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"As you well know my time is at a premium, and I wanted to let you know how pleased I am with the fact that you can accommodate my very busy schedule by visiting my office. Additionally, my custom suits and shirts are great and your ties complete the look beautifully..."
- Laszlo Kulcsar
President
Automated Systems
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Confidence, Professionalism and Success Never Go Out of Style
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A distinction should be made between Fashion and Style.
Fashion is copying a "look" and keeping up with the "trends" of
the season. Style, however, is not caring about a "trend", but
subtly expressing your individuality through clothing that is
both complementary and appropriate to your age, body and
lifestyle. Recently, a market research study was conducted with an
all-female class at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the
women were asked to answer a few questions about men's wear.
"You're at a club or bar and you see a guy dressed in a suit and
tie. You think he's probably…". The top responses were:
- Well grounded, motivated, goal oriented and very into
appearance. First impressions are important.
- Wealthy. and potentially an arrogant jerk.
- Fashion conscious.
- From out of town.
- Going out after work.
- Smart with a good job and a decent salary.
- A successful businessman.
- Probably in the wrong club.
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With a renewed interest in presenting a more polished image
that inspires confidence, more and more businesses continue to
realize that a more refined dress code leads to better
productivity. In my opinion, there are several good reasons why
men should wear suits (or sport coats and slacks):
1) Men don't
carry handbags, but they do have palm devices, cell phones,
glasses, wallets, and keys that can bulk up pockets of slacks.
Suit coats typically offer a plethora of pockets allowing you to
more evenly distribute the necessities of today’s business day. 2) More than half of American men are overweight. A suit or
sport coat helps accentuate the positive while camouflages
problem areas. 3) "Dress" is easy, "casual" is hard. Most guys know which
ties match each suit in his closet, but what defines "business
casual" or "sloppy"? 4) Casual slacks don’t "work". Try sitting in the office or
car for a while. Then stand up. Cotton slacks have a tendency to
wrinkle in a manner all their own. While there is a time and
place for cottons, the business day is not one of them. 5) It is impossible to "dress up" if you have misjudged the
appropriate attire for an occasion. It is, however, a simpler
matter to "dress down".
Whether right or wrong, first impressions are usually based
on appearance. If your goal is to project a "well-grounded,
motivated and goal-oriented" image, let me share with you some
guidelines for gentlemen’s business attire.
- Your suit should be stylish and well tailored. Subtle
stripes and patterns in a model that enhances your physique
are best.
- You can never go wrong with a crisp white shirt, but
muted patterns as well as stripes offer an air of confidence
(and an infusion of color).
- For a more sincere approach, steer clear of bright
colors and loud patterns in your ties.
- A pocket square is a nice touch; linen square or silk
puff.
- No jewelry, other than a wedding ring, if appropriate.
- Keep your dress watch slim and understated and wear the
chunky chronograph on the weekends.
- Simple, elegant leather-soled lace-up shoes in black or
brown complete today’s professional look.
While these appear to be simple guidelines, many gentlemen
find 1) coordinating all the essentials, 2) presenting the image
they wish to project, and 3) ensuring the clothing fits
properly, may be beyond their scope of expertise. This is where
a professional clothier and image consultant can help.
Climbing the proverbial Ladder of Success can be difficult.
Make sure your clothes say you belong. When you choose quality
over quantity, you choose to belong. When you choose to invest
in yourself and enhance your personal and professional image,
you choose to belong. When you choose to put your best foot
forward in every situation, you choose to belong.
In the end, a gentleman should think back to when we were
very young and recall Mom’s words of wisdom; respect your
elders, play nice with others, chew with your mouth closed, wear
clean underwear, and if you don’t have anything nice to say,
don’t say anything at all!
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