Dress for success may not be your battle cry yet it is important that you dress for inclusion. Whatever position you aspire for, make sure you look like you belong there. Spend a little time seeing what people in those positions with companies that you admire wear daily. This will help you to craft a look that speaks volumes that you “naturally belong”.
Often, the thought is that “professional dress” just means to put a suit on; or formal dress mean to put on a floor length evening gown - or a snappy tuxedo; and then “casual dress” means to show up in your throw back sweats from the “college scrunge” days and look like you’re about to clean the bathrooms or haul hay.
First, let’s be clear that “professional dress” is mirrored by whatever your industry standard is of professionalism. Surely, I wouldn’t show up in a 3-piece suit at a construction site unless I want to give the impression that I’m an auditor or an attorney.
Second, there are some beautiful clothiers who can provide you stellar professional clothing and then you put it on your body without knowing your correct body shape and this beautiful piece looks frumpy and wrong. I’ve seen grown men put on beautiful Armani suits and tuxedos and make those clothes look like they were wearing suits they just lifted out of an old trunk - baggy and very unprofessional.
The difference comes in the FIT. And, fit is everything from your BODY SHAPE; your BODY SIZE; whether you have good fitting undergarments (these can make or break an outfit!); and your demeanor. Put on a Christian Dior dress and walk around like a bowlegged woman and you won’t look any more sophisticated or professional.
BODY SHAPE: Are you exactly the same size as you are on top as you are on bottom? Then why are you buying outfits where it’s the same size on top and bottom unless you proportioned that way? You’re either a triangle, rectangle, circle of square. You need to know what you are and what works well with that body shape. Your height will determine where the end of a jacket should end, and a skirt, and a pant leg, too. Your arm length determines where a sleeve should end. You don’t look very powerful if you look like you swiped your daddy’s shirt and are wearing something that’s obviously way too big for you.
BODY SIZE: If you’ve gotten bigger - then you’ve gotten bigger. You cannot “squeeze” into something two sizes smaller and expect to just fool everyone that you’re that size. In fact, the only person that is fooled - is you. FIT is more important than size. I attend LOADS OF MEETINGS each week and I’ve never yet seen someone run up to someone else, peek at the tag inside their clothes and say “my you’ve grown”. Never. Who cares what the label says inside? What does that matter? What’s most important is does it fit and work correctly with YOUR BODY when you get it on.
UNDERGARMENTS: Men and women - know what fits right. A tight pair of boxers does nothing for your beer gut or your thigh dimples when you’re wearing a pair of pants. Wear what FITS and use QUALITY. This can be said for clothing, too. Quality goes a long way. Nothing worse than to see a great white shirt on someone that’s WAY TOO THIN in fabric and material causing you to get a “bird’s eye view” of everything that should be private.
DEMEANOR: Be the best at whatever you do. So, if you’re working a fairly high-end gala event, you better not only have great quality clothing on - you better be a great quality person in those clothes. 70’s style makeup, a hairstyle that’s a remembrance from the 60’s, cheap clothing with spaghetti straps that are no longer really holding up your dress, and cheap earrings that you try to pass of as antique when they’re really just OLD don’t work. Even with the best of clothing, if you walk liked you’re a pack mule, or fling your arms around like a gorilla, speak in double negatives “there’s not nothing we can do about it”, have no clue how to handle yourself at a dinner table or meeting, they will all ROB YOU of whatever the QUALITY CLOTHES may have temporarily given you. If that’s where you’re missing the boat, then it’s time for you to go to finishing school or take a business etiquette seminar.
What your seeking is what is the best by your industry standards and quality to shine through from the inside out - period.
People Are The Brand -
Maria Elena Duron
Chief Buzz Agent & Connections Coach
www.buzz2bucks.com
“building brands and higher level connections”
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