Different Looks For Different Times.

Professional. By now, you should know the basic tenets of looking more professional, but just to be clear, looking more professional means meeting the sartorial standards of your office or industry. No matter the standard, looking more professional most likely means going one step above where you are now: From business casual to appropriate, and from appropriate to corporate.

Authoritative. If you want to look like one of the “suits” you have to wear one. Take a look at your superiors: What do they wear? Pinstripes? Double-breasted suits? French cuff shirts? Remember, management always looks a little stiff, a little too proper, so don’t overdo it.

Creative. In creative fields such as publishing, media dress codes are notoriously relaxed . So how do you look creative when you are supposed to be creative? Well, black usually does the trick. A black suit, a black sweater with a white T-shirt underneath, black shoes. It shows everyone that you can look professional and still maintain your personality.

Independent. Every man wants to be his own man, and looking independent is a part of that. The key is finding a way to do it without looking unprofessional. Wearing jeans to the office would not be a good approach. But always wearing a cowboy belt might be. Yes, it’s a become your trademark. Here’s a range of similar ways to express independence in many ways by being dandyish or rugged, bohemian or preppy just as long as you look professional first.

Friendly. If your image is a bit aloof, you need to warm it up. No one wants to work with someone who seems distant or superior to them especially if you’re not. So what will make you look more friendly? You have to know your audience. If you’re a white then a button-down oxford shirt and tie, with the jacket off and the appear too threatening to women, a bow tie actually declaws most men possibly because there’s almost nothing that’s as asexual as a bow tie. Can you loosen up in your office? Try dressing business appropriate. Wear a sport jacket with a shirt and no tie. You will look approachable. Bring color also work wonders. A bright tie will seem cheerful, whereas something dark can often seem funereal. Oh, and would it kill you to smile every once in a white?

Organized. If your appearance is neat and tidy and that includes your desk and/or office people will assume that you are organized. Even if it means sweeping all that junk into your desk, do it. No one has to know what you look like on the inside. As for clothing, your shoes polished, and your shirts pressed. Your ties should always be knotted to the top. And make sure your watch is set five minutes ahead.

Affluent. Sad, but true, some people do judge a look by its cover. If you want to invest in two areas that can make you seem like you’re packing a big portfolio, splurge on a good pair of shoes and a nice watch. The shoes you can’t really skimp on you don’t need to spend $1,000 but $200 is about right but a watch doesn’t need to cost more than $100 to look expensive. These days, Timex, Swatch, Fossil, and other manufacturers put enough bells and whistles on their timepieces that you can fool almost anyone.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Importance Of Formal Cloths In Today's Life.

In the high-tech, high-speed world we live in, instant gratification is often not soon enough. We like our news 24 hours a day and expect tomorrow’s information to be here yesterday. Among the many perils of this fast-paced society is that we are quick to make judgments about the appearances of others. In such a world, we need to send signals immediately and hope that people get the message we intend to send. When Steven Case, chairman of America Online, and Gerald Levin, chairman of Tim Warner, nearly as much news as their two companies, their clothing generated nearly as much news as their business deal. Case, the epitome of a laid-back dot-com mogul, appeared at the press conference in a tie, while Levin, a lifelong corporate soldier, chose not to wear one. Of course, at the CEO level, one can, for the most a clear signal that two corporate worlds had already begun to blend.CLOTHES-MINDEDSo what are your clothes saying about you? It’s not always easy to know because, like having bad breath or spinach in your teeth, people are not likely to tell you when you are dressed inappropriately. The goal is to determine the ultimate message you want to send. And for the most part, that message is simple: You want to appear competent at all times and show people that you belong.Each office, Whether it’s a white-show law firm or a red-hot advertising agency, has a dress code. Adhere to it and you signal to everyone that you are part of the team. This is not to say that individuality can’t be expressed, but sometimes the best impression is no impression at all. In other words, you dress so appropriately for the office that no one notices. It is simply assumed that always look the part.

Of course, adhering to the clothing standards of an office or industry does not guarantee that you will make a good impression. Imagine the two junior salesmen with very similar skill sets are up for the same promotion at an insurance company where the men all wear suit or sport and most wear ties. One of the candidates always dress in a sport jacket, crisp white shirts, and creased trousers, but he never wears a tie. The other always wears a suit and tie to the office, but his shirts are usually wrinkled, his ties are frequently stained, and his shoes look as though they haven’t been shined since he bought them. Who gets the job? Well, the first guy may never wear a tie, but he clearly pays attention to other clothing details, and others will relate that to his work ethic. He looks sharp and ready for action and eventually, perhaps from the money he’ll get from the promotion, he’ll get himself a few ties.The lesson here is that dressing smart is not always about dressing formally. Paying attention to the subtleties of style may impact your appearance far more than simply adhering to an overall dress code.DRESSING AS IF YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE DEPENDED ON ITIn today’s business environment, there are more potentially hazardous clothing situations than ever breakfast meetings, client lunches, black-tie dinners, golf outings, board presentations, TV appearances and dressing smart means you have to be prepared for every one of them. Clearly, you cannot wear the same outfit for all of those occasions, but you can maintain a certain standard that suggests you could be ready for any one of then at a moment’s notice. For instance, a coworker calls in sick and can’t make in to a charity dinner that night. Your boss mentally runs through replacement options. He knows that you come to work in a suit every day, so he asks if you have a tuxedo. You do, of course, and suddenly you become the tenth person at the table seated two places away from the CEO.
We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com