Women in Financial Services
Communicating You: Dress to be seen, don’t dress to hide away.
Katie.Dix / 25 Feb 2020
Communicating You: Dress to be seen, don’t dress to hide away.
Following fashion suggests a desire to blend in with the crowd. If you make up your own rules on the other hand, being seen and being remembered for your own unique style is one huge step to communicating who you are, and what you want in life. It’s an ironic idea altogether.
Despite popular belief, there are no hard rules when it comes to fashion but there are solid ideas when it comes to communicating your desires in your personal life and work life when it comes to how to dress.
Everyone is entitled to follow trends whether in part or in full. It may be for the very fact that you like a particular style or that it suits you. Sometimes, certain trends come around and are the very thing that your wardrobe needs. However, people often adopt trends because they feel they must. And where fashion is a major player when it comes to identity, dressing like everyone else in order to be part of a conglomerate of trendsetters and fashion followers, may actually have a negative impact on your confidence and idea of self.
So how can you communicate yourself through your clothing?
- Explore
Don't be afraid to explore new styles. It will either work for you or it won't.
- Wear Confidence
If you carry yourself confidently in what you're wearing, people will buy into the idea that you are confident, even on your bad days. Your clothes don’t have to be restrictive to say “I’m a professional”, nor does wearing comfortable and relaxed clothing suggest you’re lazy. It is how you wear clothing as much as what your wearing that projects who you are out to the world. Holding a board meeting in flat shoes, oversized culottes and a silk shirt tucked in only in part, will not make you any less good at your job. If you own your look, you’ll own the room.
- Be Remembered: Adopt A Personal Signature
It may sound narcissistic, but there’s more to it. Whilst many women feel it necessary to wear heels in an office setting, it is not always the most practical choice of footwear, nor does every woman like or want to wear heels. Adopting a signature piece of clothing or footwear that fits the practicality of your day as well as your own style can work in your favour. For example, if you choose a pair of white sneakers to become your signature staple- something that can work with dresses, skirts, trousers and everything in between; you would have created a signature piece that’s entirely your own. You’ll be known as ‘the one who wears the white sneakers’, but beyond this, your time can be spent focusing on you work and the people around you.
It’s okay to follow trends, but one thing to remember is to remain your authentic self at all times. Dress to be seen, don’t dress to hide away
Olga Anderson is a bespoke and ready-to-wear womenswear designer. She specialises in clothing designed to empower her clients, and as of 2019, became a ‘Women Appreciating Women’ (WAW) Honorary Award winner. She runs her brand with the belief that “fashion and design should empower women”; working meticulously to encourage and celebrate women’s individuality, accomplishments and passion, both in and outside of their careers.
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