“BRO, I DON’T HAVE TO DRESS UP FOR WORK; IT’S CASUAL”

*Sigh* I’ll get right to it. Regardless if your workplace is dressy or casual, you’re being observed or not. Did you catch it??

As a former tech account executive, I know how the digital workplace can seduce you into thinking it’s okay to wear sweats and Reefs to work. I assure you that if your goal is to move up the ladder…

Cut it out.

First off,  I don’t tell my tech professional clients to dress up, I tell them to dress well. Dressing well begins with being neat. I know, it’s boring but… no.  Being neat really says a lot about you and how much you value your perception. This goes for men and women.

Tips/Tricks:

Get your shirts tailored: An ill-fitting shirt comes across as disheveled and doesn’t really do anything for you. Having a good tailor/alterations pro taper the sleeves and sides really make a work of difference.

Get your pants hemmed- PLEASE: Guys in Raleigh for some reason have a really rough time with trouser length. For slacks, there are full, medium, and shallow breaks. The “break” refers to the amount of fabric that collects over your shoe, as you can imagine, a lot of fabric indeed looks shabby.

Give your jeans/trousers a tapered leg: I did not say tight or skinny- I said tapered. A good alterations pro will ask certain questions about your lifestyle and wardrobe while doing this- or recommend against it. A tapered leg updates the look in most cases and staves off the need to purchase new slacks/jeans!

That’s enough for now.