Why well-fitting clothes are a must for true style
When you are buying clothing for your working wardrobe you are making an investment in yourself.
They become a considered part of your professional style and as we have previously discussed, your clothes send silent signals about you that others read and then make, consciously or subconsciously, decisions about you, your professionalism, attention to detail, status in work. The magic first impressions.
Your choice of colour and style of clothing suitable to the industry you are in, your body shape and how your style choices work for you, are all very important considerations. The one that is most overlooked, or the one to which less attention is paid, is the fit of the clothes.
How your clothes fit you matters.
Poor fitting clothing can impact your whole day, your confidence, your comfort, your efficiency. No matter how much you paid for an item, if it doesn’t fit well, it won’t look good on you. Consequently, you won’t feel good. Your confidence is lessened and your focus shifts from the work you need to excel at, to supercharge your career, to being self-conscious and fidgeting with jackets, tight waists, buttons.
Poor fitting clothing impacts on other people’s perception of you and is very distracting. At worst you are perceived to be a poor representative of the company image, which can slow down or end promotion, prevent interview success and stall your career. It sends silent signals about lack of attention to detail and grooming. Therefore, the message received is, will you have the same lack of attention to detail in your work? A that will do attitude, a don’t care signal. I know this for a fact from working with fast-track graduate recruits in a major corporate company. Only the people who represented the company well, in all areas, including personal image and style were promoted quickly.
Well fitting clothing lasts longer and wear and tear is less. There is less strain on the fabric and shape. So, it lasts longer and cost to wear ratio is better.
Buying off the peg. Please remember shops import clothing from all over the world. Sizing labels differ enormously according to the standard sizes in the country in which the items were made. Measure yourself, and buy the size that fits, regardless of the label.
Bespoke or made to measure. If you are buying what I call staples in your business wardrobe, suits for men or women, trousers, jackets it always pays to spend that extra money and have it made to measure. They will fit perfectly, look super professional, last a lifetime and always create a great first impression.
Body shape, proportion and scale.
Knowing and understanding your body shape is important for men and women, for example inverted triangle, straight, apple, pear shape. However, within those standardized guides, we always have our own adjustments to make, as we are all unique.
Equally important are the proportions and scale of your body. Proportions come from your bones, your skeleton. That can’t change unlike weight gain or loss. Knowing the length of your legs, arms, upper body, where the waist sits, high or low. Are you longer in the body than legs or vice versa? Are you legs longer in the thigh or from the knee down? Scale, are you large, medium or small boned? All these factors don’t change and paying attention to them when choosing clothes and styles fine tune the finished look. This knowledge informs jacket length, sleeve, waist detail, length or skirt or trouser style, for example. It also informs the type of accessories and size of them, watches, bags, jewellery.
Perfect all this and the overall look is professional and stylish but not distracting in anyway. Which is how your professional working wardrobe should be. Leaving you and your unique skills to shine in your business world.
Fast track your career, super charge your business and boost earnings with the right business image.
