We’ve all seen those nostalgic pictures of the big city in its infant stages: cars and carriages sharing the dirt roads through town, women in big dresses, carrying a parasol and nearly every man in a suit & wearing a hat. Getting dressed for business was easy back then. Being properly attired meant you were in a suit. For hundreds of years wearing a suit has always been a display of strength, power and importance. In the business world it’s meant to say, “I’m confident, competent and professional.”

Even as little as 10 to 15 years ago dressing for business was clear cut. When you went to work you wore a suit and tie. If you didn’t, you probably worked for one of those “start ups or dotcoms.” Then, for a couple years, business dress relaxed dramatically as stock brokers, bankers, attorneys etc. were trying to mirror their prospective client’s casual attire to persuade the newly wealthy into trusting them with their new found riches. Being casually dressed was meant to say, “I’m just like you.”

Then, for many in the stock market & elsewhere, the bottom fell out. We either found ourselves still wearing golf shirts and cotton chinos to work because we didn’t want to give up the comfort or we were scrambling to dress back up to impress the customers that were left out there. Inherently we knew if we didn’t dress to impress our competition would. Through this we rediscovered an old truth. When business is good we relax; there’s plenty to go around. When times tighten up we follow suit by gearing up our business: we advertise, we network and we elevate our professional image and appearance.

After the dust settled and business picked up again we rediscovered another interesting reality: there is a time to dress up, a time to dress down and everything in between. For those who wore suits for years adapting to business casual has been a daunting task. If a suit says, “Trust me, I’m a professional,” then what does a polo and some cotton chinos say? Many professionals were faced with the fact they had clothing they wore to work and everything else was weekend casual. And much of our weekend casual wear doesn’t project the image of ‘the expert.’

I have found that nicer, well-coordinated casual clothing does have the professional edge we are looking for. I’m not talking about the polo they gave you for being in the golf tournament or the Dockers you wash at home yourself. Those items make you look like you’ve been branded by the club or manufacturer. I’m referencing a pressed cotton chino or wool slack and a nicer polo. Now that is a good casual look. Take the casual and formalize it a bit by upgrading.

As far as a suit goes, with the right pattern or colors it can make for a great casual look without a tie; coordinate it with a multi-striped or checked shirt. Some different solid colored shirts help bring the casual image together. Take the formal and make it more casual by introducing pattern and color.

Corporate and Personal Appearance

It’s been said that every professional should have three phone numbers in their speed dial. Their:
1.) CPA
2.) Attorney
3.) Tailor

It’s clear why the first two make the list but for some reason the third is not as obvious. People think their appearance is not nearly as important as who they are on the inside or what they feel they can do for their customers. Well that is true in the end, but let’s face facts; first impressions are made in an instant and once an impression is established it is very hard to change. As the old saying goes, “You never get a second chance at making a first impression.”
We know who we are and what we are capable of but how can your prospective clients know when only meeting you for the first time? The catch is they can’t really know your qualifications until the task is accomplished or at least well underway. However they can get an idea of who you are by what you say, how you say it and how you look. Your professional attire tells the customer they are important to you. Have you ever heard the saying, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care?” By your dressing professionally, the customer can know you care and feel more comfortable that you are taking their needs seriously.
The way you dress not only has a major impact on the way people view you, it affects the way you view yourself. If you are confident in what you wear you will project confidence in what you do. If you feel great about yourself, others will feel it as well.
What it boils down to is you have to dress the part to get the lead roll. You do so for your prospect who is the casting director and for yourself to feel like the expert that you are in your field. A good rule of thumb is to treat an initial sales call like a job interview. It’s well known in a job interview the safest thing to do is dress one or two notches above the position for which you are applying. When in doubt: Dress up. You can always take your coat or tie off if the situation calls for dressing down but good luck finding a coat or tie when you walk into a room of decked out professionals and you’re wearing your favorite golf or Hawaiian shirt.
Consider it a sign of the times, customers today expect the professionals who handle their business needs to look and act professionally. In their minds, anything less could be harmful to their bottom lines. In turn, this need for professionalism has resulted in companies looking to their personnel to make their customers feel comfortable and confident. In today’s economic climate, professionals have begun dressing up again to stay competitive in the work place or have stayed the same and risked losing business to those who have taken their appearance more seriously. Just a few years ago, companies were looking for consultants to help define and implement the concept of casual Friday. Fast forward to now and businesses are moving away from the casual office with the screen printed t-shirts, wrinkled cotton pants and boat shoes. At the very least, industry leaders are supplying employees with nice polo shirts displaying their company name and logo.
The fact is the business world is constantly changing and we must be more proactive in making our appearance a priority. Your investment in your personal image is an investment in yourself and your business.