Finding Confidence Through Your Clothes In The Workplace
Anna Mewes is passionate entrepreneur, personal stylist, and founder of The Style Lounge an exclusive online membership site with a global reach, featuring masterclasses and Anna’s expert advice.
Prior to setting up her business Anna’s time as Global Brand Equity Manager at ghd saw her travel the world and gave her direct access and experience working with some of the world’s most talented photographers, stylists and directors, including famed photographer David LaChapelle as she helped launch pop-icon Katy Perry as the global face of ghd. This experience and her passion for fashion led her to training in London to become a personal stylist and she now supports women all over the world.
Here she talks about how to find confidence through your clothes in the workplace, as part of Pitman Training’s International Women’s Day programme.
There’s a famous saying ‘dress for the job you want, not the job you’ve got’ and I really believe that this couldn’t be more true.
It takes 7 seconds to make a first impression, so it’s vital that you make the right one – even more so within the workplace where there is often the need to impress, lead others and make crucial decisions.
In today’s ‘dress down’ workplace culture it is becoming increasingly difficult to set the right tone through your style at the office. At one time there was a clear expectation that office workers would dress in a smart, professional way but these days this is increasingly rare.
So many of my clients struggle with the smart/casual dress code that their office stipulates and feel in style limbo as a result. I’m a huge believer that dressing in a way that FEELS good, expresses some of our personality and is appropriate for the environment boosts our confidence, so how can you ensure that you LOOK and feel the part in the workplace?
1. Know Your Colours
Historically the workplace has been awash with shades of black, grey and navy but this is no longer the case. Wearing shades next to your face that balance and harmonise with your colouring will make your skin glow and your eyes sparkle. Discover which colours work best for you through a colour consultation and incorporate these into your working wardrobe along with some neutral shades. This will give you more variety and instantly lift both your complexion and your mood.
2. Invest In Key Pieces
There is a time and a place for fast fashion and the workplace is not one of them. If you work full-time you’ll be spending 80% of your life in office wear, so good quality basics are key to ensure they wear well and fit properly. Invest as much as you can afford in items like trousers, skirts and jackets and then add some lower-priced tops and accessories into the mix that you can change up regularly.
3. Tailoring
It is very difficult to get a perfect fit when you’re shopping on the High Street so take the time to have items like jackets and dresses tailored to fit you perfectly. A well fitting jacket will look a hundred times better than one that doesn’t work with your body shape and proportions and costs surprisingly little to have taken in.
4. Ensure You’re Well Heeled
A beautiful outfit will be ruined by a bad pair of shoes so make sure you consider your footwear as part of your overall look. There is so much choice on offer now that footwear is also a really great place to add some colour and inject some fun into your workwear look.
5. Showcase Your Personality
Sometimes we may feel the need to conform whilst we’re at work and therefore we may not show off our usual signature style or personality. Whilst it may not always be appropriate to go all-out at the of-fice, there are some subtle ways you can add a little fun and uniqueness to your look. Consider things like accessories, interesting prints, a bold lip colour, statement bags and funky footwear as ways you can personalise your look to ensure your colleagues, clients, suppliers and employers see the very best version of you.
For more advice from Anna check out:
www.annamewes.com
Instagram & Twitter @annamewes
Facebook – Anna Mewes – Personal Stylist
