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| SALES ROLE AT AMERICAN LEISURE PATIO |
Other significant events that require complete re-thinking of a woman's wardrobe aside from a substantial weight loss is entering or re-entering the work force. Young women who are entering employment for the first time or women who are returning to the work force may have to re-think the garments they need to add to their wardrobe. Woman who have had a partner for many years and are now single may also be facing a career change, and others may be pursuing a change in career goals. Some of these women may have been actively engaged in volunteer work that allowed them to have a multi-functional wardrobe, but the majority of both the first-timer and the more mature stay at home has a lot of jeans, tees, and sport shoes in her closets, and need to critically assess new "costume" requirements.
In each of these examples the quickest and most convenient approach is to use the capsule approach blended with the "uniform" approach made notable by such public figures as Hillary Clinton. (check out her photos; although she is not a 'style icon', and has been referred in public as one of the most badly dressed women in the public eye, she has publicly stated that her wardrobe "works very well for her, thank you very much." and it does. Hers is just a different "'uniform".
One can instantly recall her many matching pantsuits, suits, and general use of an 18" (give or take) necklace, minimal make-up and no nonsense hair-do. Her dress says it all. I have been watching the costume changes almost every day on AOL, etc.) because of her campaign and obvious changes the style she is presenting; generally the same "uniform" but colors that are a bit more flattering, necklaces that are conservative, but more modern, etc. Check it out. The famous "Men in Black" of the FBI is another such example.
Uniforms work; HR departments and employers love them; minimal company dress code, safety considerations, or good taste violations are avoided and predictably lower the playing field of fashion competition because these uniforms are universally unflattering in cut, color, fit, or personal vanity (come on, how many women look their best in Home Depot orange, that glaring shade of royalish blue used by many employers, or fed-ex brown!!) I hate them, but to be fair, they do serve useful purposes. The rules for wearing conventional uniforms are minimal and leave little room for errors in judgement by the employees.
The subtle uniform of professional dressing is much more subtle and varies widely, but it, too, has some hard and fast rules depending upon the work venue. In any venue, for an important meeting or presentation, a skirt (or coordinated tailored pants), blouse, jacket, and dress shoes ) Simple up-to-date hair styles, subtle up-t-date make-up, and neat, clean nails fairly short nails are a must. Jewelry should be discreet and heels should be low to medium (basic rule of thumb, no more than 3 inches high and with a closed toe. Needless to say, flip-flops, revealing and too tight clothing, controversial logos, and excessive use of perfume are not acceptable. It is a fact that all employment has a dress code; but, it is often unspoken and a wise woman knows how to use those rules.
Depending upon the work venue, jeans and tees are acceptable in certain fields, as are bare legs providing the feet are well pedicured. When wearing this type of garment, it is important to take extra care in choosing. Slogans of any kind may be offensive to some, and the condition must be pristine. Unless you are a top Rock singer on The Voice and your job is in the recording studio, it is not advisable to wear light wash torn jeans. The clue is to take the tone of the upper management and respecting that tone in one's dress code. When in doubt choosing the conservative approach is probably best.
Fashion and the arts have their own rules but if one observes carefully, they, too, have their own uniform; only the artwork is different. Certain other fields of more casual work (outdoor types, etc.) have a more relaxed dress code, but the wise woman will always dress just a bit better than the norm. No, not a suit and tie in a landscaping department, but cotton gabardine is more professional than jeans, loafers rather than tennis shoes, etc. In all jobs, taking note of what upper management wears is a good clue as to the tone of work attire that is most acceptable to the person(s) who control the paycheck. This is not to say cloning attire; but taking note of obvious preferences for type of clothing worn by upper management. (remember Working Girl)?. It also does not mean looking dated, frumpy, or stereotyped. There is nothing in this unwritten uniform that prevents one from finding fashion elements that are totally up to date and work with this uniform; it does mean editing what is appropriate for your work role. One last note; if wearing casual clothing, no matter the occasion, it must be in top condition and fit very well. Sloppy dressing in never acceptable in a work environment and sends a psychological message that you really are not into the job. (NO, asking the boss if it is "alright to wear this" does not accomplish your goal; we are talking about subliminal messages!!.)
Basically, creating a uniform of your very own for work, it should present the image you are dressing to do a certain job, are serious about your work, and intelligent enough to know what is appropriate for your venue.
