The Right Attire for Work

The Work-Life Warrior aims to inform, educate, and hopefully entertain corporate professionals with their careers. One of the easiest things to address, if you want to take your career more seriously, is dressing for success.

Workplace attire is one of the most defining and telling things of work culture. Most large firms require employees to wear a suit and tie. While most agencies – especially those in the creative industries – are less strict with one’s outfit.

In the corporate setting, there are significant things that others can tell or even judge you for simply by how you look. Some young professionals think that just because their company allows “business casual” or “smart casual” it’s already an excuse to wear a tucked-out button-up shirt, distressed jeans, and the latest Yeezy 999s or some other hypebeast wear.

Excuse my inner “old fuddy-duddy”, but the truth is: appearances matter. Especially in the workplace.

Aside from making a good impression on your co-workers, wearing the proper work attire also has some internal benefits. There have been some studies that say what you wear affects your productivity. How? Well, it improves focus AND helps you separate play (or leisure time) from work.

I personally have already programmed my brain to think differently based on what I wear. In support of my point, I am more productive, more analytical, and possess more energy for work when I’m in my corporate attire.

Ask any direct report that I’ve worked with and they’ll tell you that I subscribe to the saying “Dress for success!” How does one dress for that aforementioned success? Well, here are a few tips to get you started looking like the savvy professional that you are:

Wear the Upper Range of the Dress Code

Each workplace is different: its culture, vision, and ways of working. That said, only you can tell what is appropriate for work based on your organization’s dress code. But, there is a range to every kind of dress code. You must identify that range and wear those threads that belong to the upper bracket.

Working in an extremely formal suit-and-tie firm?

Invest in a pair of dress shoes, some formal ties, and a waistcoat. (Also, no, “boat shoes” aren’t formal wear.)

Cutting your teeth in a dynamic ad-agency where creativity is the currency?

Sure, wear your favorite pair of jeans! But clean your shoes, style your hair, ditch that patched up bag from your college years.

You want to command respect as a professional and putting in the effort to look good relative to the dress code speaks that you take your career with a respectable degree of seriousness.

Of course, I don’t mean to stifle your self-expression. I myself wear fancy and garish-colored socks even when I’m in a suit. It’s my way of reminding myself of my inner child – even when I’m out crunching numbers and pushing pencils.

Footwear Shouldn’t Be at the Bottom of the List

Shoes can get very expensive what with all of the brands available in the market. Affordability and quality aside, the most important thing is to not show up to work in beat-up shoes.

How can you avoid this? Clean your shoes regularly. Shine your leather shoes or wash those sneakers/boots!

I advise you to have at least 2 or 3 pairs of shoes in your rotation so that you can extend the life of your footwear. They carry your weight all day and also deserve some days off!

Tuck It In, Man!

Most people don’t know that a button-up shirt or a polo shirt’s hem dictates whether the shirt should be tucked in or not. Pro-tip: if the hem is straight all around, it’s fine to wear untucked.

However, if the hem curves down at the front and at the back, dude: tuck it in! If you tuck it out, it’s like you’re wearing a mullet – on your waist!

Those are just three tips to keep in mind when dressing for your inevitable success. Don’t put off fixing your workplace fashion. You can even start by taking stock of what is in your closet right now!

Remember, you cannot control what others think of you or your ambitions. But, you can control how you look. And your appearance goes a long way in paving the road to career success.