John T. Molloy introduced the concept of power dressing to break the stereotype of women being extra-feminine in the corporate world back in the late 1970s. Molloy's manuals Dress for Success (1975) and Women: DressDress for Success (1977) suggest a gender-specific professional dress code, especially for female workers entering a typical masculine environment with a skirted suit as a "uniform" to help them acquire respect and power at work. More than just a fashion to brag about in today's competitive workplace, one's appearance is crucial in how colleagues, superiors, and clients perceive them.
Power dressing is not just a fashion to brag about in today's competitive workplace. One's appearance is crucial in how colleagues, superiors, and clients perceive them.
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Reasons Why It's Essential to Dress Professionally in Your Workplace
Presenting a positive representation of yourself is an essential component of experiencing professional success through a style of dressing that displays confidence, professionalism, and authority. While this can create a professional look, it can also help you command attention and consideration at work. What you wear and how you communicate with others can impact how well and respected you will be perceived.
Make an excellent first impression
Experts say it takes between five and 15 seconds for someone to form a first impression about a person. According to William Thourlby in his book "You Are What You Wear: The Key to Business Success," the first time we meet someone, we're trying to size them up. People look at socio-economic status, level of education, social position, level of sophistication, economic background, social background, moral character, and level of success. "First impression lasts," as they always say. Your appearance is often the first thing others notice about you.
Dressing professionally can help form a positive impression on people you meet in the workplace. This is especially important for interviews and meeting upper-level managers who make hiring and promotion decisions. The initial judgments people make about you can influence their long-term opinions.
Communicate that you take your job seriously
Dressing professionally sends the message that you are serious about your work. It shows that you spend time and effort on your appearance, demonstrating that you care about representing yourself well at work. When you indicate that you take your job seriously, it helps others see you as someone they should respect and consider.
Represent your company
As a member of your organization, you serve as a company representative to the public. Whether you're making service calls, visiting clients, or speaking with customers in a store, your appearance reflects on the business. Dressing professionally helps you present your organization's positive, professional image to others. Even if you dress casually or wear a uniform, ensuring you look neat and put together can improve the reception you receive. Employers appreciate employees who consider themselves as company ambassadors to the public.
Boost confidence
You can do your best work when you feel your best. Dressing professionally can help you feel empowered and confident to take on new challenges, meet new people, and progress in your career. When other areas of your professional life may be out of your control, how you present yourself is something you can control and use to your advantage. The image you curate is like your personal brand. It can often communicate much about you to others who don't interact with you. Create a professional wardrobe that speaks to your goals, personality, and creativity.
Feel accepted
Working with others is a crucial element of success in many professional environments. Dressing professionally can help you feel like you belong in spaces with your peers and supervisors and that you have valuable insights and ideas to contribute. Your colleagues may be more inclined to include you in meaningful discussions and projects.
Enhance credibility
When you look professional, people respond more positively to you, often engaging more and trusting your words. Dressing professionally can give you an added layer of credibility in your dealings with coworkers, managers, clients, and the public.
Power Dressing might mean something different for each person. Whether you feel your most potent in a sharp, tailored blazer, crisp white button-down, and the perfect slim-fit trousers or in a soft loungewear set that makes you feel cozy, comfortable, and entirely at ease with yourself, the common denominator is that it's all about wearing clothes that make you feel your best. Clothes that you can feel good about buying, clothes that you can feel good about wearing, and clothes that can elevate your life to new heights. That is where the real power lies.
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