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As much as everyone tries not to make judgments based on appearances, the way a person looks plays a crucial role in their business success. In the business world, appearance is often conflated with performance, and those who don’t fit the norm aren’t always accepted. In the workplaces of today, where ‘casual Friday’ has extended to the entire week, it’s hard to understand business dress rules. Below are a few business dress etiquette rules to follow.

Understand What’s Acceptable for the Industry

Every office’s dress code is different, and to be successful, one must follow along. For instance, in a casual office, one may be allowed to wear shorts, but cutoff jeans may be forbidden. If the company has an explicitly stated business dress code, workers should follow it.

Wear Well-Fitting, Office-Appropriate Clothes

If a person’s clothes are too small or too big, they simply won’t look good. Ensuring proper fit applies to everything a person wears, including accessories, clothing, and shoes. Women should avoid excessively short hemlines, stiletto heels, deep necklines, and exposed undergarments. Men should make sure their ties, coat sleeves, and pants are of the proper length, and they should be sure to wear a belt to keep things where they should be. After all, in the business world, it’s better for one to be remembered for what they said rather than what they wore.

Avoid Strong Fragrances

Not only are strong fragrances distracting, they can cause asthmatic and allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Anything that someone else can smell isn’t good. To determine whether a particular scent is too strong, one should ask a trusted friend or colleague for advice.

Wear Neat, Polished Shoes

Bosses and recruiters often say that the first thing they notice about a candidate or employee is their shoes. It’s important to keep them polished and in great shape, and women should avoid wearing excessively tall heels in the workplace.

Use Hosiery Wisely

While many women still prefer a bare-legged look, pantyhose have become stylish once more. They give the wearer a more polished, professional look. For men, it’s important not to show any skin when legs are crossed and pants lift up slightly. Prevent these problems by wearing socks of the correct length.

Get a Pedicure

One of the biggest distractions in the office occurs when women wear open-toed dress shoes without getting a pedicure. If one decides to show their toes, those toes should be well-groomed and clean.

Use Accessories Wisely

A person’s accessories are meant to add to their outfit, not overwhelm it. It’s very distracting when someone’s jewelry makes noise when they move, and other pieces, such as watches, should be understated.

Keep Facial Hair Groomed

Regardless of how much a man wants a full beard, it may not work in the office setting. Embarrassing situations could arise, e. g. when eating. Men should think of grooming their beards in the same way they would think of a haircut; not every look works for everyone. Start by determining one’s facial features and shape, and find others with facial hair and similar features. Finally, experiment with cuts and styles until an office-friendly choice is found.

If a man decides to grow a beard or mustache, he should do so over a long weekend or a vacation. That way, the growth will look intentional, rather than giving the impression that one simply hasn’t shaved. Facial hair should be kept neat and tidy for a professional appearance. Scissors are useful for trimming a mustache, while electric razors are great for trimmed, short beards.

Wear Richer Colors to Convey Confidence and Authority

Professionals should pay careful attention to their color choices; darker colors often make a stronger and more memorable impression than lighter hues. If one is giving a speech or presentation, they should ensure the colors they choose don’t blend in with the backdrop against which they are standing.  However, it’s important to be careful with brighter shades. When a person’s clothes are too flashy, they may distract other workers.

Other Dress Tips

Office workers should remember that a business dress code isn’t always synonymous with good style. Adding patterns and colors to one’s work wardrobe is an easy, fun way to exhibit one’s personality while retaining a professional look. Investing in staples such as reversible belts and wrinkle-free clothing can make dressing for work easy and effortless. No matter what one wears to work, it should be pressed, clean, conservative, and stain-free.

In Conclusion

Dressing for corporate success is not just about looking nice. The way a person dresses can have positive or negative effects on how a person is perceived in the professional setting. By following these tips, one can present a polished image that makes them look more credible.

The “What To Wear to Work” Question

Dressing for a job, an interview, an internship, a networking event, etc. is a source of anxiety for everyone at some point in their career. Each company and event are different, so it can be nerve-racking not knowing what the proper dress code is, what you can and can’t wear, etc. You want to make the best impression, of course, and your clothes say a lot about you and who you are!

