Who says that a woman in a floral dresses is not as strong and convincing as another woman in a power, trouser suit of navy blue? Or that she can’t be as resolute about her job and results? How can you be taken seriously without compromising on fashion?
I shared my previous story with another very good friend of mine and she had one of her own. She had been living in the south of France for a number of years, nice warm climate, Mediterranean, relaxed mentality where summer was the time to save your pennies on the stockings and show off your beatifully bronzed legs.
Back in NY she found herself interviewing for IBM (the company for whom the blue suit was invented). A nice hot summer day, she wore... a skirt suit. Slim skirt, just above the knee, boxy jacket, reinforced with shoulder pads - obligatory at that time in fashion’s illustrious history- sleek black pumps. But of course au naturale on the legs.
Well the interview went great and she did end up taking the job, but the HR director gaver her a very strongly worded piece of advice, "NEVER EVER arrive bare legged to work." Oops!
She too was hit with the reality check, the fact that we are, before we even get a chance to open our mouths and say hello, picked apart for the first visual impression we make.
Our mission at Bizdress is to connect it all, and help our readers feel confident about what to wear at the workplace. We want to answer your questions and provide advice. What's more we want this to be your forum for sharing war stories - fashion or otherwise. We want you to know that in the corporate trenches you are not alone. Because women the world over are asking themselves the same question right now: what the heck am I going to wear to work today?
Bizdress will help you answer that question with style.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
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I used to work for Legal Services, an organization that provides free civil legal services to poor and low income people. My first few weeks on the job were an eye opener; attorneys came to work in jeans and tee shirts and some arrived in sweat suits. Secretaries and paralegals often came in dressed in flip flops and tank tops as though they were going to the beach. I was shocked! Being rather conservative I just couldn't see myself dressed as if I were going outside to garden. My feeling is that one should dress appropriately in a business setting. One of the attorneys remarked on my attire and my reply was that, just because we serve a population of poor and indigent there was no need to come to work inappropriately dressed. Clients deserve to be served by by professinals in appropriate dress. After about two months I felt that I was setting an example when employees who directly interacted with clients began dressing-up and the executive director sent out a memo outlining a dress code for all.
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