PERSONAL STYLING TIPS: THE IMPORTANCE OF STYLE IN THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD

We’ve heard the saying that people have just 7 seconds to make a great first impression, but does this mean that our style is the only thing people are taking in?

Whether you are meeting with a client at a coffee shop, heading into the office, or hosting an online webinar, your professional style is one that is quickly taken in. As a professional, you want to feel and look a certain way (without giving up your own personal style), so you can make that first impression count in all the right ways.

As a personal stylist, I know the importance of style when it comes to confidence, but is it also an important part of our professional lives? Can style hinder or accelerate our professional careers? In some ways, I think style can be an additional way to showcase our personalities and the professionalism we hold.

How can confidence impact your career?

One of the most satisfying parts of my business is seeing how confident my clients feel after having a personal styling session with me. They finally understand the ways to dress themselves that complement their personality, their body, and their skintone. It takes away the stress of dressing each morning, unsure what goes with what, and why certain outfits feel fantastic, while others not quite so.

Adding onto this, creating an effective plan that works for your morning routine can drastically reduce the stress of morning “what to wear”-itis. Here are some essentials that I recommend to help you plan for style success when going to the office.

Having a professional style that works for you will boost your confidence each day, helping you hold your head higher in the office. Whether you love a colourful suit, play with the casual/professional stylings from a blazer, or gravitate towards dresses, when you know your style you can confidently dress each day without the additional worries we put on ourselves to “look a certain way”. With this confidence you may feel more comfortable sharing your ideas in the office, showing up for additional tasks, or even feeling that boost to ask for the promotion that has become available!

It’s amazing what confidence can do for you across professional and personal worlds, and with the right wardrobe this can be one way to do that.

How can the right styling help you get recognition in your role?

Have you ever been to an office and thought “these people are all so well dressed”? Perhaps you’ve been to another country where everyone seems to just have an elevated sense of style? When you have the styling right in the office, you will be noticed in all the right ways. Not only is your calm confidence brought to the forefront, you are also able to shine in all the right ways – taking the right attention onto your role.

While style can’t make you better at your job, it can make you more recognised by the powers that be. Turning up feeling more confident, comfortable, and ready to take on anything the day gives you can be gifted to you just from changing that morning routine from stressful to confident.

I work with many professionals who are unsure how to dress uniquely for the office. They don’t want to lose their personal style, but they don’t want to be unprofessional. There are ways to tap into our personalities to stay unique, while remaining professional and appropriate for their professional lifestyles. The right styling in this way can help you feel more comfortable with the recognitions you deserve.

How to find your own professional style

When I work with my clients in a Colour and Style Clinic, one of the most important elements is understanding their personal style and then finding out all about the ways in which they need to dress. For example, if you work in law office, your professional style will be more tailored and corporate versus those who work in a tech start up who may have more freedom of expression. This isn’t to say you can’t express yourself!

If you want more professional style inspiration, and how to create your own professional style, click here to download my FREE Guide to Professional Styling.

When we know what the requirements of our professional lives are, we can then play with the ways in which to create our professional style. Elements from our personal style can be brought in such as colour, statement pieces, accessories, without pushing the envelope too far.

It’s important to feel confident, comfortable, and appropriately professional – and if you are unsure on how to create a professional wardrobe that delivers this, you’re not alone.

PERSONAL STYLIST TIPS - HOW TO DRESS FOR WORK IN 2023

I have had a lot of conversations with female clients who work in the city, that the way they are dressing for work has drastically changed since the pandemic. Most people now work on a hybrid format, with a mix of working from home and coming into the office.

They struggle to understand what to wear now, due to the dress code seemingly changing to a more relaxed version of what they were used to. The office wear of 2023 and beyond, seems to be incorporating more comfortable attire, and they feel that they no longer know what is suitable for the office.

As a personal stylist, I work with my clients to help them learn the ways to dress that they feel confident in, while remaining suitable for their environments. So, if you are feeling that your work wardrobe is no longer serving you, and you’re looking for ways to dress for this new hybrid way of working, then here are my top three tips for what to wear at work.

 

Tip Number 1 – Working from Home

Working from home looks tend to go more on the comfort and relaxed side, particularly on the bottom half of your outfit. You will tend to be able to walk around with less of an “office look”, but still need to look professional while jumping on and off of meetings. Your top half does still need to be more tidy and professional.

My top tips for working from home outfits:

• Add a cosy yet good quality jumper, so you can remain warm but happily jump on a virtual meeting without having to change.

• Wearing a colour from your colour palette will make a big difference, particularly when on camera, too.  Make sure it doesn’t blend into the background, so you don’t disappear!

• Add accessories such as earrings or headbands to add a little detail to your look, and finish off the professional style.

• For your bottoms, you may want to wear something a little more comfortable, such as leggings or relaxed trousers.

Tip Number 2 – Working from a Corporate Office

If you need to have a more corporate look, or have a strict dress code because you are a lawyer or you are meeting clients, a suit with a little personality is an easy go-to for this.

Top Tips for adding personality to a suit:

• While suits are excellent for corporate styling, they can feel a little restrictive. Depending on your position and company, you can add a dash of personality in a few ways:

• Wear a colourful heel or bag to your look to make your suit pop.

• Pop on a brooch to your lapel to liven up your suit jacket.

• Look for a different colour for your suit. Navy or black are no loner the only options! A deep grey, lilac, brighter blue, or even look for yellows, pinks, or greens, depending on your colours, to really jazz up your suit options.

• Change up the suit by wearing a different jacket with your black or navy bottoms, and vice versa.

Tip Number 3 – Working in the New Office

The case seems to be that most offices have now relaxed their dress codes with the changing times. This means you can have smart-casual looks, which may feel a little difficult for those who have always worn a suit to work, and now have more options!

A few ways to make a smart-casual office look:

• Wear your suit jacket with a pair of smart jeans. A deep wash is often best for this as it remains professional, but brings that touch of a more relaxed look to the outfit.

• Wear a suit with a smart t-shirt, in place of a blouse or shirt. There are lots of options for smart, high quality cotton t-shirts, that have a bit of personality, without having a slogan that may feel too casual!

• Pop on your favourite trousers or chinos, and add a comfortable high quality jumper or long sleeved cotton tee. The smarter bottom half of your look will elevate the comfort of your top half.

• Try out an alternative shoe, such as a brogue or a platform. Heels are no longer a requirement for the office, so play with more relaxed styles. For more ideas on shoes that work for the office that aren’t heels, I have shared a few of my favourites in this article.

• Play with colours that bring a touch of personality to your outfit, allowing you step out of the traditional black or navy palette.

• When it comes to working in a new way, it can feel difficult to plan your looks when you go to the office and when you stay at home. I hope some of these ideas have helped you plan your outfits for this new way to dress.

If you are a professional and you’re feeling unsure on how to dress for your new working style, I can help you make it a pleasure to dress for your work life.