While working in an office environment it’s
crucial to meet the dress code. After all, the
way colleagues and clients view you can help
make or break your professional reputation.
Dressing for work – if you don’t have a uniform
– can often seem like a tedious and difficult
chore, especially when performed five days a
week, forty-odd weeks in a year. However, such
an irksome routine of getting dressed in the
morning can easily be mastered by following
these ten tips.


1. Be prepared
Planning your outfits the night before can help
you avoid looking like you got dressed in the
dark. This can also help to eliminate any stress
that can arise in the likely event that your go-to
pants are in the wash and you have to put
together an award-winning outfit in five minutes
or you’ll miss your bus. Planning ahead can also
reduce the chances of you committing the
number one fashion crime of wearing the same
outfit twice. Plus, you can use the extra minutes
in the
morning to catch up on some z’s.
2. Invest in an iron
If you plan on being taken seriously by your
colleagues then the first step is to take your
own appearance very seriously. The way you
dress yourself each morning portrays your
attitude to work and life. If your creased and
crumpled shirt is telling your boss that you
couldn’t care less if you got that promotion or
not, then why on earth would they give it to
you? Ironing your clothes is not something you
should just pull out for job interviews – it should
be mandatory for all occasions.
3. Dress like your boss
As the saying goes, ‘dress for the job you want,
not the job you have’. The best way to gauge
the dress code of the office is to emulate the
people who run the place. If your boss has a
penchant for the jeans and collared shirt combo
then you too should happily indulge – however,
caution must be taken when venturing into the
territory of golf-themed ties and socks
emblazoned with Bart Simpson.
4. Don’t forget to polish
Leave scruffy shoes in the past with your school
uniform. As an adult you have no excuse for not
being able to see your reflection staring up at
you when you peer down at your feet. Polish will
take years off your leather and instantly signal
you as a serious player in the company. That
said, don’t forget to team your black shoes with
a nice clean pair of black socks – unless, of
course, you’re one of the Blues Brothers.


5. Overdressed is better than underdressed
This does not mean that you should dress as if
you are heading out for a night in Kings Cross.
Instead, plan your daily outfits as if you have an
extremely important meeting with an extremely
important client. This way you’ll be prepared for
anything, including if that important client just
so happens to be in town. And have no qualms
about looking ridiculously overdressed. In the
words of stylist to the stars Rachel Zoe, ‘What’s
the worse that can happen? You’re the best
dressed at the party?’

6. Quality over quantity
Investing in quality basic office apparel will not
only save you money in the long run but also
help you look like the star employee that you
are. The last thing you want is to enter a
meeting with a client only to find the button on
your bargain bin shirt has popped off right at
chest level. Suits in classic colours – black and
navy – that are tailored to your body will help
you avoid looking like a 5-year-old playing
grown-ups.

7. Less does not equal more
Unless you make money from wearing less
clothing than the average human, it is advised
to take a conservative approach when dressing
for the corporate world. Immediately eliminate
anything your mother would deem too tight, too
short, too see-through – in fact, anything that is
described with a ‘too’ in front of it needs to be
thrown into the weekend pile. Leaving things to
the imagination can be the difference between
respect and ridicule. This also goes for fashion
faux pas such as Visible Panty Line, plumber’s
crack and black bras under white shirts.

8. Comfort = confidence
If you spend most of your workday literally
running in and out of the office, scaling large
flights of stairs or visiting building sites then
make sure your outfit accommodates your daily
activities. Leave the towering high heels for
days when you’re comfortably sitting at your
desk instead of chasing taxis. Wear your
favourite shirt on a day that you know will be
particularly stressful. If you feel comfortable
then this will help you to relax and focus without
being distracted about whether your new tie
matches your shirt
.
9. Dare to be different
It is so easy to fall into a rut when it comes to
your office wardrobe, but dressing for today’s
work places is no longer black and white. A
whole new playing field has opened up in office
dressing, so don’t be afraid to inject a little bit
of fun into your outfit with colour, prints,
detailing and accessories. A brooch attached to
your blazer lapel can be all it takes. And as
frivolous as it sounds, sometimes an exciting
outfit can be all the incentive you need to get
up and slog through a hard day’s work.

10. Be yourself
Don’t lose yourself in the rules of office
dressing. The fashion world is the fiercest
advocate of the rule that rules are meant to be
broken (especially top 10 lists). While dressing
appropriately is key, this doesn’t equate to
forgoing your personality or sense of style.
Whatever the dress code is, personalise your
outfit with your own brand of magic. Life is too
short to look boring.

Ok