Femininity at Work Part II: How to dress in the Summer Months

Hello Dolls

I am continuing my posts on dressing feminely at work with a new chapter on dressing for the warm weather. I've worked in corporate office environments for years and I have observed a lot of corporate women adhere to company dress code during the winter months and follow their own dress code once the weather gets warm. The manner in which you dress speaks volumes about who you are. What you choose to wear outside of work is your business however its another issue when you bring some of that 'outside' wardrobe to the office. Some of the things I have seen worn to work when the weather is hot are, thigh high skirts, short sun dresses, wedges, flip flops, leggings, t-shirt dresses, summer sandals, tank tops with leggings, jogging pants (I kid you not) and t-shirts.

It doesnt look well on you as a professional woman to dress one way in the winter then start wearing tank tops, short skirts and short sun dresses in the summer. It sends the message that you are unprofessional, and unsuitibly dressed for your position. Not to mention it leaves room for misinterpretation of who you are as an employee and how seriously you take your job title. Its likened to a manager who wears skirt and pant suits in the winter and thigh bearing dresses with 3 inch wedges in the sumner. Would you respect her authority as your manager? How about if you were her boss? Would you consider her for that plum promotion with an important overseas client? Probably not! Thats the same scenario that plays out when you follow such a liberal dress code during the summer.

(I kid you not I have seen a similar outfit worn in a corporate office)

Now you might be saying, "well I hate this job anyway so I dont care how I dress to work. This is all the clothes I have". My answer to that is you never know what top management may have in the works in the way of new job opportunities for the company. Yes it may be true that you hate your job but what if that job you hate suddenly had a internal posting for a position you'd be interested in? I've seen it happen time and time again. You're stuck in  a department or company you cant stand. Your biding your time and hating your life when suddenly an advertisng posting comes out for an account with a big Japanese firm overseas. The pay is amazing, the work hours are ideal and the perks are almost unlimited. To top it off, its in your field. Good bye call centre, hello Advertising Account Executive. Would you show up to the interview in the t-shirt dress you wore to work the day before you saw the posting? Of course not! You want this job. You would pull out the best shirt, slacks or skirt you have in your closet, iron it and wear it to the interview.

Unfortunately, when your interview is over the hiring manager is not only going to look at your degree, and relevant work experience but also your work ethic at your present position, attitude and sorry to say but how you carry yourself around the office. That includes how you dress, your demenor and how you interact with your co workers. I've seen people who are very qualified, passed up because they do not dress professionaly at the office. No copany owner wants people who look like they dont care about their appearance working for them because how you dress represents the brand of the company and your job title. Therefore what you wear to work matters.

One of the things people judge their peers on is what they wear and management is always watching. I've heard some crazy things whispered behind the backs of employees whose work is exemplory but their wardrobe breaks all the company dress code rules (sloppy clothing, untucked shirts, crazy colour combinations or sexy clothing). Almost every time the person making the comment is a manager, director or someone in upper management and their disdain for that individual completely erases that persons proven job performance.

For example, a friend of mine who is a really good accountant doesnt care how his dress shirts look when he goes to work. Sometimes its untucked, or ripped. Other times his tie is off centre or his collar is half way up because he got distracted when he was putting on his tie at his desk. A manager who is quite influential made a remark one day calling my friend sloppy, irresponsible and unprofessional. I replied that he was a great accountant and the manager told me he didnt care about that because he looked sloppy and he would never want him working for his department. You cant get it any straighter then that statement.

My grandmother used to say, always look and dress your best whether you are sweeping the floor or running a multi-million dollar company. Dont wait until you "arrive" before you start dressing the part. If you are in a position at work that you dont like and you feel you are more qualified as a manager or in another department dress that way. Emulate the way the managers dress, provided she or he dresses professionally throughout the year. It will not only make you stand out but it subtly endears you to the individual you are emulating. It build commonality and they are more likely to see you as having something in common with them then not. Its a subtle mind trick but it works everytime. I know because I have done it many times and so have my female friends.

If you feel you might need some in depth help to change your wardrobe to better reflect your career goals consider going to a image consultant. If you live in the Toronto area I recommend Charmaine Mills Advance Image and Etiquette Consilting. She offers a wide range of services from colour consulting, to wardrobe consuting and brand and image consulting. Check her website out http://www.advanceimageconsulting.ca/ and browse her services


Here are some examples of dressing for the warm summer months while still being feminine and most of all professional.


1. Cover your sleeves

A suit dress or blouse with capped sleeves looks more professional then a sleeveless one. If you have to wer a sleevless blouse pair it with a short sleeved or cap sleeved jacket or vest.

2. Jackets

Wearing jackets will instantly give your attire more authority but if you dont have any meetings or clients its ok to opt for a pretty collard blouse instead. The collar will convey authority in place of thesuit jacket and you will still look professional.

3. The Sheath Dress

I know I just finished commenting about covering your sleeves but a popular alternative these days is the Sheath dress. Paired with a jacket it looks really professional. But if you choose to not wear a jacket it looks professional as well. Just remember to slip on the jacket before you walk into a meeting to add an extra air of authority.

4. The Classic White Shirt

Every professional attire needs a good white collared shirt in both the long and short sleeved version.

Thanks Dolls for reading and I hope you all got some valuable information from this post. If you want to leave a comment click on the pink bubble beside the title of this post.

My next post in this series on Femininity at work will be on Feminine Hairstyles that are appropriate for work.

Femininity at Work Series Part I: How you can dress femininely and still be powerful at work

Can you dress femininely and still be taken seriously at work? Keep reading and I will tell you just how you can do that.

Hello Dolls!!

