When you go to work for someone, you agree to his “rules”. This is a brief summary of how women can conform to big business office atmospheres and conservative dress codes and still look good with tips on clothing, hair, colors, makeup and nails and general office behavior if you want to be taken seriously by the corporate world.
At your favorite club on Friday night you may like to “let it all hang out” and just “be yourself”, but on Monday morning, if you work for a large company, you’ll probably be expected to conform to the company idea of what is appropriate for the office.
That may mean you take out the nose ring, the dangling earrings and cover up your favorite “tat” because whoever is paying your paycheck is also buying your time in his office.
Distractions are not appreciated when big bucks are at stake.
So whatever you like to wear in your private life, think “toned-down” when you step into an office. Most business owners are conservative and serious and like their employees to be the same.
That doesn’t mean you have to be unattractive with your hair in a bun and a serious suit.
There is nothing wrong with a pretty dress, skirt and blouse with a vest or jacket.
Save the sky high heels for party time and wear something comfortable, with lower heels. Leave the sneakers and sweats for jogging. Only wear slacks or jeans if you know the company policy is to allow them. You may have a dress down on Friday policy in your new place of employment but for every day, slacks are usually not in favor.
Wear flesh colored hose, simple leather shoes, and definitely no fish net.
One thing to match—your purse and shoes and perhaps even a belt. Pay more and buy real leather. They’ll last much longer and classic cut items never go out of style.
USE COLORS THAT DON’T SCREAM LOOK AT ME!
You know those colors...bright red, flaming orange, fluorescent green. A better choice would be beige or gray, pale blue, navy or black.
Look put together by matching shoe color to dress color. Keep the jewelry small...a nice watch, stud earrings, a pretty bracelet (not one with lots of jangling charms), or a couple gold chains.
Think of it, if you have to, as “playing a part”...you as conservative and successful business woman. After all, one day you might want to own your own business and mingle with corporate types.
THINGS TO DEFINITELY AVOID
Behavior is also dress. Don’t let anyone get the idea you are husband hunting. You can avoid that by being friendly with everyone but not too friendly with anyone.
Making enemies of other women in an office is a deadly thing to do. They can make your life miserable. Don’t wear plunging necklines, provocatively tight skirts, mini skirts that are way too short, or too much makeup. No false lashes, wild eye shadow, excessive rouge. Lips look best when they look “stained”, not painted, with a little gloss on top.
Nails need to be relatively short, impeccably manicured and in a reasonable color—pink, beige or natural.
And lay off that sexy perfume. Many people are allergic to scents, and take offense if you waft a cloud of aroma behind you. A little squirt of your favorite scent, under your garments when you are getting dressed is quite enough. Otherwise, soap and water clean is best. Body odor is a definite turn off so be sure to use your deodorant...an unscented one.
HAIR IS DRESS, TOO
Too much hair (too long, too full) can become a distraction in itself. If it is long, wear it back or up in a simple, easy to care for style. Avoid that shellacked look that comes from too much hair spray. If your hair is short, keep it neatly trimmed and always shiny clean. With today’s super good and easy hair colors, there’s no need for you to have gray hair.
By the same token, stay away from wild shades—multicolors, stripes, purples, greens, vibrant reds. The best hair colors for most women are shades of brown from light to dark to match your skin tones with perhaps some blonde streaks. Dead black can only be worn successfully by the absolutely perfect woman and most of us don’t qualify as that.
Of course bosses are not supposed to discriminate against you because of hair or dress but you can bet they can find other ways to get rid of you, like keeping a journal of your performance and finding you coming up short.
Making waves in an office is not a good idea if you want to keep on making enough to pay for your condo and feed your dog.
BUY SEPARATES
If money is tight, creating a wardrobe composed of mix and match separates gives you a lot more choices in what to wear. Never wear the same outfit two or more days in a row. But you can create a never ending wardrobe with a few blouses, vests, sweaters, jackets and some creative accessories like simple pins and scarves.
TO SAVE MONEY, STICK TO ONE BASIC COLOR
Choose black or brown. The black color family includes all shades of gray. The brown color family includes all shades of beige and tan. Colors like pink, pale blue, turquoise, red, green and lavender go well with either black or brown and you can’t go wrong with basic white, ivory, off-white or cream. They work well in either color family.
Choosing one base color also makes it easier when you shop. If you already have a brown skirt, tan blouse, ivory vest, you wouldn’t want to waste money on a gray sweater that would call for a black skirt. By keeping colors simple you can quickly assemble a wardrobe that works for you every day.
At day’s end you can even turn a conservative look into a party look by tossing the jacket and adding a cami with long pearls or switching to high heels and long earrings.
AS LONG AS YOU’RE A WORKING WOMAN, BUDGET WHAT YOU SPEND ON CLOTHES TO GET THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF LOOKS WITH THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF GARMENTS...AND USE THE EXTRA MONEY FOR THAT TIME OFF FROM WORK FUN STUFF!