There’s also the question of what season it is, what city you’re working in, whether you walk to work or not, and whether you’ll be sitting or standing most of the time, among other concerns! That’s a lot to think about, so it’s no wonder so many people feel frustrated with this kind of thing!

Types of Business Attire

There are 3 main types of “business dress” that you need to understand before we get into dressing for specific events. These are probably terms you’ve heard before, but after reading this, you should have a good understanding of what clothes work for what dress code. The three types of dress codes are: Professional Dress, Business Casual, and Campus Casual.

1. Professional Dress

An example of Business Professional attire from Brooks Brothers

Business professional attire is the most conservative type of business wear. It’s what you’ll be expected to wear in the office if you work in accounting, finance, or other conservative industries (or if you just have a really conservative boss!). This style is also known as “business formal.”

For women, business professional means a business suit or pants suit, or an appropriate dress and jacket. For men, professional dress means a business suit or a blazer, dress pants and a tie.

It is important to follow this business attire rule if you’re working in an office that adheres to it as you do not want to be seen as inappropriate or give off the impression that you don’t take your appearance seriously. Working for a conservative industry means that they have strict standards for what you can and cannot wear, so it’s important that you follow protocol correctly.

2. Business Casual

An example of a business casual outfit from Loft.

Business casual attire is a more relaxed version of “Professional Dress,” but it doesn’t mean you’re actually going to be “casual!” This is likely going to be your office dress code if you work in a semi-conservative workplace, but some interviews and events may also call for business casual.

Business casual is a shirt with a collar and/or a sweater, khakis or dress pants, and nice shoes for women. Women can also sometimes wear a moderate-length dress or skirt (read: knee-length or longer!). For men, business casual is a polo shirt or shirt with a collar and/or sweater, khakis or dress pants and dress shoes. No tie is required.

Although it is business “casual,” it is important that you look more business-appropriate than casual. Many people confuse business casual as just casual dressing but it still means dressing like you are going to an office. Business casual is not as buttoned-up or formal as professional dress but not as casual as campus casual.

3. Campus Casual

Example of a student dressed in campus casual attire.

Campus casual is what you probably won’t be wearing to work. This is the technical term for what you’re probably wearing every day – jeans, tee shirts, sandals, sneakers. You may be asked to wear campus casual to some very informal on-campus interviews and career days, and some casual networking events.

In general, you probably want to stay away from this in the workplace and gear towards more conservative stuff. However, that doesn’t mean campus casual is wrong.

For instance, if your boss tells you to dress campus casual for an event that involves students, that most likely means your boss wants you to be able to relate to these students and let them know that they can just casually talk to you. Sometimes, students will get intimidated seeing someone in business attire at a campus event where there are a ton of students. So if your boss is telling you to dress campus casual, it means your boss wants you to be able to speak to these students without looking intimidating.

Dressing campus casual is a great way to connect with students in a more casual settings. They’ll feel more comfortable to speak to you and the conversations will flow much better.

Hopefully, these tips teach you about the business dress code basics. For those of you who are a bit more advanced and already knew the business dress code basics, what are your favorite ways to dress professionally?

What comes to your mind, when you hear the term” wish list”? The application of this feature is exactly how it sounds like: a list of things that you wish to get. As an online store owner, would you like your customers to be able to save products in a wish list so that they review or buy them later? Would you like your customers to be able to share their wish list with friends and family for gift giving?

Offering your customers a feature of wish list as part of shopping cart is a great way to build loyalty to your store site. Having the feature of wish list on a store site allows online businesses to engage with their customers in a smart way as it allows the shoppers to create a list of what they desire and their preferences for future purchase.

When you start an online business, your main aim is to sell the products, right? As a business owner, you want to showcase your store to more audience. So, you decide to go on social media, why? Because everyone is doing it, then why shouldn’t you? It is tempting as everyone is aware of the hype that it is the best way to market your brand.

Do you know having a blog for your online store can be very helpful? Many businesses do not understand the importance of having a blog because they don’t have time to post quality content.

Today, we will talk about how a blog can play an important role for the growth of your e-Commerce business. Later, we will also discuss some tips that will be helpful to you for writing business related blog posts.