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 * Dress for Business Success **


 * Introduction **

In the business world, first impressions are extremely important. The instant you meet someone, they have already made several observations and formed many opinions of you. One of the first things another person will notice is cleanliness. If you look like you just crawled out of bed, wearing wrinkled clothing and not taking the time to groom, obviously a negative opinion is going to be formed. People are going to assume that you are lazy, dirty and that you don't care much about anything. This is not a good first impression. Who wants to do business or deal with somebody who frankly, looks like a slob? Your clothing and degree of cleanliness truly do convey a message. Others are going to draw a conclusion of you as a person based on the way you look and what you are wearing. Whether this conclusion is true or not is irrelevant. If a person's first impression is that you look dirty and lazy, they may assume that you are unprofessional. It is very unlikely that they are going to want to deal with you. On the other hand, if you are well dressed, have taken the time to fix your hair, and shave in the morning, all basic grooming practices, others will likely see that you are professional and there for care about what you are doing (Heathfield, n.d.). This makes the chances of them wanting to deal with you greatly increase. The degree to which you are dressed obviously depends on the expectations of your job. Generally places of work will expect thier employees to follow the dress code, whether it be casual or formal. At a bare minimum, no matter where you work, if you deal with other people it is imparative that you have at least taken the time to groom and clean yourself up. The clothing people wear is one thing, although a full judgement should not be made on a person because of thier clothing. Some people, simply put, just do not know how to dress. They may just have bad taste or have never been taught by anyone. The most important factor is the degree to which a person grooms and takes care of themself. This says more than clothing does. An ungroomed, dirty looking person is not pleasant. This will turn people away and lead them to generate very negative impressions. A clean, professional looking person is always better to deal with. Overall, the rules that should be followed, in order to generate a positive first impression are:

1. Dress appropriately for your job and according to company policy. 2. Ensure that you are clean and well groomed. Always. This means, having neat hair, shave, shower, and avoid smelling unpleasant. Nobody wants to deal with a slob.

Although the most of what has been discussed focuses on the business world, it also applies to normal everyday life as well. For all of the same reasons, looking and smelling neat and clean and

dressing appropriately will get you much farther than if you were not. Whether you are just meeting some friends, or going on a date, the general rules of cleanliness are important to follow. Clothing and cleanliness are two important types of non verbal communication. Your degree of cleanliness truely does show people who you are and allows them to generate opinions on your work ethic and personality. You want to be able to form the best first impressions possible, and being clean and dressing appropriately is going to go a long way towards doing this.



A well groomed business man in appropriate attire. Source: Business Casual Dress Code: Business Casual for Men. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2011, from About.com: Human Resouces: [|http://humanresources.about.com/od/dresscodesforwork/ig/Business-Casual-Dress-Code.-5BX/Business-Casual-Dress-Code.-5Bo.htm]


 * Dressing for an interview **

Dressing up for an interview is extremely important. Your clothing and the way you dress, reflects you as person and it shows employers what kind of worker you might be. Dressing professionally for an interview gives an employer their first impression, and first impressions are everything. It could make or break you for the appropriate position.Before you go to an interview, it might also be appropriate to research the dress code so that you can meet the requirements or surpass them. Men and women both have different standards in the way that they dress to look professional. Attire that women should be wearing to an interview are pieces of clothing such as pant suits and skirt suits that are solid colours such as navy blue,grey, black or brown. If women are wearing skirts, they should be knee length or slightly longer. Blouses that women wear should be silk or cotton in preferably neutral colours. The blouses have to have sleeves incase you need to take off your jacket. In terms of shoes, women need to wear solid colour shoes that compliment the suit and handbag.The shoes need to be professional and not to high. Also if women wear stockings they need to wear a neutral colour and avoid patterns and opaque colours. If women choose to wear scarves, jewellery or perfume they need to keep it simple and light. Make-up and hair style is another key component that women need to maintain, they need to wear make-up that doesn't over power their face and they need to do their hair in a way that shows professionalism. Men also have a certain standard in how they need to dress for an interview to look professional. They need to make sure they wear a solid colour suit that is either blue, black, grey or brown. Underneath, they need to wear a solid colour long sleeve shirt different from their suit, preferably white or light blue. Men also need to choose an appropriate tie and socks. In terms of shoes, men should wear dress shoes that look good with their suit. If men and women want a successful interview they need to wear and portray a positive look(TBC Solutions, pages 2-4).


