Suit Up!

I wrote a post about Dressing for Success awhile ago, but I thought I’d touch on the topic again, because I still am asked questions about what is appropriate for different occasions.

The importance (and LOVE!) for suiting up can be summed up by the following How I Met Your Mother Barney Stinson video in this odd but awesome musical montage to donning the suit.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbAgmD3Mo90]

Dressing terms defined:

Business Professional This means, for both men and women, to suit up! For men, this means suit & tie, typically in a black or dark grey, with light blue or white dress shirt and conservative tie. Generally, this is not the time to wear the tie you bought on a vacation, but something of a plain color and bold stripes. For women, business professional includes a skirt or pants suit, in a black, navy or dark grey color. Although some people encourage women to wear button-down shirts like their male counterparts, I think a dress blouse is a better option. If I try to wear something with a collar underneath my suit jacket, I end up fiddling with it more than I should, and just don’t feel comfortable with how it looks. I typically wear a plain pop of color short-sleeve or sleeveless blouse underneath my suit-jacket instead. Moderate heeled or flat closed toed shoes are best.

Business Business dress generally means that you wear the suit, but forget the jacket at home. For men, this means dress pants and shirt and tie as described above. For women, I would recommend some combination of a skirt or pants, blouse and cardigan.

Business Casual Khakis and either a button-down shirt or polo shirt with dress shoes is appropriate for for men wearing business casual. For women, business casual can be khakis and a button down, but can also be skirts and dresses. I generally dislike how khakis look on me, so I wear fun, but still appropriate, skirts and dresses.

Casual Once I had an interview with a company who dresses casually, and they requested I do the same for the interview. I still wanted to be professional, so that they would see me in a professional manner and so that I would feel professional when I was speaking. For both men and women, I suggest dark jeans without any rips. For men, I always love the button-down look, but a polo shirt would also be appropriate. For women, I would encourage a casual blouse and cardigan or blazer. Both men and women should still wear close toed shoes, or peep toe for women, but make sure your toes are done!

Finally:

Business/Holiday Although not commonly used, I did have an event around the winter holiday season that asked for Business/Holiday. I think this is difficult to address, specifically for women, but I’d pick an appropriate skirt and blouse or dress. To bring a holiday atmosphere to it, bring in some details with bold purse or jewelry. For this particular occasion, I wore a coral Banana Republic dress and a bold long necklace.

Although these are event specific suggestions, please keep in mind the industry you work in. As this article from Forbes states, there are stereotypes for people in different professions. No matter what, you want to build trust and credibility into what you want to represent.