Is it true that if you dress up at work, you won't be taken seriously as a professional?

Question

What I mean is if I wear my hair down (I have long, thick curly hair), wear my makeup a certain way, dress stylishly.....Is it possible that people would just look at how you look and not take you seriously? I noticed that people do take me more seriously if I just wear my hair up with slacks, little makeup and modest jewelry. Wearnig a nice skirt with my hair down just causes co-workers and bosses to focus on how I look. How about for the rest of you?

Of course, the goal is to be taken seriously and not to be eye candy for your co-workers,supervisors and clients. There's no need to aim to look beautiful at work anyway (going out at night is a different story ;), right?

When I worked at a nursing home for the mentally ill, I got hit on a lot by the people that lived there....I'm still in graduate school, so I'm just wondering if it's best to look simple (yet professional) once you're out in the workforce.

Any advice from professional working women out there?

Thanks

Answer 1

Depends what the 'profession' in question is.

add - Agreed that your clothes shouldn't be a centerpiece, but you can't shut yourself down just to please clients. You can be modest, comfortable and s**y. Some women I know wear nice underwear under the office suit.

Answer 2

Dress in the classics.  You have more credibility.  And you aren't constantly replacing clothes because they go out of style.  

Simple classic apparel that is not too tight, good quality, covers everything that needs to be covered,  and is comfortable is your best bet.   I have suits that are 15-20 years old.

I tell my students that you cover yourself in the workplace from the mid-knee to no lower than  2 inches below the collar bones.  No dangle earrings - none the size of hubcaps either.  

I learned and still practice the button earring rule for work.  I also don't believe in sleeveless.   Toes and heels covered as well.  Forget the tight clothes also.

Answer 3

This is always true.  If you had to ask- being a grown woman. If you even had to ask, then you know that there is probably some stigma associated with dressing up at work. Everytime I see an attractive woman- or a woman obviously trying to be attractive- I think a little less of her capability.  - But that's your own faults, don't blame men for this one.  (or any 'one' for that matter)

Answer 4

I would say (for your job as a therapist) to dress nicely definitely. People wont take advice from people who are not confident of themselves or dont care about themselves. Showing that you are confident with yourself will help a lot. But you dont need to dress S****y or look so great that they feel bad about themselves. I think you should wear stylish outfits but in neutral colors. (no loud or bright prints) and dont show too much skin. (unprofessional and distracting for your male clients) Also wear jewelry but wear things like pearls and dainty hoops and stuff. Just be very classy in the way you dress. :-) Here's some stuff i found on polyvore:

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=19169...

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=16347...

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=20055...

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=18938...

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=13584...

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=13328...

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=12867...

Answer 5

As a teacher I find that wearing a clown suit pleases the children a lot. It doesn't impress their parents though, as I found out when I went to parents evening in my Krusty outfit.

EDIT: 'Cohesive'? I think you mean 'conducive'.

EDIT2: You spelled it wrong, not 'conductive', but 'conducive'. You shouldn't be allowed to teach, you have no understanding of words. Cohesion would work in meaning, but not with that sentence construction. And it's 'cohesion' not cohesiveness.

Did I mention I'm a teacher?

Answer 6

I am a teacher.  I have found that when I dress professionally and stylishly I am MORE respected.  Now do not confuse "stylish" with "trendy".  Trends are for the weekends.  If you are wearing something that is a fashion statement (good or bad) you will probably be taken less seriously.  But most of how you are treated is how you treat others or act...not what you wear.  Unless of course you are a jr. high school student.

EDIT- Example

Fashionable-

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/in...

Trendy-

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/in...

The first is very classic with some interesting designs.  Most teens could not get away with it.  The second is fine to wear, but is not cohesive to a business atmosphere.

EDIT2- Very cute "The Mr.", but the real Mr. is a P.E. teacher and would rather cut out 60 construction paper stars a night than wear a clown outfit...nice try though.

EDIT3- No I meant 'cohesive'.  Cohesiveness refers to an environment much better than conductive.  Conductive would refer better to efficiency or productivity though.

EDIT4-...Really?  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/C...

Just remember, if you are going to be a know it all...know what you are talking about.

Answer 7

I wore a dress at work and they didn't take me seriously.

Answer 8

EDIT: Your supervisor does have the right to mention dress code and suitability matters to you, but if his or her comments are inappropriate you need to address that. If it happens again, you could ask "What do you mean?" with a puzzled look and see if they are just not very good at expressing themselves, or if they really were inappropriate.

~*~*~*~

First impressions do count, and in some workplaces and professions, you will be taken more seriously if you dress conservatively and in line with professional dress codes.

In your first years in the workforce, I wouldn't suggest you try anything too outrageous. Let your work speak for itself.

Once you are more established you will have a lot more leeway to develop your own style and work out just how you wish to present yourself as a professional.

Having a less 'obvious' style is a good way to start, because in time, you may find the way you wish to present yourself changes.

And, after a few months you will have a better idea of ways you can be more individual in your appearance without your appearance being the focus of your work or working day.

Cheers :-)

Answer 9

In most cases, dressing to be s**y lowers your status at work. Dressing to be stylish isn't the same thing. You can be stylish and professional at the same time. Here's a good example (you might want to make the neckline higher, though):

http://www.elietahari.com/store/catalog/...

Answer 10

This is completely dependent upon where you work.  You said you work in an office, so you should probably dress "nice" there.  But excessive jewelry and makeup would be trashy and inappropriate.  But dressing professional is just fine.

edit:  If you dress inappropriately as I mentioned above, you are right, you will not be taken seriously.  To answer your question.  Dress neutral, but with a flare that's all your own in some manner.  You can still keep your own personality of dress, but you have to tone it down to professional.

Also, in Retail people have a set uniform, they don't have a choice.  And there are different aspects of Retail.  There are many employees who are not selling on the Sales Floor; they work elsewhere.

**So you think because you wore dangly earrings and your Supervisor made a comment that it's your fault?  Girl, please!  Who made the comment?  Who made the choice to make a comment?  Where was the origin of that choice?  Not in you.  That's on him.  Do what you do and don't worry about anyone else.