 * Dressing for the day-to-day business environment **

Business employees are the front line white-collars who are associating with clients and customers the most in the working place. The general image of business men are not only showing their professionalism, but also expressing the image and culture of a specific company. Business men are representatives of the companies, their image is significantly important for the day-to-day business world.“There are three areas of professional presence, the ‘three V’s’: Visual, Voice, Verbal…These three signal are far from equally weighted. The visual component has the most initial impact” (Brody, 2001).Marjorie Brody, author of 15 books, suggests that the traditional business attire for women should be: black or gray suit, dark burgundy or navy suit, contrasting jacket and skirt, two-piece dress, white and solid color blouses, neutral or taupe hosiery, all weather coat, and black leather handbag. Moreover, the traditional business wardrobe options for men are: solid-color navy and gray suits, black or navy socks, silk ties, white and solid color shirts, black leather belt, and black shoes.However, an office revolution rose backed in 1990s, more and more companies allowed their employees wearing casual business attire to work. “According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 95 percent of U.S. companies had some sort of casual day policy in place in 1999, compared to 24 percent in 1992” (Casual business attire, 2011). Employees can feel more comfortable with their casual attire when they are working. Instead of wearing a long-sleeve shirt or suit during the summer, men can wear a polo shirt to work. Meanwhile, women can choose to wear low-heeled shoes and boots over high-heeled shoes.But casual attire does not mean sloppy or shabby clothing. Companies may face many problems if they do not define their casual dress policies. After all, most of the business men are dealing with their clients face to face every day, if they are dressing not appropriately, they will give poor impressions to the clients. Clients will feel less confident with the company.Proper business casual office attire can become confusing because of bad choices. So here are some suggestions for women: first of all, never wear clothing which is transparent and tight. Second, don’t wear miniskirts to work. Moreover, do not wear strong make-up and colorful hair. And for the men, make sure the outfit is not sloppy and shabby. Never wear flip-flops to work.


 * Dressing for a formal presentation **

When it comes to presenting to shareholders or the board of directors, it's important to look professional no matter what the business environment is. Impressing an audience can also be about appearance. Looking as though you belong up front without distracting your audience from the presentation. One's best judgment is used when choosing how they want to represent themselves. You want to keep the audience's minds on the presentation, not how you look.Great hygiene and groomed hair is a great start to with no distractions. Be sure to cover cleavage or any unappropriate skin by layering and considering lengths in any dress or skirt. Keep clothing basic and make sure graphics, if any, are appropriate in the workplace. In order to dress to impress, clothing should be clean, unfrayed, and ironed. It is best to wear very little perfume or cologne in respect to anyone who may have allergies or feel uncomfortable (Heathfield, n.d.).

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In our wiki we have talked about how to dress for various situations from an interview to a formal presentation. For an interview it is a good idea to wear what you would wear if you had the job or even dressing at a higher level. The way you dress for an interview also gives your employer there first impression and first impressions are everything. The way you dress also reflects on what kind of person you are and type of worker you will be. The standards are different for women and men. For women it should be solid colors and neutral colors such as black, navy blue or brown. women should wear a pant suit or a skirt suit, other appropriate clothing may include a knee long skirt or dress, and blouse with a jacket on top. You should always wear a blouse with sleeve incase you take your jacket off. All clothing should have sleeves. The make up should be kept to a minimum. mens clothing should be a solid color suit with a light color under shirt and matching tie. Another area that is cover is dressing for day-to-day business days. Dressing for day-to-day represents the company since you are working with clients for the company. Business women's attire should include solid colors blue black brown suit or dress. Other attire should be light color blouses and or a two piece dress. For business men their attire should be solid coloured suits with light colored shirt, silk tie and black belt and shoes. Since 1999 more companies have given a day for employees to wear casual clothing such as a polo shirt instead of a dress shirt. We lastly discussed dressing for a formal presentation. For a presentation you should dress to impress. The way you dress could also help you relax by helping you know you look professional and keeping you focused on the audience not how you look. Men should wear a suit and women should wear a pant suit. Everything we discussed here will help you dress to impress starting with an interview to day-to-day and a presentation. Remember to be well groomed wearing solid colors little cologne or perfume and little jewelry for women. By following these guidelines you will surely impress your employer. =====

** Works Cited **

// Business Casual Dress Code: Business Casual for Men //. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2011, from About.com: Human Resouces: []

Heathfield, S. M. (n.d.). //Dress for Work Success: A Business Casual Dress Code//. Retrieved March 15, 2011, from About.com: Human Resources: []

TCB Solutions. (n.d.). //Proper Attire and Etiquette for Men and Women. R// etrieved from []

Brody, M. (2001). Wardrobe Wisdom for Men and Women. In //fabjob.com//. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from []

Casual business attire (2011). In //Reference for Business//. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from []

Heathfield, S. M. (n.d.). //A Formal, Professional Dress Code.// Retrieved March 17, 2011, from About.com: Human Resources: [|http://humanresources.about.com/od/workrelationships/a/dress_formal.htm]