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Business Attire

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A couple days ago, I heard from a New York Times video that dress-down Friday has gone. “Evidence” shows that people in the City want to dress up. Today’s CNN News video features an interview with a young entrepreneur (tailor) in Hong Kong who loves “old-fashioned” suits. These two stories reinforce the idea that “old-fashion” business attire still works and will continue to work well in the professional work.

I require that students in my class wear business attire for interviews, tours, and class presentations. Once in a while, I hear students saying that they do not have money for a business dress. I will not force any student to buy expensive clothes with his/her money for meals or rents, but I feel that everyone should have at least one or two formal dresses for special occasions. Here, having a formal dress does not mean that a person needs to have custom-made dresses from high-end tailor stores either. Often, people can find good quality business dresses in department or retail stores with very affordable price. They can even save more when the clothes are on sale.

If a student can only afford one formal dress and will probably keep this dress for the next several years, I would suggest him/her to stay away from low-cuts and any trendy designs but take the following suggestions:

For both male and female:
  • Go with a dark color suit or dress --- a black, grey, or dark blue are very neutral colors that will work in many formal occasions, literally from weddings to funerals.
  • Have at least one white dress shirt --- pink, yellow, or blue works fine for a certain occasions or to some people. White is the only color that will never go wrong.
  • Have a pair of black dress shoes --- black shoes can go with many dark color dresses.
For male:
  • Have several ties (or handkerchiefs) with a variety of colors --- If he does not have multiple suits and shirts for different occasions, he can still have different looks by changing his ties and handkerchiefs.
For female:
  • Have several pins and some bright-color scarves --- She may wear the same dark-color suit or dress from time to time; scarves, pins, and makeup can make her very versatile.
I believe it is important to dress up for special occasions. If a person cannot even put himself/herself together for a special event, how much would you trust this person when you need him/her to put things together for you? How important does business attire mean to you? How does a person’s dress and demeanor affect his/her credentials and your opinions of this person?

Relevant discussions:
Tattoos and professionalism
Tattoos and piercing at work



References:
Picture was downloaded from eHow.com.

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Comments

  1. Zack MarcianoMay 9, 2011 at 8:38 AM

    I believe it is important to dress properly everyday. I also believe a person who cannot figure out how to put himself/herself together for even a special event, how could you trust this person when you need them to put something together for an important presentation? A person who knows how to dress properly in business attire is one step ahead of most. It is an acquire skill and take alot of time and effort to create an adequate wardrobe for everyday work. People should truly embrace the ability to dress in business attire everyday, and i feel a person’s dress and demeanor does affects his/her credentials.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kathryn WickhamMay 10, 2011 at 7:07 PM

    I believe that people should dress appropriately at all times. The term appropriate changes, depending on the occassion. When going to an interview or making a presentation, one should definitely dress up. I think that the way a person dresses tells a lot about themselves. It not only tells if a person is trustworthy, but how they take care of themselves, and gives a sense of their behavior. If someone is dressed nicely, I believe that it shows how much confidence they have, how much integrity, how serious they are, and how much effort they will put into something. Some people really need to think before they dress, knowing what it will say about them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cliff SpearsMay 11, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    A business suit can do wonders for a person's life. It can be his one way ticket to the business world and if he's successful, it can also be help him for years to come. After all, no businessman is successful without his business suit, right?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Linchi KwokMay 11, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Thank you very much. I agree on every statement everyone has put here.

    ReplyDelete

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