The concept of uniforms really applies to all the roles we choose for our lifestyle; the appropriate uniform for one role (volunteer at a dog shelter) is not the same as the uniform for a charity luncheon, etc., etc., however, the career role may carry more weight on how it affects our lifestyle.
................Geneva...................Rockmyages@aol.com
In each of these examples the quickest and most convenient approach is to use the capsule approach blended with the "uniform" approach made notable by such public figures as Hillary Clinton. (check out her photos; although she is not a 'style icon', and has been referred in public as one of the most badly dressed women in the public eye, she has publicly stated that her wardrobe "works very well for her, thank you very much." and it does. Hers is just a different "'uniform".
One can instantly recall her many matching pantsuits, suits, and general use of an 18" (give or take) necklace, minimal make-up and no nonsense hair-do. Her dress says it all. I have been watching the costume changes almost every day on AOL, etc.) because of her campaign and obvious changes the style she is presenting; generally the same "uniform" but colors that are a bit more flattering, necklaces that are conservative, but more modern, etc. Check it out. The famous "Men in Black" of the FBI is another such example.
Uniforms work; HR departments and employers love them; minimal company dress code, safety considerations, or good taste violations are avoided and predictably lower the playing field of fashion competition because these uniforms are universally unflattering in cut, color, fit, or personal vanity (come on, how many women look their best in Home Depot orange, that glaring shade of royalish blue used by many employers, or fed-ex brown!!) I hate them, but to be fair, they do serve useful purposes. The rules for wearing conventional uniforms are minimal and leave little room for errors in judgement by the employees.
The subtle uniform of professional dressing is much more subtle and varies widely, but it, too, has some hard and fast rules depending upon the work venue. In any venue, for an important meeting or presentation, a skirt (or coordinated tailored pants), blouse, jacket, and dress shoes ) Simple up-to-date hair styles, subtle up-t-date make-up, and neat, clean nails fairly short nails are a must. Jewelry should be discreet and heels should be low to medium (basic rule of thumb, no more than 3 inches high and with a closed toe. Needless to say, flip-flops, revealing and too tight clothing, controversial logos, and excessive use of perfume are not acceptable. It is a fact that all employment has a dress code; but, it is often unspoken and a wise woman knows how to use those rules.
Depending upon the work venue, jeans and tees are acceptable in certain fields, as are bare legs providing the feet are well pedicured. When wearing this type of garment, it is important to take extra care in choosing. Slogans of any kind may be offensive to some, and the condition must be pristine. Unless you are a top Rock singer on The Voice and your job is in the recording studio, it is not advisable to wear light wash torn jeans. The clue is to take the tone of the upper management and respecting that tone in one's dress code. When in doubt choosing the conservative approach is probably best.
Fashion and the arts have their own rules but if one observes carefully, they, too, have their own uniform; only the artwork is different. Certain other fields of more casual work (outdoor types, etc.) have a more relaxed dress code, but the wise woman will always dress just a bit better than the norm. No, not a suit and tie in a landscaping department, but cotton gabardine is more professional than jeans, loafers rather than tennis shoes, etc. In all jobs, taking note of what upper management wears is a good clue as to the tone of work attire that is most acceptable to the person(s) who control the paycheck. This is not to say cloning attire; but taking note of obvious preferences for type of clothing worn by upper management. (remember Working Girl)?. It also does not mean looking dated, frumpy, or stereotyped. There is nothing in this unwritten uniform that prevents one from finding fashion elements that are totally up to date and work with this uniform; it does mean editing what is appropriate for your work role. One last note; if wearing casual clothing, no matter the occasion, it must be in top condition and fit very well. Sloppy dressing in never acceptable in a work environment and sends a psychological message that you really are not into the job. (NO, asking the boss if it is "alright to wear this" does not accomplish your goal; we are talking about subliminal messages!!.)
Basically, creating a uniform of your very own for work, it should present the image you are dressing to do a certain job, are serious about your work, and intelligent enough to know what is appropriate for your venue.
The concept of uniforms really applies to all the roles we choose for our lifestyle; the appropriate uniform for one role (volunteer at a dog shelter) is not the same as the uniform for a charity luncheon, etc., etc., however, the career role may carry more weight on how it affects our lifestyle.
................Geneva...................Rockmyages@aol.com
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