Women at Work: The Value of Dressing Professionally

Earlier this week, I was interviewed by The Grindstone - a fantastic publication geared toward the professional working woman.  The topic?  Appropriate dress in the workplace.

I thought I would share just a few of the questions + answers...

My typical "Casual Friday" look...

Judging from your outfits it seems the answer is yes, but can you still be fashionable working around little kids all day? Is it limiting? Has your wardrobe changed from when you were an event planner to now?

This question really gets to the heart of why I started my blog! As an event planner for nearly seven years, my clothing and appearance was critical to my business success. If I can’t look pulled together and stylish, why would a CEO hire me to make his company’s party pulled together and stylish?

Now that I’m a school psychologist, I try to bring that same approach to fashion into my workplace. Kids see that I put thought, effort and personality into my style and they comment on it nearly every day. Schools are overflowing with teachers sporting Crocs with socks, tied-dyed t-shirts and ill-fitting baggy jeans. I want to help transform this ideology that “if you work with kids you have a free pass to look sloppy.” Professional and polished doesn’t mean uncomfortable and impractical. Can it be limiting when you work with kids?  Absolutely. Is it possible to be fashionable while working with kids? Absolutely.

What do you think is the most common mistake women make when dressing for the office?

Here are my top offenses:

• Showing cleavage

• Not paying attention to fit. Too tight and you look inappropriate. Too baggy and you look sloppy. A good tailor is critical.

• Celebrating Casual Friday on Tuesday.

On your blog, you do a lot of incorporating trends into work wear (neon, mixing prints, etc.) Do you think any trend, if done correctly, can be translated to work wear?

Unless you work in fashion or in a very liberal work environment, the answer is no! Please don’t introduce colored hair tips to your law firm or fabric cut outs to your accounting office. There are some trends that should be labeled “Weekend Only!”

Go HERE to read the full interview!

So I would love to hear what YOU think!  

- Do you agree that certain trends should stay OUT of the workplace?  

- What about common office dress mistakes?  Does anyone at your work rock the ample cleavage daily? :)

XO - Marion 

PS - Starting next week I'll be sharing a few of my "comfortable and reasonable" shoe + clothing picks.  I can't always play duck-duck-goose in high heels :)

And be sure to join us next Wednesday for the "Trend of the Month Challenge!"  

Click HERE for more information.