Dressing for work… if you get it right, it’ll give you confidence and can even make you more successful in your job. Managing your appearance is an important part of who you are, both at work and at home. It tells people about your personality and your lifestyle. Nobody can deny that, in today’s world, image matters.
We are bombarded with perfect images of actresses and models, and more and more emphasis is placed on looking the part and dressing for success. We all make quick assessments based on how people look. And, while making a judgement on limited information is not the best way to go, it is important to acknowledge that clothing and personal appearance are a form of communication.
Being well-dressed does not have to mean dressing expensively or being at the cutting edge of fashion. According to personal image consultant Colour Me Beautiful, (CMB) there are five key points that define a well-dressed woman.
“Grooming is the ultimate key to a successful business look, so pay attention to the condition of your clothes and your own personal grooming,” says CMB. “Absolutely no threadbare clothes, missing buttons or down at heel shoes. Clothes should be well laundered or dry-cleaned. Hair and nails should be clean and neat.
“Women should wear at the very least a basic make-up to show that you take care of your personal look as well as your business/work look. Men should be clean-shaven, or if you have facial hair keep it trimmed and tidy. You should also have an appropriate hair style, ie, neat and not too long.”
Colour Me Beautiful aims to guide you to your dominant colour palette, then fine-tunes it to the secondary characteristic. Everyone falls into one of six dominant colouring types, so you are either light or deep, warm or cool, clear or soft. Once you have your palette of colours, you can assess and learn more about your shape, proportions and your style personality, helping you to choose and wear your clothes with confidence.
“Dark colours tend to give the most authority, whereas medium depth shades are more approachable, so think about the message you want to convey,” CMB continues. “Light and pastel shades in jackets or trousers are inappropriate in a formal business environment. Use colour in accessories such as shoes, handbags, jewellery, scarves and ties.”
The well-dressed woman
Why is image so important? Because in every walk of life we are judged by our appearance. When you feel good, you are more confident, you stand straighter, you smile more and you even speak with more conviction.
Has anybody ever said to you, “Are you not feeling well today?” when in fact you are feeling perfectly fit? It may simply be that you are wearing the wrong colour. On the other hand, there may be occasions when you feel tired and stressed but still get complimented. Colour Me Beautiful is in the compliment business and it wants to make sure that every day you receive compliments about the way you look rather than about the clothes you are wearing.
Your capsule business wardrobe
You don’t need a wardrobe full of clothes to be well-dressed for work and formal situations. By developing a capsule wardrobe of basic pieces that you can mix and match, you can be confident of looking your best whatever the occasion.
Main wardrobe
Suits/jackets, skirts and trousers – Four suits in complementary neutral colours, or a combination of four jackets and four skirts or pairs of trousers.
Tops – Six to eight tops, skirts or knitwear items in your colours. Tops are a good way of introducing colour to your wardrobe, if you choose white for the majority of your tops, you’ll look the same every day.
Dresses – You can wear dresses instead of skirts and tops.
Overcoat – One coat or raincoat that will fit over your suit.
Accessories
Shoes – Three pairs of formal shoes that fit with current trends and are appropriate to the season.
Bags – Two quality handbags in appropriate colours. If you’re using them for work, make sure they’re large enough to hold documents and folders. Avoid struggling with laptops and briefcases – a small suitcase on wheels may be the answer.
Dressing tips
To appear friendly and approachable, you need to wear colours of medium depth. Black and other dark shades represent authority, while red makes you appear assertive.
To look efficient, your grooming has to be impeccable. If your hair is unwashed, you will give the impression of not caring about yourself. If you haven’t applied any make-up, other people may think that you’re not in control of your time management.
Complete your formal look from head to toe: a tailored suit calls for toned-down accessories, and tights are essential, whatever the time of year. Check your look in a mirror before you leave for the office or function: pretend to pick something off the floor and look at what you see – watch out for that cleavage. Sit down, and see how far your skirt rides up. Showing too much flesh isn’t appropriate in a business or formal environment. Exceptionally long nails are also unsuitable.
The keys to success
Complement your colouring
Your clothes should work in harmony and balance with the colouring of your skin, hair and eyes. If you are dressed in the right colours, people will see more of you than the clothes you are wearing. Once you understand the right colours and styles for you, you will buy only what suits you when you go shopping.
Flatter your body lines, scale and proportions
You will feel more comfortable wearing clothes that complement your build. An understanding of your basic shape will give you the knowledge to choose clothes that flatter your body line and balance your proportions.
Choose appropriate clothes
It is important that your clothes reflect your lifestyle, whether it be professional, casual and relaxed or formal – or a combination of all three. Not only should your clothes be appropriate for the occasion, you also need to be comfortable in the style of clothes you wear.
Match your style personality
You will have a preference for a certain style of clothes, the shops you like to buy from and the way you accessorise your look. It is your style personality that will pull together the colours, lines and shape of your clothes.
Look current
Nothing ages a woman more than clothes that are a decade out of fashion. Fads come and go every year, but trends stay for at least half a decade. The well-dressed woman understands the trends and may use the fads as fun items in her wardrobe.
