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New Years Resolutions for your company Dress Code !
By Dennis Dann
June 18, 2004 -- Looking to increase your companies productivity this year? Start with the Dress Code. Tips for CEO's, Presidents and Managers on office attire in 2004.
What are your business' New Years Resolutions ? 2004 is here and its sure to be lively business wise.
After several years in a slump for many industries, we are seeing happier days ahead for many companies.
Here is my question to ask you ............How does your staff look ? Are they dressed for business ?
The office casual 90's are over...........the economy rebounding........and its time to redirect your company
to feeling like its back in business. How will you bring them up to your new standards and goals for 2004 ?
Here are some specific guidelines to think about for the Men on the
payroll:
1. "Dress" clothing.............Suits ! Remember them ? The uniform that men wore forever to work.......did not require great thinking or style coordination at the crack of dawn. Simple concept. Easy to understand. Grey suits in a tropical weight are the #1 choice. Great variety follows. For businessmen, its conservative dark suits. We are not going for a "Saturday Night Fever" with John Travolta look here.
2. Blue Blazer, grey pants. Also another "no brainer" in life. To these great basics we will add great variety in furnishings, which
we will cover in a minute. The well-dressed man must have these two items in his closet. Nice quality, good fit and fresh from the cleaners.
3. Dress Trousers. For variety from the gray flannel pants just mentioned, we could introduce tweeds, checks, herringbone, or different hues of subtle color. Again..........we are talking "dress" trousers here.........not casual. Here is a tip.....if it can be thrown in a washing machine at home, it is not in the dress category in my book. Re-introduce yourself to a good Dry Cleaner in your neighborhood. Dress trousers are a more relaxed way to be dressed for business. If your business is in need of complete rebounding in dressing well from complete casual......you may start with dress trousers to be paired with dress shirts and ties. Ask them to always have a Navy Blazer handy to top this look off when they will
see clients.
4. Dress Shoes. Have you heard that "you can always tell a great deal about a person by their shoes" ? Dark leather dress shoes in black or brown. No sneakers, rubber soled shoes, cowboy boots (unless you are in Texas or a Western State and it works in your industry).
5. Dress Shirts and NECKTIES. This is a biggie in the dress casual conversation area. Neckties were the key to the demise of dressing well. Once the tie came off.........the bottom fell out. I am not a therapist or an economist, but I firmly believe that if you REQUIRE neckties to be worn in your company, that your productivity will increase. Learn to tie a good "Four-in-hand-knot". This is a critical knowledge. Ask a really knowledgeable person to teach you if you do not know how to tie this specific knot. If they are wearing a necktie, they need to wear other dress clothing items with it as well. High-quality dress shirts come in all different attractive patterns and colors. I strongly suggest ALL-cotton (to be professionally cleaned and pressed) and LONG sleeves. Well dressed men wear long sleeve shirts in natural fibers. Please skip short sleeve dress shirts, blended fabrics, and the highly dreaded "pocket protector". French Cuff shirts for cuff links for the more attentive dresser is also a good option. Ditto for "Braces"-the suspenders which button on. Well-dressed men do not wear "clip on" suspender variety.
6. If you are willing to have some flexibility, you could also allow "Dress Khakis".............tailored khakis that are pressed and cleaned professionally. (The throw-in-the-washing machine variety not allowed !) Dress khakis paired with a nice dress shirt and neck tie (or even a great looking button front sweater vest) can be a great look.
The bottom line here is..........we need to strive to look like you want to do business with your clients. Respect them enough to bother to dress up for them. Worry about the kind of first impression..........and lasting impression............you are making to win and keep their business. After all of these years of not investing money in good business attire, you are bound to hear whining from employees about how much it costs to dress like this. First of all, if they make tasteful choices in conservative, well-made clothing........they will have years of use from them. Secondly, if they do not respect you or your company or the company image enough to care about how they are presenting themselves...........they may not be right for your staff for your new direction in 2004.
Dennis Dann has been a Mens Clothing Retailer for over 35 years. He currently ships worldwide via his Dann Clothing website www.Dann-Online.com
This article courtesy of http://www.ilovedress.com.
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