The first thing that I learnt about dressing up for all sorts of occasions was that how I dress can influence how people respond and listen to me.
I find that dressing professionally for an Indian office is important, it will help create a good impression and it helps me to either climb the corporate ladder or show that I take my career seriously.
Should I choose to dress in a business casual or formal style?
Depending on what type of work I do, my choice of clothes may be directed by the company that I work for and the company policy; despite the policy I can still base my decision on the business work culture or the current trend in the office. One quote that I do live by is “Suits are the way to go in the business world in India ~ Forbes India”.
What are the necessities? Here are a few tips that I would like to share with you.
My outfit needs to be simplistic, lightweight and preferably a slim-cut. I do not try to layer too much; this will lose the appearance of elegance and slim looking. According to fashion experts a good accompany to a suite is a scarf.
When trying to go for a more business casual attire, I stick to A-line skirts or slim-cut pants along with a no-frill blouse. My choice of blouse colour should be directed by my choice in pants colour. If I go for dark pants, I choose a blouse that is medium in colour, such as blues or reds. For a lighter pants colour, I usually choose light colours such as soft pink or soft blue. If I stick to white for my colour choice for a blouse I never go wrong.
When buying my outfits what fabrics should I choose?
When I have been in the office for the whole day my outfit tends to look warn and crumbly so when shopping I make sure that I choose fabrics that tend to not crumble and look good till the end of the day.
Crepe or Georgette sarees are my first choice in fabrics. I find that these two types’ of fabrics crumple less.
What about traditional wear?
On occasion I do like to go back to where we come from even though we are not expected to. According to “INDIAREALTIME Career Journal”, you should wear a color-blocked saree for presentations and seminars as it is the same as wearing a basic black dress. If you want to be slightly less formal a knee-length, straight-cut kameez and churidar pants will do.
What about shoes? A good set always complements my outfit
I like to choose comfortable shoes, especially if I have to wear them for an entire day. Western-wear high heels tend to add on to the professional look. I do stay away from stilettos as they look overdone and are difficult to look elegant in when walking.
Where can I get my inspiration from?
One of my favourite places to go for inspiration for the day is Pinterest – This page [LB1] has great ideas and guidelines as to what will mix and match and make you look great.
I enjoy reading Forbes articles, in particular the one about “All you need to know about Business Suites”. I recommend looking at your body type, what is in style this year, etc. I do enjoy studying their “Sensible guidelines” on what they call “The Rules”. You can find all this in their article.
I would like to leave you with a few more tips
- Do not apply heavy makeup, keep it subtle, you are beautiful enough and you do not want to distract people from your elegant outfit
- Choose colors that match and stick to subtle shades
- As for accessories – a slim-looking necklace or small earrings will look nice
- Dark nail policy can be very loud, keep your shades simple and elegant with pearly whites or beiges
- Remember to sometimes wear a scarf, choose one with a pattern to break the plain colors of the suite
- For handbags, keep it simple and the size should be suitable to what you need to have with you
The only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it
— Diana Vreeland