As objective and talent-focussed as we would all like to believe the world of business is, the reality is that the way that one presents oneself usually counts just as much as whatever service you happen to be offering. Personal presentation is not primarily about a person's physical appearance, but rather the way that one is dressed and groomed. Being well presented not only instils confidence in clients and potential clients, but it creates confidence and a business-like attitude within oneself. Lesley Lyon gives some notes on how to dress for the workplace. 

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Corporate Dressing: Make Your Presence Felt Among Peers
By: Lesley Lyon

The sense of personality is very much related to the professional success attained by a person. Hence, it is very important to decide on the rightkind of clothing to be worn to a work place. The selection of the corporate dress will define a person’s business and status. The corporate dress depends on the factors such as the industry with which the person works, the job the person holds within that industry, geographic location and the expectation of the client.

Woman’s corporate dressing:

Earlier during the 70’s and 80’s when women entered the working environment, they were required to imitate the men’s dressing which resulted in women wearing skirts and jackets along with tailored blouses with accessories similar to the men’s ties. Gone are those days, now women wear trousers to office, which makes them look even more professional and at the same time enjoy flexibility and comfort than compared to the skirts. The dress worn by the woman should match with the industry and designation. To get a traditional look, women can wear either a trouser suit or skirt suit. Apparels should be accompanied with matching jackets to get a credible look. In case of skirt suits, the length of the skirt should not be more or less than up to the knee.

As shorter skirts are about to get unwanted attention of eyes and create awkward feelings in a work place, they have to be avoided at any cost. They should have a cut at the bottom near the ankles to suit the trousers. The sweaters and blouses with varied colors and designs can be very appealing than revealing in nature. Improper waistlines and necklines may create embarrassing situations and hence have to be avoided. Jewelry and accessories have to be kept to the minimum, lower heeled shoes are preferable than the high heeled or flat ones, sandals are not part of the corporate dressing from the safety point of view. Even though intelligence and entity of the woman carry more weight than the way she dresses, the physical appearance is very important for creating the first impression.

Power dressing in women:

The latest trend in corporate world is “power dressing”. Power dressing gives the women employees a sophisticated look along with giving a younger look to them. It does not give any room for cultural and gender bias. Power dressing in women gives them a feel of empowerment, authority and also increases their confidence level. The image is lifted up at the work environment. It helps in maintaining a high professional standard. Women prefer a softer touch to the dress they wear. Hence, they prefer to add their style of accessories to the power dressing. Most of the women choose apparels, which are comfortable to wear and at the same time give them a feminine look. Women at work can adopt a conservative style of dressing as it improves the image in the society while retaining the elegance in them. The color of the dress is very important as it reflects the personality of the women. Pastel colors, black and dark brown go very well with the corporate dress.

Lesley Lyon regularly contributes informative articles on topics such as health, beauty and cosmetics and fashion to web guides www.uniquehomedeals.info and www.fashionarea.info

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