Dressing for success! even when boss-man gives you a uniform.
Growing up, one of the main things my Grandfather would push was, “dress for the life you want, not the life you have.” This isn’t the most popular phenomenon today with the way successful people like Justin Beiber, Adam Sandler, and Steve Jobs tend to show up in whatever they could find on the laundry room floor, and still make more money than most of us will ever imagine. Regardless, this is still one of the standards I’ve come to understand and hold myself to.
"What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language."
-- Miuccia Prada
Dressing well for work is so important when you work in a B2C business with jobs such as sales, consulting, and anything that requires human interactions really. Your customers will subconsciously judge your importance in their mind, as well as how serious they plan to take their interactions with you, within the first six seconds of seeing you. They will curate their own opinions of you before you can even open your mouth to speak. If you want to be remembered as someone who is well put together and successful, you need to look the part.
Dressing well for work doesn’t necessarily mean having a tailor-made custom suit or Louboutins though. If that’s your cup of tea and you can afford it: I am so happy for you and I would like to be you one day. In the meantime though, I’ve taken the time to create a pinterest board with links to some of my favorite, more affordable work clothes and accessories. I work in the automotive industry so what works for me may not work for you, but you can at least get some inspiration!
At my job, we have a work shirt and are ordered to wear all black otherwise. This is honestly my favorite thing that my job has given me, aside from money to keep my stomach full and a roof over my head of course. I know uniforms aren’t the most exciting thing ever, but it’s taken out 90% of the work in my morning routine. Since my main wardrobe piece and color pallet are already selected for me, all I have to do is accessorize! For this reason, I’ve collected a wardrobe of black bottoms and shoes as well as gold watches and jewelry that can all be mixed and matched to fit my style and how I want to present myself.
My biggest mistake when I first started working was that I would buy one pair of shoes and wear them until they were so destroyed or out of date that someone would have to call me out on it. With websites like Shein and Amazon though, there’s no reason to make my mistake and be known as the girl (or guy) with the funky looking shoes.
If you’re just starting to work at your first 9-5, you should order two to three pairs of shoes, at minimum three different bottoms, and as many accessories as possible! Emphasis on at least three bottoms if you live in a warm climate like I do where everyone, no matter how fit they may be, breaks a sweat on the walk from the parking lot to the office doors.
Click the link below and happy shopping! I hope you find these links helpful, and if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please be sure to let me know!
