Some thoughts for working girls

Have you ever stared despairingly at your open wardrobe and felt deeply sapped by its array of shapeless, uniform black suits? Or sat in a meeting distracted by worries over the appropriateness of your outfit?

Putting together a wardrobe of elegant, contemporary and individual clothing is a day-to-day challenge, especially in a work environment. It’s dull to be always in a boring black suit, but difficult to be too ‘different’ in case you’re perceived to be outrageous, and inappropriate. However, it can be done, you can be different and I hope that in this series of articles I will be putting together for you I will help you to find your own style and banish a lot, if not all, of your black suits to the second-hand shop.

However, before looking at differentiation, we have to look at the basics of good clothing. In order to run a business you need a budget - right? And then perhaps you need to ensure the people in your business are working together well? So in order to run your wardrobe it makes sense to think about the budget first and the way your wardrobe is working for you; is it cost effective and is it making the best of every garment hanging there? And I am talking about a working wardrobe here, not your everyday social stuff. I would suggest that you put aside each month some affordable amount into a savings account strictly for your working clothes.

Personally I think it is a good idea to have a ‘working wardrobe’ i.e. one that you keep exclusively for your working life – the clothes hanging together in there are your investment in your career and they reflect your attitude, character and position at work – whether you are self-employed, working as a PA or boss of a global organisation. They are the first thing people see when you walk into a room, they are your BRAND. They should also consistently reflect the job you want, not the job you’ve got!

Whether you are aware of it or not you are sending out signals 24/7 of what you stand for, and that first vital impression when you enter a room needs to be a good one. Your overall presentation, (hair, make-up, clothing, facial expression) makes up 55% of your first impression, the next 38% comes from your voice - accent, tone, pace, pitch, volume. Leaving just 7% for your actual message, so if you get the first 93% wrong, no-one is listening, they’re all backing off, it goes back to the caveman’s instinct to escape!

So, your wardrobe has to work hard for you and your investment is important, especially now when goodness knows where we will be this time next year. To stand out we have to mark our differentiation and be thought of as memorable, remarkable and having a promise of value, just like any other great brand.

So it’s good to have a few rules to follow and I’m going to set them out here first of all, so that in later editions I can add to the story and begin to show you how to mark out your differentiation.

My first mantra is ‘fit’, ‘fit’, ‘fit’! Nothing can let an outfit down more than being ill-fitting (no matter how expensive it was). Whether it’s a too-tight shirt with buttons gapping on the front and rolls of those excess Christmas pounds bulging over and under the bra strap, or an oversized suit with cuffs over knuckles or trouser bottoms dragging on the ground. Even if all you do this New Year is to take all those garments that need alteration to the tailor, you will have made a great start and feel more comfortable and smart.

My second mantra is ‘The Rule of Three’. Now this will save you money.

How many times have you bought an expensive garment only to find that for whatever reason it is hardly worn – why? – maybe you don’t feel great in it, you’ve nothing else to wear it with, or it seems to drain you of vitality.

I want you to consider the Rule of Three. Let us imagine that you have found a terrific jacket that you simply must have. STOP! Hold it up on its hanger, look at it and very carefully ask yourself:

1. What 3 seasons can I wear this through? In our world of air conditioning and central heating we can wear lighter-weight clothes in our offices through most of the year), a heavy tweed might not answer that question.

2. What 3 events can I go to in this? Think about your working life and where you could wear this jacket – it should suit at least 3 occasions, e.g. a board meeting, a client lunch, and maybe with careful accessorising, an evening event. If you can’t honestly place it in all three, comfortably, then you will need to have another option.

3. What 3 things do I have hanging in my wardrobe that will go with this jacket? If you can’t name 3 other (or more) really good matches then think again. This jacket is going to cost you more money! You will have to buy more stuff to go with it. If that’s not an issue for you then ignore me, but it’s always worth considering, especially in a time of downturn.

Effectively what the ‘Rule of Three’ is doing is giving you a set of questions that can save you a great deal on ill-considered purchases and put an end to those expensive outfits lurking in the dark recesses of your wardrobe that you just give up on, that have cost you a small fortune and that you regret as a waste of money. What it also does is to ensure that you begin to build a really good working wardrobe which co-ordinates throughout and where you can put together several different outfits from just a few quality garments (better known of course as ‘a capsule wardrobe’).

It is quite possible to put 50 outfits together from just 15 items! Clever co-ordination of a couple of trousers and skirts in basic neutral shades, a couple of jackets, maybe one in a pure red or another bright colour, a smart simple dress, a couple of quality tops and good accessories - never stint on good belts and shoes – 2-tone black/brown will co-ordinate in most wardrobes. All this can see you through most business events. Of course all this can be enhanced by knowing what palette of colours to choose to wear to truly ‘bring you into focus’, colour can be a great way to make an impact in the office, but that’s a story for next time.

About the Author:

Tessa Hood from Changing Gear is a …

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