Dressing for success ensures that you are putting your best foot forward and making a positive first impression. After all,
before you even speak your name, your future employer, college professor, or colleague SEES you. You don’t have to spend
a lot of money to land a quality, professional-looking outfit. There are three common levels of professional dress: business
professional, business casual, and casual.
What you wear includes not only clothes, but also shoes, accessories, and jewelry. Men should have shoes that match their
belt and socks. Women should wear jewelry that isn’t distracting by making noise or dangling. Personal grooming is also a
factor: hair should be trimmed and attractive, clean nails and hands, etc.
When purchasing clothes to wear in professional settings, you don’t have to break the bank. Purchasing classic styles over
the current trends will last longer. Classic styles in suits, dresses, and coats will ensure longevity in these items. Find ways to
incorporate items that can be worn with multiple other shirts, pants, or jackets. This will allow for a mix-and-match
wardrobe. Trendy items can be purchased to keep the classics in style. Trendy accessories to bring your wardrobe through
each season can be an inexpensive way to utilize bright colors.
Professional dress can be found in various venues, not just department stores.These include clearance racks, outlet stores,
thrift or resale shops, garage sales, and borrowing from friends.
Professional Dress
Casu al
In a casual situation, you cannot go wrong with khakis and a nice shirt or
blouse. Casual isn’t sloppy, you should have wrinkle-free attire, clothes that
aren’t revealing to much skin or undergarments, and no offensive words or
pictures printed on the shirt. You must find the happy place between casual
and too casual. Acceptable attire includes, clean jeans without holes, dresses
or skirts, comfortable shoes, polo type shirts, button down shirt, simple
blouses, and sweaters. Clothes to avoid include, but aren’t limited to, shorts,
athletic wear, miniskirts, sweatshirts, graphic t-shirts, hats, flip-flops, and
athletic shoes
Business Professional
This is the most formal level of professional dress. This style is best used
when attending career or business fairs, some interviews, and semi-formal
to formal events. Sticking to darker or traditional colors like black, grey, and
navy is recommended. Examples of professional dress are jackets and blazers
with matching skirts or pants, a button-up collared shirt and tie combination,
or a tailored, conservative shirt or blouse, dress, and jacket.
Care of Clothing
Ironing: is simple to utilize to get wrinkles out of clothing. Many irons have
different settings to match the type of fabric your clothing items are made out of.
Utilizing the proper setting will help maintain the integrity of the item and
lengthen the life of the item. Be sure to check the label of the clothing item to
properly care for the item.
Dry Cleaning: is often recommended in most professional dress items. This
process utilizes solvents and additives to clean and dissolve greases and oils that
water can’t.
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