Dressing right for business

Picking the right outfits for success

One lesson children learn is the value of dressing to impress. After all, what you wear can say a lot about you, so it’s important you give a strong first impression with a thoughtful outfit when it matters.

As adults, it’s even more important. What you wear can make or break business-related matters. The right outfit can be the tipping point that gets your company a new customer or contract. Because of this, staying conscious about what you wear to business-related functions is important.

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Getting dressed for success

When choosing what clothes to wear when interacting with other companies, focus mainly on blending in with the company or person you’re working with. Being the nail that sticks out tells people you don’t fully respect the other company’s culture, and that’s not a positive signal to send.

Before doing anything business-related with another company, learn about what kind of clothes they wear around the office. You can get this information by asking someone like a receptionist or people you know who work in the company. You especially want to ask how the person or people you’re meeting dress. This’ll give you a good idea as to how people at the company dress.

A versatile wardrobe can also do wonders. You have no idea what’ll happen during the day, so having a varied set of clothes to wear can help you adapt to who you meet and where you go. 

You can put a versatile wardrobe into practice by bringing a suitcase with different styles you can change into throughout the day. This’ll let you easily change clothes on the fly so you’re wearing appropriate clothes no matter where you go. You don’t have to know exactly where you’ll go — just bring different sets of clothes you can change into, such as business casual and a suit and tie, to blend into various locations you think you might visit.

Another great idea is to incorporate your company’s colors into your outfits. This helps establish a color set that people can identify with your company. You might even want to commission clothes, such as business casual shirts, that include your company’s colors and logo to further drive the association home. That way, you can respect the company you’re meeting with while still selling your brand.

Winning people over with what you wear

Wearing the right thing for the right person can be a huge benefit for your company. By knowing a company’s dress code and what an executive likes people to wear, having a diverse wardrobe, and tying your company’s colors into your outfit, you’ll build a strong foundation for dressing well for business. It’ll take some research and money on your end, but the results will pay dividends.

Clients love Jacob’s speed. Jacob is an inbound marketing-certified webmaster. He earned an integrated communications degree from Florida State College at Jacksonville. Jacob joined Axia PR as an intern in August 2015 and earned his way into a critical role at our PR agency.