As a remote worker, I spend most of my time shut away from the world in my home office in completely unpresentable attire. As Celine’s work clothes experiment revealed last year, what you wear in the home office can impact the way you feel and how you’re regarded by colleagues who drop by either physically or virtually.
But what about those days when you’re out and about? The days when you’re heading into your company’s HQ, or meeting with a client, or presenting work to someone you’ve never met before? These excursions, which for some can be very rare, can cause tension, if not downright panic. You’ve been wearing ragged jeans and slippers for the last six weeks! You don’t know a thing about workplace fashion! What on earth are you going to wear?
This week, I met with an old contact about a new project, and next week I’m meeting with some new contacts about a possible job — a job I’d like to do remotely. These aren’t just opportunities to meet people and discuss potentialities. I want to impress and reassure all these contacts; I want to put my best professional foot forward. And I want to feel as comfortable as possible at the same time. So: what should I wear?
Old Contact; New Project
This week’s meeting was with an old contact — an old friend I knew socially before I knew her professionally. She works part-time on site, and we met during her lunch hour in a cafe.
We had a lot to discuss at a high level, and we wanted to make some plans, so I knew I’d have to be switched on and thinking fast. At the same time, I’m so comfortable with this contact that I felt excited about the meeting, rather than intimidated, apprehensive, or as if I had to prove myself to her. I also had another, non-work appointment that afternoon.
In the end, comfort won out over professionalism in this case. When I met my contact, who was wearing smart black pants, patent heels and a chic shirt, I was in dress jeans, sandals and a red top: casual, but neat casual.
Sometimes this kind of disparity can leave me feeling as if you’re not taking things as seriously as my colleague, but since this contact is one of my closest friends, I merely felt glad I didn’t have to dress up and go into an office to work. She wasn’t assessing my attire, or using it to judge my suitability for the project we were discussing. I was completely at ease, which let me focus on the topics we had to talk about. And all in all, it was a very productive meeting.
New Contact; New Project
Next week’s meeting fills me with anticipation: these contacts have a cool project, and they need someone to work on it with them. I’m meeting with two people, who are both older and more experienced than I am, and I can’t help but feel at least slightly intimidated. One thing’s certain: I want to impress.
All the same, I know that feeling comfortable — in myself, as well as practically, in whatever I wear — is crucial to my confidence and ability to focus on the topics we have to discuss.
These contacts are in a creative industry, so they’re unlikely to be bound by the kind of 40-page corporate attire guide that one of my past employers enforced. However, the kind of work they do suggests that they’re likely to be fairly visual people, so they’ll notice if I don’t put effort into my appearance.
Yes — there’s a lot to consider. What would you wear? Neat casual, becauseĀ it asserts your independence? Whatever you’d normally wear at home, to imply “I work from home and I make my own rules”? Or professional dress? Which would make you feel the most comfortable and confident?
I’m going with professional dress. I have a few favorite, just-put-it-on outfits that will work — I know they look professional, and I don’t have to worry about them. Basically, they’re an easy way to look professional without having to spend time worrying about what I should wear. They’re a great asset for someone like me, who’s not into shopping or fashion.
The fact that I don’t wear professional dress every work day means that dressing up like this will make me feel that something’s going on — it’ll put me on my toes. And as I face a couple of people I’m trying to impress, I won’t be fussing over uncomfortable shoes or wishing I’d worn a different top, so I’ll be able to focus purely on our conversation.
What if they’re dressed more casually than I am? In my books, it’s better to be overdressed than underdressed — particularly in a professional context. I also feel that putting an effort into my appearance for this meeting will signal that I respect these contacts. It’ll show that I’m serious about what I do, and what I can do for them.
How do you approach the question of dress? Do you feel that attire is generally deemed less important in web work than other industries? Do you dress differently on the days when you have a client or colleague meeting?
Photo by stock.xchng user xaio.
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