Business Attire

This spring’s fashion season will be going ahead with pastel colours taking centre stage.  Even a trendy printed dress featuring disorganised maps of the United States is designed with a plentiful amount of this season’s yellow dotted over it.

Another winning colour will be white.  Instead of the ‘little black dress’, a ‘little white dress’ should be packed when going away.  Dresses in white may look stark and cold in the fashion store but when worn can look pure, clean and fresh, especially with large jewellery to soften the image.  To really grab the attention however, a woman can do no better than to wear a complete outfit in white, for instance, a white crepe tunic and trousers or white trouser suit.  In a smaller dose, any white top with black velvet tuxedo trousers will create a strong contrast.

However, snowy white ski jackets on a skiing holiday are not usually recommended.  Victoria Beckham has been photographed on the slopes wearing a red jacket and red ski-pants.  The general consensus for fashionable ski trousers is that they should be skinny.  Jackets for skiing, by their very nature, will inevitably be baggy which will make skinny trousers look slimmer than ever.  Fur trims around jacket hoods and cuffs are best avoided because as with an animal’s fur, they can trap icicles.

What are the factors that contribute to a successful career for a woman, apart from qualifications, skills and expertise?   A well-thought through clothing style is indisputably of great value.

Women in  accountancy, banking, insurance and law require suits:  jacket, skirt or trousers with a blended tone or bright shirt or top to enliven the sober suit. It is a good idea to match your bras with the same colour as your  shirts wherever possible, otherwise  nude underwear will always blend.

On the other hand if a woman is employed in the non-uniformed caring sector, perhaps as social worker or counsellor, then non-threatening colours such as navy co-ordinated with white are appropriate.  However, a colourful top will not go amiss and will serve to cheer everyone up and win the confidence of clients.

Those women in marketing, management consultancy and public relations who regularly meet clients will impress with mid-tone neutral colours for their suit but when undertaking a presentation, a power red jacket is perfect.

If selling direct to the public then the client group must be considered.  If the product is serious such as IT software or medical supplies, a ‘user friendly’ look is required.  Therefore, tops or shirts in soft pastel colours along with blended neutral colours for jackets, trousers and skirts should suffice.

Teachers should wear tops of interesting colours and textures to hold their pupils’ attention.  A flashy orange top will distract.  Those working in advertising, media, retail or travel must look fashionable, therefore a chic jacket and stylish top or shirt are ideal.

According to a recent article in the ‘Style’ section of a broad sheet newspaper, the 3-piece suit is returning to grace ladies’ fashions.  

Owning a 3-piece suit does not mean having to wear all three pieces together.  The waistcoat is versatile and can be worn with effect under a coat without the bulk of a jacket.  In the daytime, a waistcoat will look charming with an item of knitwear such as a thin jumper, or a stark white shirt. 

A high street 3-piece suit will vary in quality according to the tailoring.  For women who do not possess angular, ‘androgynous’ figures it is worth visiting fashion stores that specialize in making jackets and waistcoats for more curvy figures.  In this instance, the customer is professionally measured by a trained style adviser.  A made-to-measure jacket or waistcoat may need a few adjustments at the final fitting but the shop will then be able to keep those measurements on file to be used at a future date. 

We need only to think back to 1971 and the wedding of Mick Jagger, to agree that the white maxi skirt and jacket that Bianca wore, designed by Tommy Nuttall, was a chic outfit in which to be married.

Glamorous tops with elegantly tapered trousers of today were also considered highly fashionable in the 1950’s but with one crucial difference - high, narrow stiletto heels were never worn to complete the outfit as this was deemed vulgar.  This seems regrettable because stilettos and heeled mules looked absolutely fabulous in this era, worn with a couture sheath dress, renowned for its small waist and tight skirt. This is also a great look for the modern office.

Another style of ladies’ trousers, pedal pushers, was popular with teenagers in the 1950’s but it was   the close fitting tapered trousers with short tops & a matching bra that had a universal appeal.  The trousers could be full length, mid-calf or just below the knee.  It became a cool, sophisticated style, capitalised on by the likes of model and film star Grace Kelly.

The eminent fashion house of Christian Dior was more interested in ultra-feminine styles which he called his ‘New Look’.  A wool coat with sloping shoulders for example, revealing full billowing skirts falling to mid-calf length was this look.  His feminine hour-glass figure was complete with a pair of stiletto heeled shoes.

