Business Attire

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.

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.

The organizers of the recently concluded Fashion for the Brave dinner were reportedly disappointed that the girlfriend of Prince William, Kate Middleton, did not attend the dinner for a cause. What made them even more dismayed was the fact that she did not even send any reply to the invitation that was given to her.

The Fashion for the Brave dinner intends to raise funds for Help for Heroes and the Army Benevolent Fund.

There were more than 320 invitations sent out and Middleton was one of the four who did not give any response at all. Her boyfriend sent a reply via his private secretary. According to reports, both Princes William and Harry were unable to take part in the fundraising because they could not easily get leave of absences from their military duties.

The event raised more than £250,000 and was hosted by television personality Angela Rippon. Rippon waived her talent fees for the event.

An alumnus of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) school is currently making waves in the fashion industry.

Fashion designer Kevan Hall has dressed some of the most popular celebrities in Hollywood in some very glamorous and professional outfits. This time he has gone another step further, as US First Lady Michelle Obama was seen wearing one of his creations and the photographed was seen in People Magazine.

Obama wore the dress when she gave a speech in an important event in Washington, D.C. in celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month.

Hall has dressed actresses Vanessa Williams, who stars in Ugly Betty, Katherine Heigl, Virginia Madsen and Tina Fey. He also created a dress for California Fist Lady Maria Shriver. At this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards, “Glee” star Jenna Ushkowitz wore an original creation by the fashion designer - a beautiful red, off-the-shoulder dress that required the intentive use of a strapless bra.

Hall received a scholarship for FIDM and after graduating, he went to Europe to pursue the career in fashion design.

Taiwanese fashion designer Jason Wu recently met with Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on October 7 with the latter acknowledging this great achievements in the world of fashion.  Wu, currently based in New York, said that Taiwan was the major influence on his life wherein one should do his best in whatever field of expertise he or she wants to pursue. Wu said that he’s Taiwanese and wherever he goes, be proudly says that he’s one.  Wu gained international interest last year when U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama wore one of his creations during the presidential inaugural ball. That was the day where President Barack Obama was sworn into office.  The white chiffon gown created by Wu has now been added to the permanent First Ladies exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, according to reports. During his visit, Wu gave First Lady Chow Mei-ching a custom-designed dress.

The London Fashion Week has officially begun and the British designers made sure that this yearly event will be hailed as the “number one fashion destination” by coming up with the latest and grandest collection to rival other major fashion events that took place earlier this year.

British fashion icons Betty Jackson, Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood have all signed up for the fashion week together with Pringle of Scotland, Mulberry and Burberry Prorsum.

More than sixty catwalk fashion shows over the next six days will be held in this event which takes place after the highly successful New York Fashion Week. With this number of shows, organizers British Fashion Council (BFC) is optimistic that it will produce the biggest ever turnout of global buyers.

Council chairman Harold Tillman said that the event has reinvented itself for the past couple of years and that this transition has been beneficial for them.

Floral prints are back. At the New York Fashion Week which officially took off on Monday, a new line of collections from fashion designer Carlos Miele showed attractive floral prints. Models were seen in the runway wearing clothes with bold colors and bright whites. Curved lines of yellow, orange and red can be seen on the form-fitting dresses which the models successfully strutted down the catwalk. Off the shoulder dresses featured highly, along with single strap dresses which signals the necessity of the strapless bra.

These kind of prints are making a presence these days in recent fashion shows, as is the continuing popularity of maxi dresses. At the recently concluded Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the spring collection of Carolina Herrera also showed strong floral prints on her layered dresses. These kinds of dresses can either be dressed up for more elegance and glamour, or dressed down with a sharp jacket for a more everyday look that could be worn in the office.

Fashion designers Donna Karan, Jenny Packham and Tracy Reese also joined the bandwagon as flowery prints can be seen on their upcoming collections.

More than a hundred thousand stylists, buyers, fashion editors and celebrities are expected to grace this fashion event that’s currently ongoing.

Football star David Beckham has been successfully persuaded by his popular wife to enter the world of fashion. According to reports, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham has convinced her husband to launch his first ever men’s line of sharp suits and evening wear under her fashion label. These products are said to be fitting in time for winter fashion collection which will be launched later this year.

Sources revealed that the 35-year old football icon has already started working on a collection for Autumn/Winter 2011. The source added that Victoria has been persuading her husband for quite some time and eventually the hunky football player relented.

Victoria believes that her husband has the eye for fashion and it would be fitting for him to make use of this talent. She already hired a team of employees to work with him on the new line.