How to Dress for Business

How Men Should Dress In the Business World

I am constantly amazed by people who come to work every day and have no idea how to dress for business.  Gentlemen, it is just not that hard to figure out.  I am big believer in dressing right.  My first impression of you will always be based on how you are dressed.  I do not ever solely base my opinion on this, but this is where everything starts.  If you can’t dress then you will not work for our companies.  It is that simple. 

Good Business Dress Attire 

I do not mean to be unfair, I am just being truthful.  We have a brand that we are trying to get across to our Customers at every company that I own.  One of the things that is constantly the same for our company is professionalism.  This means you have to dress professional to be professional.  Yeah, I know a lot of smart people who dress like crap.  They do not work for us.  The reason being is that they may be smart, but they aren’t smart enough to figure out that perception is reality, and reality is king!  I want our Customers to feel they are in great hands.  They are in the hands of professionals because they are when they work with our company.  I have no time for someone who has not taken an hour to educate themselves on how to dress and extend our brand effectively to our Customers.

Good Business Dress Attire Is Critical To Success

If you come to my office, and you do not know how to dress, I am going to assume a few things.  You are lazy, and just don’t care enough about the perception you give off to others.  Quite simply, this does not work.  You will not make it at our company.  Second, you are lacking funds to dress appropriately for business.  This does not fly either.  If you can buy lunch our every day and a coffee in the morning, you just do not have your priorities right.  Finally, maybe no one has taught you, so I will help you out.  We will spend time with you telling you what to do and not to do when it comes to business fashion.  The trick here is that you have to be willing to listen and adjust quickly.  I do not have a lot of patience for people who cannot dress professionally, and certainly not a lot of patience for someone who cannot do it right even after we have told them how to do it. 

The key here is to learn the basics.  There are tons of great articles on how to dress for business.  Take the time, and get it right.  It is just not that hard to accomplish.  In the meantime, here are 20 key ways to dress for business.   

How to Dress for Business

1. Stick To The Basics, Keep It Simple
2. No Excuse for Not Dressing Correctly
   1. Buy a book
   2. Ask a friend
   3. What are the top people wearing
   4. Get advice from well dressed business people
3. Collared Shirts Are A Must
4. Clothes Always Clean & Ironed
5. Clothes That Fit
6. Socks Match Your Pants
7. Never Ever Wear White Socks With Business Attire
8. Black or Brown Dress shoes no exceptions, Shoes Should Match Your Pants
9. Stay Conservative, Nothing Crazy Until You Have Made It Big
10. Add Some Flair with Cufflinks
11. No Crazy Ties Especially Characters, Holiday, Animals, Etc
12. Never Snap On Suspenders
13. Never Suspenders With A Belt At The Same Time
14. Stick With Traditional Colors & Avoid Non Traditional Business Colors
15. Be Well Groomed (Showered, Shaven, Hair Combed, Finer Nails trimmed)
16. Blue Suits Rule
17. Lack of Money To Dress Right, Is No Excuse
18. Stand Up Straight, Good Posture Shows Confidence
19. No Sweaters or Non Traditional Attire
20. Know That First Impressions Mean Everything In Business, Be Prepared To Shine!