Dress for Success
Posted on November 23, 2013 by Andrew Sullivan“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.”
– Mark Twain
I’m a fan of nice suit, in fact nice clothes in general. I know that our clients are sharp dressers—so this article won’t tell you anything you don’t already know. Instead you might want to pass it on to someone you think could do with sharpening up their appearance at work.
Here are some words of advice given to me early in my career…
Presentation Counts. First impressions are as much about what someone sees when they look at you as what they hear you say. If you want people to take you seriously then you need to look like you take yourself seriously.
Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Really this just isn’t about what you wear, its how you wear it and how you carry yourself. Act like you are more senior in your organisation by delivering more than expected from your role and you’ll be promoted much faster.
Casual dress day at the office is different to casual dress on the weekends. Casual doesn’t meet slovenly. A casual shirt or a polo t-shirt and jeans (dark denim) or casual trousers are fine for casual dress at the office. Shorts and a tank top are not.
To dress well at work you don’t need to break the bank. Buy what you can afford and get it altered to fit well. An expensive suit that is too big or too small doesn’t look as good as a more affordable suit that has been tailored to fit well.
A plain navy suit is the most versatile – this should be the first suit you buy. The second one should be grey. These two colours will cover you for any occasion requiring a suit.
A crisp white shirt goes with any coloured suit, trousers or jeans. If you wear a tie, keep it simple but have some fun with the colour. This doesn’t mean cartoon characters though.
Wear proper, polished shoes.