Why I Dress for Success

Being a teacher, I’ve missed the days of when I really had to dress up for work. I truly believe that dressing for success allows you to feel more confident, productive and successful. I’m sharing my advice on the subject along with some products from brands I know and trust that I believe would enhance your everyday work look.

One of the first things I remember learning about Cody when we were first dating is that we both believe in ‘dressing for success.’  Cody works at an engineering firm and I’m a first grade teacher – two jobs you don’t necessarily need to be business formal (or even casual) at – but for us, we enjoy it!

When I started teaching, I often got questions from co-workers along the lines of ‘why so formal?’, ‘what’s the occasion?’, etc. At first I was taken back by these questions, due to the fact that in my previous jobs of working at high end retail stores such as Nordstrom and BCBG, ‘dressing up’ was expected of me.  Now as a first grade teacher, I do not dress as formally as I use to, but am always as put together as I can be with comfort and functionality.  My job has switched from helping customers on the sales floor to teaching my first graders, where I am often (literally) on the floor.

There is plenty of research of how dressing for success can actually make you more successful. This may not be as relevant for myself as a teacher – so this advice is for the many of you that are out in the business world competing for that next promotion. My opinion is, and I’m sure many would agree, is that you do not want to be so formal that it makes people uncomfortable. This quote from the article, Why Dressing for Success Leads to Success, from the Wall Street Journal, sums up my husband’s mindset on this subject perfectly;

“In an office with a relaxed or business-casual dress code, “when you don’t need to wear formal clothing, that’s where wearing formal clothing can have a bigger effect.”

Easy Tips to ‘Dress for Success’ at Your Job:

• Heels: Don’t like wearing heels? Guess what, me neither – and I know there’s many other ladies that agree! Working a 9-5 job (or even longer) can be exhausting for your feet – especially if you’re on your feet a lot, or live in a city where you are walking to your job from the subway. When you have an important meeting, presentation, etc. – just slip a pair of pumps in your bag for work that day (or better yet, keep a spare pair at your desk), so that you can switch out your more comfortable shoes for heels when necessary. Another option is to wear a kitten (shorter) heel – I’ve linked some of those for you as well!

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• Power Blazer: There’s no better stable for your professional wardrobe than, what I like to call, a ‘power blazer.’ Adding a simple blazer that fits you well can make the biggest difference. What I love about a good blazer is that you can add it to a dress, skirt or pants! I also love wearing blazers with a simple top, jeans, and pumps for cute date night or happy hour look!

• Simple on Top + Patterned Pants: I have been obsessing over the pants I’m wearing in these pictures and cannot wait to stock up on more similar to these. These are the comfiest dress pants I have EVER owned. Adding a patterned dress pant to a simple look on top (shown in the pictures above), creates such a classic look that is SO easy to put together! Remember that power blazer I mentioned earlier? Yeah, add that.