Dressing Up or Dressing Down – Style Your Preference
I was frantic and in a tizzy very recently, now lest your mind starts ticking and according various reasons to that, let me quickly put an end to your conjectures and tell you that it was for no other reason than my hair dresser taking ill and cancelling my Monday morning appointment. Mondays as you know are the start of the week and I always start my week with a proper hair set and well planned out clothes for the whole week taking into careful consideration and to suit the engagements and assignments that I have lined up. My PR career has also awarded me a degree in crisis management and this my friends was a kind of crisis wasn’t it? Not to don your regular work hair style and to quickly change the clothes for the day to suit the style which the new stylist would be adept at. Needless to say frayed tempers, numerous telephone calls, mad rushes from one location to another, fingers crossed through traffic jams and bottle necks saw me eventually face the Monday office routine with a smart albeit a different appearance than planned.My new hairdo was no ordinary one, for it sat on a smart thinking head and that’s when my thoughts progressed towards the need for smart appearances and dressing for success.
Be it any profession unless you are uniformed, sparing some time on your daily appearance does take you a long way. Power dressing or just dressing you can choose your prefixes and suffixes but they do their bit by adding to and enhancing your appearance. Picture a scenario, when you are faced with an individual who comes in with crumpled unironed clothes , unruly hair , finger nails unclipped and dirty or even if we don’t go to that extreme let’s say there are two broad and distinct categories of individuals – Ones who spend time on their appearance and the ones who don’t consider it important enough.
Let me attempt a quick clarification here- by time I do not mean wasteful hours at the cost of other important activities and by clothes not only designer expensive brands but functional and good clothes which contribute to your smart and professional image. Not many would disagree that power dressing is as unique as the individual himself/ herself and contributes to their overall success in terms of noticeability, position, authority and seriousness of purpose.
A well dressed individual definitely conveys the impression that they mean business. It is highly likely that since power dressing exudes power, there are fewer chances of people ending up arguing with you for various reasons, superiors too would refrain from rebuking you unless you have created an absolute mess at work and it is completely unavoidable. The general belief being that if these well dressed individuals have taken the time out to work on their appearance, it indirectly also conveys the message that they will take care to work and devote adequate time to whatever they are handed out or are currently handling. They mean business. What you wear directly influences your body language and confidence. Well dressed individuals carry themselves well and create a generally good impression and send out positive and good vibes.
Many of you may well argue and rightly so, that only good clothes are not a mark of your intelligence and expertise at work but they do give you the edge to convey what lies beneath by creating an appealing exterior. The right clothing is unarguably a confidence and morale booster.
Your clothing contributes to your first impression and makes people perceive you in a certain way. So the next time you complain of lack of time and mouth the “ I am in a tearing hurry ,” next time you reach out for that unironed shirt or a hasty mix and match combo , stop, pause and think , think what difference you would have made had you just planned it a night in advance. Your clothing, your hair your outer appearance though not endowed with a mouth do speak and speak volumes. They go a long way in creating BRAND YOU – therefore it’s important that you recognize it as a living entity that walks with you and accompanies you throughout your life !
“Dress how you want to be addressed “