Dress for Success
Written by Corinne Garcia Wednesday, October 07 2009
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Gone are the dress-for-success days of women’s shoulder pads, power suits, and pantyhose. Instead, Generation Y styles are spilling over from the runway into office hallways with gladiator shoes, faux fur vests, and, wait, shoulder pads and power suits?
According to image experts, they’re back, and so is the dressing-for-success mentality. But it seems that not all Gen Y-ers have caught on just yet, not because they don’t have good style, but because it can be difficult to navigate today’s office attire trends.
Today’s workplaces have evolved. Telecommuting equates to working in sweatpants in front of a computer, and many offices have adopted “business casual,” anything from jeans and a button-down shirt to shorts and flip-flops, depending on the location and type of business. Nevertheless, employees are still a reflection of the company, and many managers end up acting like clothing referees.
“It’s OK to have tattoos all over your arms if you work in a tattoo shop,” says Kate Zabriskie of Port Tobacco, Md., founder of Business Training Works, but not at an investment firm on Wall Street. She explains that the office image of employees is a reflection of their quality of work and their self-image.
Most of Michele Benza’s clients are successful executives, but they come to her for image consulting to look successful as well. Benza, San Francisco, believes her clients should “shine as much as their work,” and that good style not only helps employees stand out, it helps them move up the corporate ladder as well.
But where to start?
