You are what you wear

Singapore is Asia’s leading business hub. However, when it comes to business dressing, many will agree that we are not leading in the region.

Take a look at the financial business hub in Raffles Place on a weekday lunch hour, we will find that many have traded their traditional business suits for less formal attires. Ladies are wearing more dresses instead of power suits. Colourful striped shirts are also getting more popular amongst the men rather than the standard bankers’ look of white and blue shirts.

In recent corporate training sessions for the financial institutions, managements are also highlighting their concerns of staff’s inappropriate dressing. Female staffers are turning up in attires with lower necklines, higher hemlines and more men wearing tight, “drain-piped” pants to work.

Non-client facing staff often argue that they have more liberty to dress down. Some also insist that “Talent is not in the clothes”. Alas, the truth is our clothes do convey messages and we cannot not communicate! Being well groomed and dressing appropriately shows that you take your job seriously.

During my previous career in an IT firm, I recalled an ex-colleague who turned up at a morning project review meeting with her blouse reversed. Months later, when our IT system was not performing efficiently, my project leader insisted on having her codes scrutinized first. My boss reasoned, “She is not detailed enough”.

Dressing impacts the individual and it also impacts an organisation’s brand message. If you were to introduce yourself and exchange a name card with someone whom you’re meeting for the first time, will they exclaim, “O Really, you’re working for XYZ company?!”

On one occasion while waiting for my client at their office’s reception area, I was surprised to see the well-groomed receptionist moving out of her reception desk in a pair of “Hello Kitty” bedroom slippers, totally nonchalant of the shocked facial expressions of her visitors.

You represent your organization, are you a great brand ambassador or do you erode the brand value of the organization?

There is no one look that fits all. For those who are client facing, it is important to remind oneself that the more you look like the person your client expects to see, the easier and quicker you get the buy-in from your client.

And remember, women tend to be judged more harshly in the corporate world. Hence, dressing professionally directs attention to her work rather than her looks.

For example, it is necessary to project credibility, prudence and maturity if you are a Relationship Manager (RM) of a bank, simply because you deal with the commodity called “money” in your job.

Wearing a sun-dress with short hemline and a pair of gladiator heels for a female RM will cause her to look too playful and fun. A man with dark coloured shirt and sun shades can only come across as being too mafia-looking. These looks are certainly not associated with someone who is trustworthy and reliable, character traits of a banker.

On the other hand, an event manager or someone in advertising sales will come across as too uninspiring and lack creativity if he/she would to wear the attire of a banker.

Professional image has to be relevant to your industry, position and the customers (internal and external) that you work with. We all know when we meet someone with professional presence. Not only are they knowledgeable, they carry themselves well, they dress smartly and appropriately too!

Ask yourself these questions as a self-check regardless of what you do and where you are in your corporate career – Is my image an accurate representation of my industry and position? If I were my own boss, would Iv promote myself today? If your answer is a “no” to any of these questions, it is time to dress up!