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Dress For Success Even When You Long for Flannel Sweats

The last thing you want to do in frigid temperatures is don a business suit.

Sweat pants, hot cocoa and warm blankets are the good stuff about the winter months.

But when the alarm goes off at 5 a.m. on a Wednesday in February, you can’t just schlep to work in your flannel pajamas.

Business dress has to be maintained, no matter the weather, said Ann Marie Sabath, author of “Beyond Business Casual: What to Wear to Work If You Want to Get Ahead.”

“You are preparing for your next position,” she said. “You are an individual.  You are a professional.”

The basic rules of professional dress apply, even if it’s icy and cold outside, said Sabath, also president of At Ease, Inc., a firm specializing in domestic and international business etiquette programs.

Go with the basics, she said.  Dress in layers.  Put on a top that covers your shoulders and has a neckline that is “not too high, not too low,” plus a pair of tailored pants that hit at your waist, not hips, or a pencil skirt with no slit and tights.

“Wear things you’re not going to wear going out to have fun,” she said.  “Your goal should be business casual, not bar casual.”

Layer with a sweater and/or a blazer.  Dress just like you’re going into air-conditioning.

She recommends using your accessories to make your winter office-wear more personalized.

However, women should also make sure they know what the highest women employed at their place of work is wearing.

“Wear earrings that don’t drag you down the corporate ladder,” she said.

If the highest-level woman wears panty hose, then you should wear panty-hose. 

“Play the game,” she adds.

Avoid painting your nails with anything that makes them “look like claws, glitters, or glows,” she added.

Remember that a necklace can add presence to an outfit if you do decide to remove your jacket when you’re warmer indoors.  Though you should always have that blazer ready to go, in case you have a surprise meeting with a client or your boss calls you into his or her office.

“Always have a blazer,” she said.  “It’s your armor.”

Winter or not, don’t wear stilettos, Sabath said.  You want a decent pair of heels, though you can definitely wear a pair of ballet flats or boots for walking through the ice or snow to work.  No need to slip.

Boots or sturdier shoes are totally fine while you walk to work in the snow, said Matthew Randall, the executive director of the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania.  Then you can change into something more business appropriate in the lobby or at your desk.

However, don’t plan to change your entire outfit when you get to work, unless your office has a gym and locker room – some place appropriate for you to change, Randall added.

When working hours start, you should be dressed at your desk in business appropriate attire, he said.

It really doesn’t take an extensive budget or wardrobe to dress professionally in all kinds of weather, Sabath said.

Consignment sales, TJ Maxx, and your own closet can all come together to give you the basics of professional dress, she said.

What you wear can affect your future success, so it is important, she said.

“Dress for the position you want, not for the one you have.”

 

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