Do you wonder if you can wear skirts and dresses to the office and still maintain your power as the boss, supervisor or a woman who is trying to make the right moves to climb the corporate ladder. The answer to that is yes you can (No Obama campaign pun intended with that). However, it is all in the way you wear your clothing, your pattern and style choice and the accessories and colours you choose to wear. It sounds complicated but if you want to be taken seriously and still maintain your femininity and be stylish its important that you pay attention to all of these details because what you wear says a lot about who you are as a person and worker.

Be mindful of what looks right on you and your body type. Mid thigh length skirts and dresses sends the wrong message about your professionalism, your ability to lead and be in charge some day if that is your aspiration. Remember you want to dress in a way that makes you look feminine and modern  yet still maintains a high level of professionalism and the company's brand and image. If you leave to work in a mid thigh length pencil skirt with a 2 inch slit, wearing shoes that you wore last Friday to the club your not sending a message of professionalism at best, at worst you are sending a message that you are cheap and trying to use your sexuality to get ahead.

Be careful with accessories. Too many and it comes off unprofessional. Limit your accessories to a nice necklace (not big and overwhelming), not big bracelets and limit it to no more then 2 rings per outfit.

*Special notes for Fuller figured and Taller women.

Fuller Figured Woman
If you are a fuller figured woman don't shy away from pattens and colours in the office. They are not your enemy. However chosen in the right combination they can be your best friend! You don't have to confine yourself to the colour black just because someone said that its "slimming", That's a myth. Black is only be slimming when the cut and fit of the fabric suits your body type no matter what your body type may be. Besides, why should you be chained to one colour because you are not a size 4? That's nonsense.

Embrace what you look like at this point in time and own it! You are beautiful and apart of being the best version of your femininity is accepting yourself  as a whole package and loving yourself from deep inside yourself right out to who you are on the outside. Love every curve you have. Your body is your adornment to clothe beautifully as you wish. For its your soul and beautiful spirit that counts the most. When your feeling happy, contented, confident and positive it will shine so brightly from the inside that no man will be able to resist you. They will be drawn to you like a moth to a flame. Be that flame and shine brightly my love. 

When choosing patterns its worth noting that some patterns can enhance your curves or create an illusion of added weight onto your frame. Floral prints are good but you will want to stay away from large floral prints especially in dresses and skirts. Bold blocks of colours helps to create a slimmer silhouette. Horizontal strips are not a good choice for a fuller figured woman as it will make you look wider. They draw the eyes around the body and creates width on the wearer. Vertical stripes draws the eyes down which is what you want because it makes you look slimmer.  The same doesn't always hold true for horizontal blocks of bold colour. The trick to wearing these types of dresses, skirts or tops is to try to always(as much as the fit and cut of the dress allows)  have defined a waist so you don't get lost in the colour and look like your wearing a tent.

Here are some picture ideas for you to look at to get an idea of how beautiful you can dress yourself now and how much power it gives to your brand and image as a feminine powerful woman in the office.

I like this outfit for the orange colour but I don't recommend the shoes, bangles or bag together for the office. I think this would look amazing with a white long sleeve blazer and beige heels

Taller Women

Don't be afraid to wear heels in the office. I've heard it all before! "She's tall what does she need heels for?" or "why would she want to be taller?". Tall is beautiful not to mention downright stunning! Own your height and be the beautiful tall woman that you are. Why be a shrinking wall flower hiding in flats because others who may be shorter than you  (with little to no self esteem if they are sneering at your desire to wear heels) don't like that you are "already tall" and daring to wear shoes that make you taller. Own your body, love every inch you have and wear those heels then strut passed the "nay sayers" and flick them your warmest smile! Check it out! You go girl!

Heels makes an outfit look nice, feminine and sexy. Nothing wrong with that. Now lets make an important note. Electric orange, or green heels or any other extremely bright,'I'd wear this to a picnic or the club' type colours in the office is not the best choice. At the end of the day you must make colour choices that adheres to your companies dress code not to mention shows that you have good taste. Orange heels with a green dress, or white skirt doesn't show good taste. It makes you look loud, gaudy, attention seeking (lets not make it that obvious) and tacky. Great colour choices are reds, pinks, blues, beige, whites, black, greys, browns and darker purples. Tiger prints and zebra prints are nice as well as long as they are not overwhelming. A great colour choice I have seen is a black pencil skirt and top with red bottom Loubouton leopard heels. Very nice and the woman who wore them was not someone anyone underestimated because of her shoe choice or skirt wearing habits.  She maintained her authority and influence while still looking feminine and pretty (many men smiled when she walked by while secretly fearing being on her bad side). You can dress femininely, wear heels, skirts and dresses and still maintain your authority and power. Its all about how you carry yourself, your confidence and your professionalism.

One thing you will find when you dress more femininely at the office is your male co workers will definitely take notice and begin treating you more like a lady; opening doors, pulling out seats, complimenting you etc. Now I'm not saying there is anything wrong with your arms or hands but there is also nothing wrong with a man being inspired to do this for you. Accept it, smile, thank them then continue on with your day. You deserve to be treated with respect, honor and chivalry. Besides men like doing these types of things for a woman. It makes them feel good so why not right? Another thing you will notice are the dirty looks from some of the women in the office. This is normal and its ok. Its their insecurities not yours. Continue smiling and letting your femininity shine through. Never mute yourself so someone else can feel better about themselves. Why should you do all the work (muting yourself down) that they are not willing to do for themselves or have not yet finished doing? Don't sacrifice your self esteem for anyone else Doll.

Take a moment and look at these pictures of women dressed professionally for the office. Hopefully they will inspire you with ideas for your next purchase.

What do you think Dolls? Click on the pink bubble beside the title of this post and let me know :)

My next post will be Part II in this Series on Femininity at Work and how you can dress femininely for the warm weather

Ciao loves!