You are what you wear in business
You are what you wear in business
By Agni Amorita
JAKARTA (JP): MC and TV presenter Erwin Parengkuan has a young
executive friend who works in a small fully air-conditioned
office.
"His office was very, very cold," said Parengkuan. His friend
started wearing a suit as his everyday office attire.
People began to assume that the man worked for a trusted
company, thanks to his "very serious" clothing.
His company became bigger and more popular as more people put
their confidence in him -- just because of his clothes.
Erwin told the story when he moderated a talk with fashion
expert Irma Hardisurya in Jakarta's Plaza Indonesia last Friday.
Irma said clothes should reflect our position as professional
workers. "Because we are considered a product, we have to know
about our packaging as well."
What she called "professional dressing-up" is a functional
outfit according to a person's rank and profession, plus
practical and comfortable elements. This means that those
provocative miniskirts or fashionable dresses should be avoided.
"Those outfits will not guarantee comfort both for us, as the
one who wears it, and others who see it."
Irma, a Miss Indonesia in the mid 1970s, added that doing
business in Indonesia required one to fully respect the
traditional values and take into consideration the other people's
perceptions about the way we dress.
"Miniskirts are still fine, it can still give a professional
impression as long as the skirt is no more than five centimeters
above the knee."
Irma said dark suits were recommended. "For business, navy
blue is always correct." She said lawyers liked gray.
She advised men to avoid bold stripes on their shirts. Button-
down shirts in plain colors are the perfect choice
because they match with ties of every color.
"For male executives, ties are the solution to release their
fashion expression without the risk of losing credibility."
The first part of smart dressing is to collect basic suits in
classic styles. "This means that we must own a simple suit in
neutral colors like dark, navy blue, dark brown, beige and gray."
The simplicity in detail can be explained for males by
choosing single-breasted suits instead of double-breasted ones
"because it will give him a slimmer, more powerful and elegant
look".
She said that to make a powerful impression in our field, it
is better to have a few top-class outfits than many cheap ones,
the ones we usually buy on sale because of emotional reasons.
"This kind of outfit usually just ends up in your wardrobe.
Ultimately it ends up being more expensive because a quality
outfit can be worn as many times as we like," Irma said.
A few classic suits in basic colors are the foundation to move
ahead in exploring fashion.
"Actually,it is very simple -- just follow the rules as I said
previously, then add a little touch by concentrating on one
detail, for example by adding a scarf, and you will have a new,
fresh look without losing a smart impression as professional
female executives."
She extolled the virtues of the scarf.
"Just pick those made from light material to give a more
mature look, because if you tie a stiff scarf around your neck,
instead of looking more professional, people will ask whether you
have a cold."
Accessories can be the tool for some professionals to show
their status.
"Pearls come highly recommended," she said. "On the other
hand, ethnic accessories like those made from seashells or
glittering colored earrings should be worn only for parties or
casual activities. In our professional activities, we
should make people concentrate on us, and not anything that we
wear."