What Not to Wear: Midwest Work Place Attire
- Elli Minette
- Nov 26, 2015
- 3 min read
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Looking your best is always important when you are at your place of employment. Author Kristi Hedges (2012) claims, “How a person dresses is both a physical expression and a nonverbal communication.” I find this to be so true. The article goes on to say how a person should make sure to be in alignment with the brand they want to communicate. Dressing to fit your organizations image is important but don’t lose yourself in the process.
Kristi Hedges provides a list of best tips for dressing well on the job:
The adage to “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” always applies. See what the most senior executives wear for guidelines. Whenever you get promoted, your attire should be promoted as well — no exceptions.
Keep your wardrobe updated. Styles change (yes, even men’s suits), as do waistlines. At least once a year, add new pieces to your professional wardrobe.
Make sure your clothes are properly fitted. This makes a tremendous difference.
Don’t dress for comfort; dress for presence. Casual Friday, or casual every day, does not mean sloppy. There’s a difference between dress jeans and washed-out “Dad or Mom” jeans.
A blazer goes a long way toward looking professional. It also allows you to dress up or down as needed during the day. (You can always keep one at work, too.)
For women, never, ever wear revealing clothes at work. Even if you look fantastic in them, you won’t be taken seriously.
In general, the younger you are, the more conservatively you should dress. As you get more established in your career, you can add a bit more flair to your wardrobe because you have more gravitas. In your early years, your wardrobe should be professionally nondescript.
Anything connected to work counts as work: plane rides, retreats, office happy hours or parties, etc. The workplace rules still apply.
Finally, different audiences require different attire. Dress similarly to the group in front of you. If you don’t know them well, dress more formally.
These are some great modern tips for professionals in the workplace. It is always important to dress to impress. I think the most important tips Kristi addresses are to keep your wardrobe updated, dress for presence, and never wear revealing clothes to work.
Keeping your wardrobe updated not only keeps you looking your best at work but also helps with wear and tear on clothes. Pants may become frayed over time or sweaters can become stretched or pill. Updating your wardrobe will help ward off these common problems in workplace attire.
“Don’t dress for comfort; dress for presence.” We all have those days where we want to wear our pajamas to work but that is not a feasible option for work.
Wearing revealing clothing can cause your credibility and being viewed as a professional to diminish. As women we are especially held to this standard. If our clothes is seen to be too revealing we could be reprimanded or viewed negatively within our workplace.
My rule of thumb when deciding what to wear to work is to check to see if it is too revealing: too low or too short. I then think about if the outfit fits professional criteria.
When starting a new job I believe it is important to look at what other professionals are wearing in your workplace.
Reference
Hedges, K. (2012). What not to wear to work. Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/03/08/what-not-to-wear-to-work/.
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