When I’ve been out to lunch during the work week, I have noticed what professionals are wearing. I am rather surprised at what is considered acceptable. The article which is linked to this post makes a very true statement: What you wear matters to your position in the workforce.
Gentleman, I’ll start with you. This is an extreme example, but once I had a young man come into the agency in jeans and a T-shirt. In this case, all of his family members had already been hired at the client company for this position and he thought it was already in the bag. During our session, I told him how to dress for his interview. At the very least, dress pants, belt, dress shoes (no sneakers), and a tie if he had one. He looked at me incredulously and said, “Really, my whole family works there. I’m going to get hired.” I informed him that there was no way he could be overdressed for an interview unless he wore a ruffly shirted tuxedo!
Well (you can hear this one coming…) he did not get hired. Not only was he not hired, but this was the one time I was ever asked by any client company to have a post-interview debriefing. I was first asked to address his attitude and then his dress. He wore jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt to the interview. What an insult to the hiring manager. After you land the job, blend in to the corporate dress code. (Google is very relaxed, other companies are not.) For the interview, please dress to show respect for the other person if not yourself.
Okay, ladies, it’s your turn. The link above says it all. The pictures in it are extreme examples-so I thought. I was in Target during lunch and saw a number of professional women who were dressed a lot more like Fran Fine of “The Nanny”. There is a great line in the article which states that if your outfit is one you would wear out to a club, then don’t wear it to work.
The trends I see currently are indiscreet shoes, tight blouses, and very short skirts. The skirt needs to be at least knee length, ladies. When you sit down it will automatically rise above your knee anyway. Truthfully, long skirts are very attractive on most women. They are very elegant, can be fun, feminine, conservative and more while still garnering respect.
Shoes: I know the trend is one of several things: the giant wedge, large platform, strappy open toed, and the spiky heel. None of these are acceptable. I have observed that not only are these shoes distracting to the outfit, too sexual, or overtly casual (ie..rattan heels), but often, the women wearing them have difficulty walking in them gracefully. Have fun with your shoes. You don’t have to wear “grandma” shoes (ugh!) but stick with what makes you feel strong and confident. Your feminine confidence is what draws admiration.
Blouses, please make sure they fit. Do the buttons pull? Put it back in the closet. Does it show “muffin-top”? Put it back in the closet. A properly tailored or loose blouse belted or tucked in to an attractive skirt or trousers is very professional. (And, to tell you the truth, more provocative in an elegant way.) A woman who dresses like a lady is, actually, far more attractive AND respected in her field. At this point, she gets to look like a million dollars and show her intellectual prowess.
None of these comments mean that you have to go out and spend a lot of money you don’t have. I’m gonna say it- GoodWill. I have found high end brand names new with tags at our local goodwill; Jessica McClintock and Banana Republic! (Plus an endless source of amusement, I might add.)
But, at the end of the day, dress like you respect yourself.
