Blah Blah – I am a sucker for business dress etiquette. You know this by now. Which should make it no surprise I had to share this Buzzfeed Article on suit hacks that will instantly step up your suit game. Enjoy!
Til Next Time,
Michael
Professional and Personal Passions
Blah Blah – I am a sucker for business dress etiquette. You know this by now. Which should make it no surprise I had to share this Buzzfeed Article on suit hacks that will instantly step up your suit game. Enjoy!
Til Next Time,
Michael
As many of you know, I’m a sucker for fashion and business dress. Hence, when I stumbled upon one of my favorite new boutique startup clothiers’ quick note on when to button (or unbutton) suits, I just had to share. Fortunately, I think I generally abide by these rules, although I may unbutton suit jackets a bit too often (mostly to get some airflow). Either way – it’s always nice to get a reminder to “look the part”!
Suits: To Button Or Not To Button
Til Next Time,
Michael
I know I have mentioned it before (and will likely mention it again until your ears are numb), but the clothes you wear are highly important. Whether you realize it or not (or are reluctant to admit it), people will judge you based upon your appearance, and what you wear says a lot about your outward appearance (i.e. well-dressed people have greater command over a room of people before they even say a word). It’s a fact of life in Corporate America. No escaping it. Whether or not you choose to care about it is obviously your prerogative – but I wanted to pass along a great article posted yesterday on Buzzfeed that references tips and rules for wearing men’s suits. A lot of these are great things to keep in mind while shopping or dressing and won’t cost you any extra money.
P.S. Is Buzzfeed slowly making its case to be the preeminent work productivity killer? I wonder how many collective hours a day of “work time” across America alone are lost to reading through the site. Don’t tell me your Facebook feeds aren’t full of these lists on a daily basis. You know, when you check Facebook after working hours of course 🙂
Til Next Time,
Michael
I polled my friends last week asking for a topic to blog about to kill some spare time over the holidays, and one of my close colleagues actually had a great idea for a piece on how to differentiate yourself in the workplace (whether you are fresh out of school entering your first job or perhaps heading to a new company or project).
If you think about it, people stand out in the workplace for many reasons. There are physical attributes that may catch the eye as well as personality traits, work behaviors, collaboration profiles, among others. At the end of the day, though, it is tremendously important to have self-awareness of these areas of uniqueness among us, as each of them generally pushes our needle in one way or the other among our colleagues: either more in their favor, or further away from them.
So what’s the right way to ensure you differentiate yourself as quickly and effectively as possible, without rocking the boat too much or creating a closet full of skeletons or enemies? Well, I will be honest with you and say that I have nowhere near all the answers (or at least necessarily the right ones), but I’ll put down a few behaviors that I think may at least drive useful discussion or provide opportunities for self-reflection on the issue.
Good Behaviors for Differentiation in the Workplace:
Til Next Time,
Michael
My colleagues, friends, and I have recently engaged in significant talks about what is and is not appropriate attire for work. Inevitably, we fall all over the board as it relates to what is the best bet in terms of work dress. However, I think we can all generally agree on a few principles and best practices as it relates to acquiring and coordinating a good office wardrobe.
First, you should always dress at least as well as your coworkers or clients. This is so that you are meeting them and collaborating with them in attire that is comfortable for them, as you are neither underdressing them or severely overdressing them. Some will argue on the latter point in that statement (e.g. the typical “management consultant” that feels they should be in a three-piece-suit every day regardless of the client culture to justify their $250/hr charge-out rate), but I will always argue that showing up in a suit to a factory floor where even the top dog on site wears jeans every day is overly arrogant and will cause for you to be unfairly judged by the majority of the workforce unnecessarily.
Second, you should still aim to dress in something that fits you and makes you comfortable. Let’s face it: many of us struggle with various personal hygiene or appearance deficiencies that we need to care for when we go to put ourselves together in the morning. If you, like I, tend to be warmer than average on a temperature scale, it would be advisable to wear fabrics that are more breathable so that you aren’t sweating through your shirt just walking to a 9 AM meeting. If you are an especially tall person, it is important to select clothes that are proportional to your frame so that you don’t have to be self-conscious about wearing clothes that don’t fit. Ill-fitting clothes are one of the most inexcusable offenses anyone in the working world can make in my opinion. I know it can be costly to replace a wardrobe if your weight or muscle mass change, but in order to look the part, it is really important to dress in proper fitting clothes. You will ultimately be more comfortable and confident in whatever you do.
Third, there are several ways to “dress the part” without breaking the bank. One of my favorite sites for advanced men’s wardrobe on a budget is dappered.com, which aims to help aggregate style tips, large retailer sales, and under-the-radar merchandise that is available (often for a fraction of the cost of big name premier brands). Another great option for building a professional and sufficient wardrobe is to try out thrift stores. It is pretty easy to tell the quality of an item with a cursory inspection, and often times some of the merchandise will still have original tags on it because it was never worn. Just be sure to dry clean whatever you purchase, and you are all set as far as I’m concerned to start embracing “reclaimed” clothes.
While the conversation surrounding “dressing the part” is something that probably needs to be done specifically for each person with respect to their own colleagues, clients, and corporate culture, I believe the guardrails above at least help tailor the conversation to the things that matter when thinking about how to dress for success in your respective arena.
Bonus: here’s a great short video on finding a jacket that fits, courtesy of Birchbox Men, leveraging one of my favorite shows for the discussion: Suits (a MUST WATCH if you enjoy witty humor, Corporate America, and fashion in the Big Apple).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2otfm8vwEA&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1
Til Next Time,
Michael