Dressing for Success
Do I wear a mini skirt to the meeting? Should I dig out a tie to meet a client? Searching for success in your closet can be tricky.
By Nanci Wakeman
Imagine you are en route to a meeting with an international firm that could result in a lucrative contract for your company. You arrive in Mumbai, India, in jeans and a t-shirt. You’re two hours behind schedule and you need to change into proper business attire. You haul your luggage into a non air-conditioned, narrow washroom stall. The floor is covered in a suspicious, odorous liquid. You deduce that you must, at all times, have your feet in shoes and never let the cuffs of your immaculately pressed suit touch the floor. Struggling to get out of your jeans and tee, you’re now sweating profusely in the 35 degree heat. You’re half naked, balancing on one foot, trying to manoeuvre the other foot into the pant leg of your suit and your cell phone rings. It’s your customer with detailed directions to your meeting location.
Few people have as much trouble dressing for success as Bill Margeson of CBL Technology had on that occasion. According to Vic Hartman, owner of Hartman/McKay Clothiers in Unionville, Mr. Margeson was following the first principle of successful dressing in business. “Dress to suit your client,” says Hartman. If you come in too high maintenance [in a three-piece suit] and your client is in sportswear he automatically feels intimidated. But if you are taking care of my million dollar account and you are in baggy jeans and a sports shirt, that’s not smart dressing.”
Internally, Margeson says his employees have total freedom, but when they greet the world they must follow the adage, “when in Rome, or Mumbai…”
For basic business attire, Hartman recommends a solid black, navy or charcoal grey suit, a blazer and a couple of pairs of pants in navy blue or black. You can branch out to add a high-end pair of jeans and maybe a pinstriped suit.
Ruthe Raymer of Eleven Joseph Fashions in Markham concurs. Her store promotes clothing lines that allow women to choose separates that can be mixed and matched. She advises clients to choose black as a basic because it gets the most mileage. They should pick a jacket style, a skirt and two or three pairs of trousers. Women will wear trousers four times as often as a skirt because they are comfortable and practical for a changeable climate and air-conditioned buildings.
“If you are going to meet a client, there’s a stricter code,” says Raymer. “You wear a skirt for a corporate presentation. [In] business attire for women, the pendulum has swung back to a more conservative look but not to the point of being masculine,” she adds. “We went through a decade of casual Friday becoming casual Monday to Friday.”
She has given talks to help new employees understand what proper business attire means. Skirts should be to the knee or just above the knee. Mini skirts are unacceptable. Suiting should show a woman’s body shape. Jackets are well fitted, not boxy. “You don’t want to look like a cereal box or like you’ve got a bag over your body,” says Raymer.
Though business dressing has definite boundaries of appropriateness, it isn’t boring. “Colour is huge,” says Hartman. “It’s male plumage.” The taupe, black and grey of the past have been replaced by melon, green, soft yellow and soft blue. The Fall will see earthy tones accented with deeper colours, but pattern and pastel colours are featured in everything.
“Accessories are big,” adds Karen Piper, owner of Peppertree Klassics in Markham. “Costume jewellery, scarves on the outside of a jacket or as belts make dressing fun and individual. Most of Piper’s clients want casual business attire that is less formal than the classic business suit. The wrap dress with a jacket over it or a t-shirt underneath has been very popular.
“Fashion should be fun and have a personal edge to it,” agrees Raymer. With separates, women can choose a jacket, pants and skirt that suit their body shapes. Jackets can be waist-length or down to mid thigh; pants can be front or side closing, high-waisted or just below the belly button; skirts can be knee-length or mid-calf length depending on the body shape. “Then you spin the suiting with tops and jewellery. Your signature is the underneath piece and your jewellery just as the shirt and tie are for men,” says Raymer.
Clothiers agree that dressing to suit the situation is fundamental to dressing for success. And the best news is that fit, colour and a style that matches your body shape – the other main principles of dressing for success – can be met without spending lots of money.
2600 John Street, Unit 207, Markham, ON L3R 3W3 T: 905.475.5222 F: 905.475.6369
