What We Wear Says A Lot About Us
- TKSMaurice
- Jun 16, 2020
- 5 min read
Our appearance is one of the strongest forms of nonverbal communication. At first glance, it strongly influences how others perceive us.
J. K. Rowling said, “A good first impression can work wonders.” Many things can be part of making a first impression…a smile, a firm handshake, our appearance. Our attire may be the largest influence on one’s first impression of us. Someone may observe what we are wearing long before they see our face or shake our hand.
Attire at work is dictated by dress codes which vary among businesses and industries. Some occupations have well-defined dress codes and require uniforms or a specific type of clothing. Yet another may wear business suits. Work attire fits into many categories including uniforms, casual, smart casual, business casual, professional business, executive professional, and formal attire. Sorting it all out can be mind-blowing.
The trend in business over the last 10 - 15 years is toward a more casual attire for work. According to a posting on the California State University , Monterey Bay, blog titled, “Modern Business Attire: How to Dress for Business in 2020,” some businesses, such as JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, both known for professional or executive professional business attire have relaxed their dress codes with a shift to business casual. Furthermore, in today’s work environment most companies have adopted casual Friday, where employees are allowed to dress in casual or business casual one day a week.
How to Know Your Company’s Dress Code
For companies where the dress code is more flexible, attire worn by employees can be all over the map. Whether a formal written dress code, or something that is communicated through the grapevine as “understood”, most companies have a preferred dress code that is part of their culture.
How do you know what the dress code is where you work?
Read the employee handbook.
Ask the HR department or your supervisor.
Check out the company social media sites.
Check out the company website.
Observe executives, managers and supervisors.
If you are told there is no written dress code, then look at your executives, managers, and supervisors and observe how they dress. We can learn a lot by observing others. Be careful with copying peers in what they wear. Just because they wear something doesn't mean it's acceptable. Furthermore, even with a written dress code, the definition of terms like professional, business casual, or casual is usually not documented and the interpretation can vary significantly between companies.
General Tips for Any Dress Code
Being neat, clean, and appropriately dressed will typically make a good impression. On the flip side, if you look dirty or disheveled, you may not be taken seriously. Below are a set of tips that has guided me throughout my professional career.
If you look in the mirror and question whether something is appropriate to wear to work, then the answer is probably, "No."
It is better to be a little overdressed than underdressed.
Separate "work clothes" from "play clothes".
View work attire as your uniform.
General guide to work attire (regardless of the code)...not too tight, not too low, not too short, not too thin, not too sloppy.
When I worked for companies that required professional attire, I found that separating my “work clothes” from my “play clothes” to be essential for me. This prevented me from becoming too casual in my selection of clothes for work. Also, as someone whose personal wardrobe is very casual, viewing my business suit as my uniform made wearing it daily more tolerable. Wearing my “uniform” put me in the mindset of work and I believe enabled me to be more productive.
Numerous articles have been written about how to dress for work and how to interpret the different dress codes. Business Insider has a great article titled, "How to dress your best in any work environment, from a casual office to the boardroom". This article covers all types of attire and has picture examples for each category of dress code.
Constantly changing styles and trends influence our wardrobe. Sometimes we need to be reminded of what not to wear as well. A good article is one titled, "7 Things You Should Never Wear in the Workplace". We should avoid clothing that is dirty or wrinkled, tight or revealing, and too casual. T-shirts with offensive messages and strong perfumes are not a good idea and should be avoided in the workplace.
Know the Situation
Even if your company has a casual dress code there may be instances when you may need to dress it up a bit. Some companies with a casual or business casual dress code require employees to dress more professionally for customer or other important meetings.
A former boss of mine wore a dress shirt (no tie) and dress pants to work every day. He kept a jacket and tie hanging on the back of his office door to use in the event he was called to an important meeting. This is a good practice that enables one to quickly convert from casual to business casual or from business casual to professional.
Even Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg who wears a gray T-shirt and jeans to work everyday chose to wear a suit and tie when he testified before Congress. He could have worn his usual jeans and a T-shirt as he surely has the success, wealth, and clout to march to his own drum. But wearing a suit and tie gave him more influence and was the right choice for the situation.
Know Your Objective
What are your career objectives… your career goals? You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.”
Now you may say, “What I wear is an expression of me and no indication of my ability to perform my job.” Most people would agree with you. Still we all know it is human nature to judge people on how they look. Right or wrong, we have all done it at one time or another and people will continue to do it.
But, it’s not just about you or me as individuals. A business owner told me once that she didn’t care how her employees dressed. However, she did have responsibility to the company and the company’s 200 employees. Even though she didn’t judge her employees on how they were dressed, she imposed a dress code because she felt each employee was a representative of the company. Not knowing how customers might respond, she wanted any employee encounter with each customer to be positive, since each customer’s business contributes to jobs for all of the company’s employees.
Even if no one judges you on your attire, there are other reasons to follow a dress code. Numerous studies have been conducted that show how we dress can influence our performance. From increasing abstract thinking and creativity to making us feel powerful, our appearance influences how we feel about ourselves, which influences everything we do.
Hmmm… could something as simple as dressing more professionally help us better achieve our career objectives? It’s something to think about.
We can take advantage of the tool we have in our clothing and accessories. Since people often judge us and form opinions of us based on how we dress, we can use our attire to influence their perception of us. Couple this with how our attire influences our performance and empowers us, we have a great advantage. By dressing now for the position we want in the future, we may just achieve our career goals and objectives a little sooner than anticipated.
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