encourage employees to dress as well or better than their customers, especially for sales people and others that meet clients outside the office. For information technology professionals, this may mean corporate casual (more on this below), for pharmaceutical sales it may mean a pantsuit, for a lawyer it may mean a matched skirt suit. One way to always be prepared is to keep an extra “meet the client” outfit at the office for surprise meetings.
Career Killers
Unlike a fashion faux pas, a career killer outfit can do your professional image permanent damage.
Looks to avoid in the workplace:
- Too sexy: see-through lace, miniskirts, spaghetti straps, sheer sundresses, strappy stiletto sandals.
- Too casual: jeans, shorts, T-shirts, hats, sneakers.
- Too sloppy: wrinkled clothing, too many layers, baggy-fit clothing.
Business Dress Codes
- Formal Business Attire- For women this constitutes business suits (a matched skirt and jackets) and, in most workplaces, pantsuits (matched pants and blazer). Closed-toe shoes (no sandals), blouses, hose and conservative hair, jewelry and makeup are expected.
- Corporate Casual Looks-Working women have interpreted this to mean everything from shorts to sundresses, but in its most literal sense it means “smart business.” Dressy pants and a blouse, sleek jersey knits and skirts and tops are all examples of corporate casual.
- Casual Friday – Depending on the business, this can mean anything from corporate casual instead of formal looks. If in doubt, ask your boss.
If you’re still unsure, Ann Marie Sabath writes some great books on business etiquette and she has one titled Beyond Business Casual: What to Wear to Get Ahead.
Good luck and go get ‘em!
