The new rules of power dressing
What you need to know:
Elegant. In business communication, dress code says a lot about a person. People will just look at the way you are dressed and make their own conclusions. Whatever your style is, make that bold statement and look your best writes,Hassan Ssentongo.
‘Power dressing’ can be a style of dressing that makes you look bold, confident, elegant, authoritative and competent, to severely tailored suits and padded shoulders that scream nothing but ‘business’.
But your dress code should resonate with the kind of job one does. Not everyone is a top executive at work. There is just a handful of them. There are countless assistants and junior executives aspiring to climb up to the upper echelon of the organisational chart. How do you stand out from that sea of ambitious women? How do you dress?
Studies show that often times in the work space, there is no reality, only perception. Power dressing gives you a certain level of confidence and aggressiveness to meet your deadlines innovate and be the best version of yourself at your work. See, in your mind, you already got that promotion and are pretty much living your dream.
There’s no better time to dress for power than now. Women are done fighting for their space in the work place, they’ve earned it already.
That is why our definition of ‘power dressing’ had nothing to do with what you should wear or the purpose of it. You dress to live your best life, meet your targets and flourish while at it.
Here is how ;
Comfort is everything
Break a few rules just to be comfortable. You’re going to need to find a shoe heel size that can keep you on your feet for as long as possible.
Padded shoulders and tailored suits are trendy
If your dress code is inclined to suits, padded shoulders and sharp tailoring is always the deal. Creativity comes in handy though. Flare and oversize pants are having their moment now and you might have to think along those lines.
Don’t be afraid of colour
You want your personality to shine through, don’t be afraid of communicating it through your love for colour. Don your red, yellow, green, blue, velvet as long as it pimps you up.
Have fun
Again, break those rules. Mix and match prints. Accessorise with pops of colour. Dramatic silhouettes like bell sleeves and surprising details such as cold shoulders punctuated with adventurous hair styles. Basically, channel that ‘chic CEO’ you aspire to be through your outfit choices. That’s the new definition of power dressing.
You don’t have to dress like men to voice your power
Usually, power is associated with dressing or looking like a man, which isn’t the case, at least not anymore. Embracing your femininity is much more powerful. Don’t be afraid to wear laces and floral enchantment. Tapping into your sensuous side always come a long way in putting you in position to voice your power without saying a word.
