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Last week I went to Chicago for work; the dress code was "business casual," which is always a bit cryptic, but which in this case meant specifically no jeans. While I found the prohibition on jeans delightful -- I genuinely believe that Casual Friday will be the downfall of Western civilization -- I was also a little bit panicked, because my own wardrobe is substantially more casual than business, and my workday look quite often relies on a good pair of dark-rinse, mid-rise jeans paired with a tailored shirt or jacket, even for "business" type functions.
I didn't have the time -- or the inclination or extra cash -- to shop, so I dove into my closet and pulled together three days worth of jeans-free outfits, stuffed them lovingly into my suitcase (while taking back-to-back conference calls), and headed for the airport.
On the plane (where I wore a shirtdress and boots, thank you), I read most of Stephen Viscusi's Bulletproof Your Job -- remember when career counselling books had friendly titles about multicolored parachutes? No more. We're in a place now where you -- or your job -- could be in someone's firing line at any moment, and unless you want to go home bloodied and unemployed, you had best be prepared. Which means having options other than jeans for the office.
Viscusi offers four simple rules for protecting your job: Be visible, be easy, be useful, and be ready. The section on being visible was the most interesting to me, for a lot of reasons, but primarily because of the way Viscusi talks about what to wear to work. The second piece of advice he offers (the book consists of fifty tactics for safeguarding your job) is "Look Good."
Even if you work in a Monday-through-Friday casual dress environment, the way you dress should send a message that you're serious about your job. Or, more to the point, that you're serious about keeping your job. So go to your closet right now and map out a strategy to dress as if you mean it. (6)
Viscusi goes on to point out some of the worst work wardrobe mistakes (clothes that are too revealing, poorly fitting, or age-inappropriate; clothing with visible logos; too much makeup or cologne or perfume). The goal, he says, is to "dress to be noted, not noticed." While he does advocate looking to superiors for clues to what is and isn't acceptable at the office, he does not recommend a dramatic style change to conform to the highter-ups: "if you suddenly start dressing up, your colleagues will think you're interviewing for a new job. Which is no way to keep the job you have, right? So instead of dressing up, start dressing upward. Look for ways to sharpen your appearance without looking as though you've gone and had a total makeover."
Which brings me to Sarah Palin and her new wardrobe -- but probably not in the way you are expecting.
We all know about Palin's $150,000 shopping spree; by now I'm sure you know, too, that at a rally in Florida yesterday she told the crowd that she had returned to "wearing my own clothes from my favorite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska." Palin appeared at a second event in Ashville, NC, last night in a pair of jeans. Both Palin and the RNC have said that the new clothes will be donated after the campaign is over, which leaves me wondering what Governor Palin is planning to wear to work on the day after the election.
Creating a functional work wardrobe doesn't take much effort, or much money; most of the pieces you need (tailored skirts and trousers, fitted blazer, trench coat) can indeed be purchased at consignment stores, for example. The rest -- crisp menswear shirts, slim sweaters, basic pumps -- can be found at mid-range retailers like the Gap or Macy's. If you are working at all these days, it is worth the time and money to have a truly functional business wardrobe, one that you can easily pack up and take on the road with you should you suddenly find yourself either fighting for your current job or possibly stepping into a better job.
Nataly Kogan at Work It, Mom! summs this up so nicely:
If we can keep ourselves from jumping into another political discussion about Sarah Palin’s candidacy I actually think this shopping spree raises an important point about image in the workplace. When
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