Succeeding in any career comes down to a few key areas: your skills, your network, your performance and yes, your appearance. Though it shouldn’t have a significant bearing on how you fare at work, your wardrobe could be holding you back when it should be propelling you forwards.

Dressing to impress is one of the golden rules of professionalism, but sometimes this is easier said than done. Dress etiquette has changed radically over the last ten years alone and with jeans sneaking into the workplace, it is getting harder and harder to find the balance. What is smart dressing? What is casual? What on Earth is smart casual supposed to be?

The answer to each of these questions depends on which industry you are in and what sort of company you work for, but broadly speaking, there a few things you can do that will work for each one.

How to Dress For a Creative Role

Creative jobs require creative people and usually offer some flexibility around dress rules. In fact, your clients will expect that you will dress creatively which gives you the advantage of being able to dress boldly but with the disadvantage of never quite knowing what is too much.

In general, you should try to go for well-cut and simple clothes but add an interesting detail. Show off your personality with your wardrobe and go for beautiful accessories to set the whole thing off. A capsule wardrobe is probably best for you as it will give you lots of opportunities to create different outfits without spending your entire salary on clothes.

Just as business people tend to go for well-fitted clothes, you should do the same. However, rather than the plain, formal colors that many of them may go for, you consider experimenting with brighter colors and patterns. However, don’t limit yourself, if you feel more comfortable in floaty, looser fabrics, take the opportunity and enjoy being a free spirit in an industry that celebrates your style.

How to Dress For a Medical Role

You might think that given you are likely to spend most of the day in scrubs that you don’t have much room for dressing to impress in a medical role. However, you can buy scrubs that will suit your taste and fit your body frame. Though you might not look that different, a better fit will give you more confidence as well as make you feel you more comfortable. Sort out these small things, and you will be able to concentrate harder and potentially perform better at work as well. You can see more online options here.

If there are days where you are not wearing scrubs, for example, if you are consulting rather than operating, why not wear a business suit? People tend to trust those who look clean and sharp so make sure that your clothes are well-ironed and properly fitted and color-coordinated.

How to Dress For a Formal Role

Formal dress is still required in some jobs and lawyers, business people and other high profile roles have to dress accordingly. For men, this is usually quite a simple process because a suit generally satisfies the requirement. Just make sure that you have a few silk ties to go with your shirts and shine your shoes before you go anywhere. It seems relatively simple although, admittedly, choosing a tie is quite an artform!

For women, a formal role is a little harder to dress for, but fortunately, there are a few options. Pantsuits are a popular choice for many women, especially female politicians and for some, are often more comfortable than skirts or dresses. Add a matching jacket, neatly fitted at the waist and you will certainly look the business.

Fitted dresses are also a good option though the thicker material can be quite stifling in hot weather. The real question is whether you should wear heels or not. It’s ridiculous that women’s shoes are still so controversial, but The Balance suggests that you “do not wear chunky heels, flat soled-shoes, stilettos, or shoes with too much height.” There is clearly no right answer, and yes, that was written in February 2018!

Ladies, wear what makes you feel good!

How to Dress to Impress When There are No Rules

When you work for a company, you can get an idea of what to wear from your colleagues, but when you work for yourself, there are no clear rules. In this case, set some standards for yourself based on what your industry appears to dictate. So, creative freelancers should probably follow creatives in their dress sense for example.

You might also wish to look at how your potential clients dress and emulate their style. This is a classic way of fitting in and works much the same in business as it did at high school. People like people who look familiar so while you should add your personal flair to every outfit, it might benefit the new relationship if it appears that you are ok with fitting in with the crowd.

If you work from home, you may be tempted to work in pajamas while you are on the sofa with your laptop. Since there aren’t any clients around, you could certainly get away with this, but it might not put you in the right mind frame for work. Part of the reason that so many professionals essentially dress up to go to work is that it preps their mindset for the workplace. Dress for work and you will work well, dress for bed and you might just nod off.

How you dress can make a big difference in how you feel while you work and just looking more professional may boost your performance. In a lot of ways, dressing up for work is like dressing up to go on stage and perform a character. Dress to impress, and you will very well do just that.

Though every industry has its own set of unwritten rules, and every company differs too, if you can hack your wardrobe to give off the best possible impression every time, you will see a real difference in your performance and hopefully land a promotion or a new client while you’re at it!

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