This ‘New Look’ was condemned by thrifty post-war dignitaries who thought it frivolous and wasteful in a time of austerity measures.  This is a fair point because one wartime dress required three metres of fabric, whilst Dior’s dresses needed much more.

Dressing for business involves following guidelines.  We may want to impress our employer and colleagues by wearing dazzling dresses and lots of make-up but this is neither the time nor the place.  According to a recent survey, a third of company bosses were of the opinion that in the office, their female colleagues are wearing too much make-up.  The conclusion the pollsters made was that women want to impress and choose bright red lipstick, heavily made-up eyes and far too much blusher in the belief that this will do the trick.  This is ill-advised because a night out will not therefore provide the opportunity to look much different.  The Welsh singer, Katherine Jenkins, attended the 20th Unesco charity gala recently attired in a wonderful, black printed evening dress in which she looked stunning and her bold red lipstick and dazzlingly made-up eyes were absolutely applicable.

Meanwhile, back in the office, if we are trying to establish ourselves, classic clothes will impress most, combined with a modest amount of make-up and jewellery.  We all genuinely want to give our best impression at work.   It is best achieved by looking well-groomed in a skirt and shirt.  However, expectations vary and in the creative arts or fashion industry, a black skirt and neat top may look too corporate.

E-commerce and online retail giant eBay intends to fortify its strong fashion clothes business after the company hired fashion stylist and publisher Andrea Linett as the new creative director. Linett’s role includes taking charge of the fashion, marketing and communications department of eBay’s North America operations.

eBay Fashion Vice President and General Manager Miriam Lahage said that they are excited to have hired a formidable employee such as Ms. Linett to help achieve the goals for eBay Fashion. She added that Linett has more than twenty years of experience in the fashion industry. She also co-founded the successful shopping magazine Lucky and has written bestselling shopping and fashion books. She also once served as fashion editor and writer for Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

eBay Fashion plans to further strengthen its online apparel business. The company generates more than $5 billion in gross merchandise revenues annually.

A global poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos revealed that Europeans are more into casual clothing when coming to work while Indians tend to be stricter, going for business clothing.

A survey has been made to more than 12,500 people in about 24 countries. Based on the results, about 27 percent of Europeans wear business clothing when going for work. Hungary placed last with only 12 percent of the workers saying they wore business attire. In this country, about 46 percent said that it seems appropriate to wear shorts while 56 percent would like to wear flip-flops while doing their daily tasks.

Topping the list are Indians when it comes to smart dressing. About 58 percent wear business clothing while going to work. Only 21 percent of the respondents said that it was okay to wear shorts.

Four out of ten respondents said that casual clothing-wearing workers would never make it to senior management in their company.

AnnTaylor Stores, known for providing women’s business attire, has ventured into casual wear which generated additional revenues for the company. The retail giant reported decline in sales on its business attire for the past two years, citing the trend where women invest their money on necessities for their families.

For the past two quarters last year, the company reported slight profits. For fourth quarter alone, a mere $41,000 in profits has been reported by the company. Despite this, analysts said that this is still a positive development considering that a year ago, the company lost a staggering $375.6 million or about $6.66 per share.

This led the officials to expand its line by going beyond the business attire collection. The company is set to offer casual wear and other items that fit the women’s needs.

Five students from University of California protested in front of the office of Assemblyman Jim Nielsen on Monday to protest the planned fund cuts for higher education. This resulted to these five students, wearing business attires, to be arrested by the authorities.

Now popularly known as “the Nielsen Five,” their campaign has sparked up efforts from other students to make efforts to call for the cancellation of the plans. In fact, students are demanding for more state funding on education from the legislators.

Nielsen has reportedly refused to meet with the protesting students.

Senator Leland Yee was outside trying the mediate the protesting public. In an interview, he said that he admired those students who stood up for their rights. Yee was one of the legislators in favor of the increased funding for University of California.

Billionaire television personality Oprah Winfrey has decided to auction off some of her accessories including items which have featured on the show but not been worn like designer clothing, sportswear, big bras and unwanted women’s business clothing for charity.

Winfrey has put up around 150 items which is composed of the aforementioned items plus designer bags and shoes for sale via the internet auction site eBay. The details of the auction have been outlined at her signature O Magazine.

Interested buyers can bid for the items starting March 1 with the target end date on March 11, 2010.
The proceeds of the sale will all go to Winfrey’s Leadership Academy Girls School situated in South Africa.

Winfrey is currently busy with her final few seasons of her eponymous talk show which has been announced to end soon. She’s been venturing to other modes of businesses and is believed to start her own talk show at her own television network.