How to dress for success at a new job
Anne writes in:
After searching for most of a year after getting my degree, I finally found a great job which I鈥檓 starting just after Memorial Day. The problem is that I don鈥檛 know what to wear. I don鈥檛 want to stand out as being poorly dressed but I don鈥檛 want to dump thousands into a work wardrobe. What should I do?
Here鈥檚 my game plan for this situation.
First, contact your new co-workers, particularly your soon-to-be-boss. If you don鈥檛 have this information yet, contact the company and request it. You may be able to find more of them using tools like .
Contact them individually, asking what normal attire is in the workplace that you鈥檒l be joining. Ask what they wear 鈥� brands, level of attire, and so on.
You should pay particular attention to what your boss-to-be actually wears. Don鈥檛 be afraid to ask this.
Your best bet would be to dress at a level similarly to your boss, but not in a way that鈥檚 miles beyond the workers at your level. In most workplaces, you鈥檙e better off overdressing a bit than underdressing. The problem is that each workplace has something of a different definition of what 鈥渙verdressing鈥� and 鈥渦nderdressing鈥� is and by finding out what your coworkers wear, you can get a bead on that right off the bat.
Once you鈥檝e figured this out, go shopping. In my experience of buying clothes that work for professional use at good prices, I鈥檝e found that the best place to shop first is at consignment shops. It鈥檚 often amazing how many very nice clothes can be found there. That鈥檚 where you鈥檒l find business attire 鈥� often barely-worn stuff 鈥� from people whose life situation has changed direction, and it鈥檚 often available at great prices.
Rather than buying a lot of clothes right off the bat, you should stock your work wardrobe with fewer items that can easily be mixed-and-matched. Don鈥檛 go for the flamboyant 鈥� go for the presentable items that you can rearrange easily to create the appearance of a fresh outfit. For example, you鈥檙e a lot better off with six shirts and six ties than ten shirts and two ties 鈥� not only is the former set of clothes cheaper, it鈥檚 also easier to create the appearance of a more diverse wardrobe.
You should also be patient and be picky. You don鈥檛 have to buy everything right off the bat. Look at lots of consignment shops. Don鈥檛 be afraid to buy a few new items to mix in with the consignment items.
If you鈥檙e unsure what looks good, identify a consignment shop or two with a number of items you鈥檙e interested in and then take a friend. I usually let my wife be involved in the selection of such clothes because she has much better taste and a better eye than I do 鈥� I tend to often fall in the 鈥渋f you鈥檙e clothed, then you鈥檙e good鈥� path. Take someone along who can identify what is well-made, what items go together well, and what items simply look better than other ones.
If you鈥檙e uncomfortable dressing up for work 鈥� as I have been 鈥� do what I used to do. Put on comfortable clothes 鈥� like a t-shirt that you like to wear 鈥� and dress well over the top of that. I would often wear my favorite t-shirts and shorts under my dress clothes for work and sometimes I would literally take the dress clothes off on my way out of the workplace at the end of the day.
A final tip 鈥� it鈥檚 almost always a large net savings if you read the instructions on the tag and follow them for cleaning purposes. If you鈥檝e got a nice wardrobe, it might seem cheaper to just wash them with minimal cost and effort, but you can drastically extend the useful life of good clothes by following the garment instructions.
Good luck.
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