Office Image Spoilers

Summer is always a time when businesses cringe in anticipation to see what their employees will be wearing to the office.  Flip flops come out, a little too much skin is exposed, and workers tend to get a little sloppy in their dress.  This is a perfect opportunity to offer our services as image consultants to guide our clients to appropriate attire this season.  Especially in this competitive economy, employees need every edge they can get to succeed in the workplace, including a wardrobe that means business.

Sure, coming back from a summer weekend may tempt them to roll into work wearing cut offs, but do our clients really want to project an image that says  “I just got back from the beach, I’ll get to that report when I re-acclimate”?  No!  We want our clients to always appear confident, capable and ready.  As the workplace gets more and more casual and more and more competitive, our services may be needed more than ever.  It can be confusing as to what is OK to wear to the office and what constitutes a major faux pas. That’s where the savvy image consultant comes in!

Offer your clients a summer spruce up to go through their closets and help them find what works for work.  Make a list of what they need.  Maybe it’s camisoles to go under those low cut tops and dresses?  Or, a light sweater or jacket to cover bare arms and stay warm in the frigid air conditioning?   Or a casual work shoe that’s not a flip flop?  Put together a few summer outfits for them:  casual, yet neat and business like.  You can help save them embarrassment at work and project a professional image.   After all, getting ahead never takes a vacation…why let their wardrobe?

Carol Davidson teaches SXF 810: Color for Wardrobe Planning, SXI 100: Introduction to Image Consulting, SXI 110: Image Consulting Confidential.

3 thoughts on “Office Image Spoilers

  1. Summer is definitely a tricky time when it comes to the workplace. I appreciate the suggestions you offer in order to combat this problem. To take it one step further, you can implement a dress code policy in your office so as not to get into any of this, thereby not having to worry about offending anyone by implementing suggestion on how to dress.

    1. Great point! It’s hard to believe that some companies do not have a documented dress code. It’s even more surprising when they do, and it simply reads “Proper business attire must be worn at all times.” No wonder employees are confused!

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