Is part of the human condition to judge. We all judge over people’s style, appearance, hairstyle, etc. It is a survival instinct tool, we have it ingrained in our brains.
The one thing we need to train ourselves is not to let our judgement stop us from actually knowing that person, enquiring about their qualities and capacities. We need to override our brain and get to actually know the individual.
We also know how style reflects our personality, but it doesn’t mean it reflects the whole of our personality. I like to think humans are like walking kaleidoscopes, therefore the person’s style on that day, does not reflect the whole being that person is.
Women also have to manage the glass ceiling everyday at work. One thing we need to manage, in a smart way, is our professional style. How can our personal style help me look great and reflect the great person/employee I am.
I am a true believer that if I look great, I will feel great. If I feel great, I will feel more confident, consequently it will be easier for me to talk on that important meeting, do that pitch better, sell my product-service, etc.
There are enough statistics that show how misogynists are workplaces and that a woman’s appearance is judged more frequently than men, so I think that we need to be smarter than the patriarchy and use personal style as a tool to improve our well-being in the workplace and hopefully help us push the glass ceiling further and further away.
Some of the my own guidelines are:
Don’t wear anything that is sheer.
Underwear must not show at any time
No short skirts or shorts.
Shoulders should be covered.
Cleavage should not be showing, just in case I need to lower myself or bend over things.
No tight clothes that show a lot of body curves. Not only because it can distract many male colleagues, but also because I don’t like to have my body restricted at work, even having a desk job.
Not a lot of jewelry, that can make noise and annoy colleagues.
I want my outfit to reflect the following:
I am professional.
I am an active person.
I am focused on my job.
My instinct tells me to follow this objective “I want people to look at my face and pay attention to what I am saying” so they look up, to my face.
With this said, I think we can still wear colour to work and can use something unique like a scarf, a pair of earrings, a lapel pin, something that shows you have a unique personality and you care about your look, that everything was thought through.
Is the glass ceiling fair? No.
Is it fair that women keep being blamed, for men to be distracted in their workplace? No.
Is it fair that it is harder to get our voice heard in the workplace? No
But are we all here to change this? Yes, we are!
For now, we need to be more intelligent and use every tool we have at our reach, to navigate our workplaces and make ourselves respected and heard.
https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/news/a37305/women-appearance-workplace-caution/
Franca Personal Style Consultancy 