Polished Professional Image Blog

Well, the holiday season is in full swing. Did this year go by really, really fast for you? This is the time of year where after-work parties abound! Some are office holiday parties, some are holiday parties of organizations to which you belong and some are get-togethers with family and friends. Some of the parties will be casual and some will be more dressy occasions. You might even get invited to a formal after-work event. The challenge is to dress appropriately for the party while still maintaining a professional image at work. Last year around this time of year, I saw a woman in a cocktail dress on her job. It was a gorgeous “little black dress”, but it was totally inappropriate for the office. I thought, “Well, there goes her professional image”. 

So, what is the secret to going from office to party without sacrificing your professional image? After all, you don’t want to be overdressed for work nor do you want to be underdressed for the party. If you are attending a formal party after work, it is going to require an extra set of clothes. There is just no getting around that. You will have to go home and change or bring a change of clothes to work with you. It is practically impossible to dress down formalwear. 

But if it’s not a formal, you can easily dress up (or dress down) your normal work wardrobe. This can be done with accessories. A dressy camisole can be discreetly worn under a blouse or sweater during the day and shown off when it’s party time. A pair of rhinestone sandals is much easier to carry than an entire outfit. Jewelry can dress up an outfit. You can change into a pair of chandelier-styled earrings, add a set of bangles and a cocktail ring and you’re good to go! And don’t forget about changing your hair and make-up. A quick up-do and a little extra eye-make-up may be all that is needed to put you in party-mode. If you need to dress down your work wardrobe, substitute a tee-shirt for the oxford shirt or dress blouse; change out of your pumps into loafers; swap your pearls for more casual jewelry; take your hair down and let it flow!

You don’t have to sacrifice your polished professional image during this time of year. Just make a few minor adjustments after your day at work is over and go out enjoy the holiday season.     

Just when I started to think that starting a blog during the winter was a bad idea - everyone is covered from head to toe, after all - she gets on the bus on which I’m riding. ‘Hmm’, I wonder, ‘where the heck is she going in that outfit this time of day?’ It was 8:30 in the morning. She had on lacey mid-calf leggings under a skirt or dress that was just a little longer than her three-quarters length coat and patent leather stiletos (thank God the snow hadn’t yet started to fal). She was also carrying a computer bag. ‘OMG, I’ll bet she’s on her way to work’. 

If I had a camera crew with me, I would have asked her what she does for a living and for whom! But, sans that camera crew, I kept quiet and decided an image blog will work even in the winter. It’s not that I’m opinionated or judgmental (okay, maybe a little opinionated), it’s just that I am concerned that we women don’t always take seriously the impact that appearance has on how we are perceived in the business world.  Ideally, we are judged on our ability, but in reality, we are judged on our perceived ability. So, stay tuned. We’ll discuss these perceptions, how to improve them and why you should care.