It’s an established fact that appearance in general and dress in particular play a vital role in the “first impression” one makes when meeting potential employers or clients. For women in the business world, fairly or unfairly, this is doubly true.

Here are a few tips to help you brand and sell yourself by dressing for success.

Personal branding

In today’s visual and competitive world personal branding is absolutely essential to succeed in business. Whether you like it or not, first impressions and assumptions are made about your competence and the quality of your work based on your personal appearance. What you are wearing and the rest of your appearance will make a strong visual statement about how you see yourself. However, though clothes are an important part of your personal “brand”, you will have to back it up with professional know-how, good presentation skills and your very own personal touch!

Traditional business dress styles

Business dress styles have traditionally been acknowledged as:

    • Business traditional: formal and professional suits mostly in black, navy or grey with shoes with closed-toes and heels no higher than two inches or flat shoes.
    • General business: not quite as formal, yet still professional with mix and match blouses and tailored jackets or blazers in other colours than just black navy and grey.
    • Business casual: slacks and a blouse or appropriate length dress or skirt.

If this sounds very old-fashioned, take heart; see it only as a guideline and remember that appropriate business dress varies from company to company and even from location to location.

Tips to dress for success

Business dress styles and office-appropriate attire have certainly changed and become more casual over the years. However, the following basic principles are still adhered to:

    • First impressions count. Think carefully about the message you want to convey on your first meeting with a potential employer or client. Dress smartly but not so smartly that your look grabs all the attention; after all you are there to impress people with your skills and abilities and no amount of sharp dressing can substitute for incompetence or lack of skills needed to do the job.
    • Avoid wearing loud or distracting makeup, jewellery, shiny, bright colours or overpowering perfume. You don’t want to move your potential employer or client to tears; he or she may be allergic to your strong perfume. Also, “the more skin you show, the more power you give away”, says Frances Jones, a corporate and personal image consulting agent.
    • Consider getting the advice of a personal fashion stylist to help you wear the colours and styles that best suit your complexion and figure. Ask her or him to help you put together a business wardrobe that not only looks smart but is comfortable and can be adjusted to best suit each unique business occasion you may have to attend.
    • Look the part. Dress in a manner that suits the job and makes you fit in. This does not mean that you are not allowed to add your own personal touches and show a bit of individual style; just keep it subtle.
    • Adapt your appearance to suit your clients’ expectations. It’s all about creating trust. A sloppy appearance might be interpreted as you not being professional enough to be able to look after their money and their business.
    • Make sure you don’t offend when dealing with clients from other countries and cultures. Find out what the dress code is before you meet them. When in doubt, keep it tailored, classic and classy − if you want to be taken seriously.

Papers presented at the Annual Paris Business and Social Science Research Conference in 2013 on the abovementioned topic reported: “It came across very clearly that the way in which you present yourself ultimately sets you up for success and also contributes to the personal brand that you wish to express in the workplace.”

 

Sources
Achiihu, K. 2014. Dress for work success: fashion do’s and don’ts in the business world. Retrieved from: http://tucbeconnect.weebly.com
Chapman, C. 2013. Women learn to dress for success. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com
Goman, C. K. What It really means to dress for success. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com
Makina, R. and Bosch, A. Female dress style in a South African corporate workplace: Proceedings of Annual Paris Business and Social Science Research Conference Crowne Plaza Hotel, Republique, Paris, France, 4 – 5 July 2013. Retrieved from: https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za
Roth, C. 2014. Four tips to dress for business success. Retrieved from:http://www.marylandwbc.org
Williams, D. K. First Impressions count: the business value of dressing for success. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com