I can certainly empathize with the folks up north. CNN reported that a heat wave with triple-digit temperatures hit this week. Someone recently asked me what I do here in South Florida when the temps climb over the summer. I laughed – stay inside! Might sound crazy, but it’s true.
All this talk about heat reminds me that I only shop for clothing during the summer. South Florida is considered a tropical climate with the average lows in mid-60s and the highs in the upper 80s. That means, for the most part, I don’t need a coat (except to travel). As soon as the “fall collections” hit the catalogs, my shopping is done.
When I worked in Corporate America, I had two sets of clothes; work clothes and play clothes. Now, I work from home. I don’t have client meetings every day, so I’m able to wear casual attire. And many of my clients have business casual dress codes. This is causing me to take a real hard look at my wardrobe. How much clothing do I need to have? And is there a way to be professional yet comfortable and not maintain two sets of clothes?
One of my new fave blogs, Get Rich Slowly, talked about The One-Year Wardrobe Project. Basically, you turn the hangers around in your closet so you can notice what you wear and what you don’t wear. Then you can get rid of the stuff you don’t wear because it’s just taking up space.
I’ve decided to give this a try. In the first couple of weeks, I noticed a few things:
- I fell in love again with a few pieces of clothing I forgot I had wasn’t wearing.
- I got rid of a few things I had no intention of wearing again (especially shoes!)
I’m also paying a lot more attention to care labels. Dry cleaning is expensive. That doesn’t mean I’ll eliminate dry cleaning…but I’m trying to be smart about it. Tell me – am I the only person doing this?
One of the best gifts we can give ourselves and our employees is changing our opinions about dress codes. It costs absolutely nothing and can put extra dollars in our employees’ pockets. Having expectations where expensive attire, luxury handbags and designer shoes are concerned is putting financial pressure where we don’t need it. For example:
- Telling job candidates to wear a suit to an interview when they will never wear a suit when they work there is irresponsible. They could use that money for something else.
- Teleworking employees should not be required to maintain two wardrobes for the handful of times they come to the office.
- Let weather set the stage for attire. Suits can be are unbearable in 90 degree weather.
- If you provide logo wear, encourage sustainability by using eco-friendly fabrics.
As the office environment changes, so should our old school thinking about work attire. Your employees will thank you for it.
Image courtesy of Le Turc
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Gina DeLapa says
Sharlyn, you bring up some great points and an important topic for discussion — in my communication seminars for the workplace, the discussion around dress goes something like this:
* Iron the shirt! Better to wear an ironed, well-fitting polo shirt than a rumpled dress shirt (and don’t even get me started on khakis from the dryer!).
* Dress respectfully. This has far less to do with designer labels or formality, and much more to do with decency and common sense. For example, cover up the cleavage! And bosses, when you see this one being abused, it’s your job to politely (and privately) intervene. If you don’t, workplace morale will suffer – I’ve seen it happen.
* Dress for the occasion. Even though I work from a home office, I would never dream of showing up to a client lunch, for example, in anything but my best business/business casual attire. To do otherwise would show disrespect, and a lack of social sense.
I like what you said about not requiring candidates to wear a suit if they’re never going to need it again – on the other hand, I can tell you that after I got hired at my last job (before starting my own business), I was told that I was the only candidate who DID wear a suit.
While I’m sure the suit wasn’t the reason I got hired, I venture to say it confirmed whatever good hunches the interview panel already had about me. I was not told to wear a suit – I just did it.
This reminds me of when my oldest niece was looking at colleges – it came down to two places: one that offered daily chapel services, and one that required it. In the end, she chose the former, saying, “I don’t mind going to chapel – but I don’t want to be forced to go.” Amen, sister.
As you said, let’s rethink what really matters when it comes to dress.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for commenting Gina. I really like the way you summed it up – focus on what matters.
Karla Porter says
I like the hanger idea… I have the bad habit of buying underwear because all of mine are in the hamper.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for sharing Karla!