You may have well heard of the saying “you are what you eat” but did you know that you are also “what you dress.” If you are a woman who wants to be taken seriously at your workplace, you need to rethink your dressing style. Aim to dress for the career you want, not the job you already have. Ideally, you should achieve the right balance between professionalism and your own individual style.
Some Prerequisites
Before rushing to the shopping mall to get your new batch of clothes, you need to do some detoxing and analyses.
1) Remove all those clothes that you haven’t used in a year from your wardrobe. Give them off at a garage sale or to a charity, whatever you prefer.
2) Of the remaining attire, take a close look, wear a piece again if you have to and see whether it flatters you or makes you look drab. Do yourself a favor and only keep those things that enhance your appearance, and make you look brighter or confident.
3) Organize what’s left.
4) It makes things easier if you decide on a uniform dress code for each day – it could be a simple skirt with a statement blouse or a suit, whatever you feel makes you look taller, in the figurative sense. That doesn’t mean you should wear your bodybuilding clothing to work!
5) Neatness and proper grooming go a long way in conveying a message of professionalism. So don’t overlook things like wearing well-tailored clothes, keeping your hair tidy, manicuring your nails and polishing them, and polishing your shoes. If there’s something about you that you try to hide it or you don’t like, is there anything you can do to fix this?
For example, some people feel very self-conscious about their teeth so therefore they try and hide this but if you go to a professional to fix this small issue it will make you feel more confident in yourself. Looking neat and grooming yourself is crucial, but you also need to make sure you feel that power from the inside out.
The Cheat Sheet for Dressing to Look Like a Boss – 6 tips
From grooming to the height of your heels, here are some tips to show everyone who’s the real boss!
1) Make your Upper Half Look Its Best
Business meetings involve sitting around a table. While you’re seated, it’s your upper half that’s more visible to others. A crisp shirt shows competence. Giving out the appearance of strong shoulders conveys power. So consider investing in a blazer – it makes a great professional but chic statement whether you’re sitting, standing or walking.
If you have the time, test your upper half attire before a mirror the day before you wear it to work. If it reveals too much or appears to be pulling, tugging, or clumsy in some way, better replace it with something better.
2) Mix expensive with less expensive
If you are on a low budget, it is still possible to deceive others into thinking you’re dressed expensively. Just mix high-end items with lower price ones. An ideal option is to go expensive with the accessories – bag, shoes, jewelry, or a watch.
Let your actual attire be mid-range or lighter in your pockets. Purchasing wholesale women’s clothing can help keep costs down.
3) Go high on the heels to match statures (if practical)
Being at the same eye level as the person you’re communicating with can help a good deal with effective communication. Therefore, if the people you work with are considerably taller than you, it is a good idea to go high on the heels.
At the same time, the heel shouldn’t be too high to the extent that walking along with your boss or the group becomes too difficult to manage.
4) Emulate your Boss
Observe how your boss dresses and try to glean some aspects from it, giving your own personal touch. Don’t be a copycat. Just think of three broad adjectives that best describes your boss’s dressing style and try to follow suit. An example would be slick, relaxed, and elegant. Your boss will be impressed, so will your colleagues.
5) Trade black for Color Pants or Pantsuits
Time to replace black with vibrant or bold colors! Wear a bold power pantsuit and a pair of classic black pumps to work and observe for yourself how many eyes are on you. Other options include a bold suit with nude heels or a shirt with violet pants/culotte.
Achieving a personal boss style to perfection calls for practice, experimentation, and the willingness to try something new. However, once you’ve accomplished it, you’ll notice a difference in the way people perceive you and how you perceive yourself. All for the better!
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Sanya
- October 17, 2018
