Why It Is Important to Dress for Success

Hey Wealthy Woman! It’s been a minute since we last talked and I’m ready to catch up with you. It’s been on my mind to talk a bit about the importance of dressing for success in the workplace. In my years as a career woman and simply a woman navigating varying professional and social spaces, one thing I notice is that people often see how you look before they see you. They judge your appearance before they judge your character.

As Christian women that may be a hard concept to grasp especially since the Word emphasises the importance of the heart condition and rarely highlights the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7). While God does not look at the things people look at, we must be reminded that we exist in a world that functions in the opposite. As a result, dressing fashionably helps to shape others’ perceptions of you and helps you stand out, especially in professional spaces.

On my own wealth journey as a career woman, I’ve grown to understand the importance of dressing for success. In my learning process, I’ve had a few hiccups and had to unlearn a thing or two. Unfortunately, as women, we oftentimes have difficulties with finding what works for our appearance. There is so much to consider from hair and nails to shoes and clothing. We often wonder, “What’s too little?” “Am I doing too much?” I love being a woman but it can become exhausting trying to navigate fashion as a Christian woman, especially when you’re attempting to stay ahead of the world standard.

During my career, I discovered the book, “Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers” by Dr Lois Frankel. In the book, she gives 101 mistakes that women tend to make that can harm their careers and of course, she has “Mistake 80 – Dressing Inappropriately”. Dr Frankel explains the nuances around dressing acceptably, but also understands that each office tends to have an unspoken rule of the culture relating to attire.

Two tips that she provides are:

1. View clothes purchases as an investment into your future. Budget enough money to buy several really good outfits a year. When you feel good in clothes you act more confidently.
2. Have your colour chart done. Wearing colours that complement your natural features has a bigger impact than you might think.

Once I owned these pointers for myself, I began to show up strong in my appearance when I am physically working in the office. COVID came though, so now I have some beautiful work attire sitting in my closet lol.

I’m going to leave you with some tips that we all can do to truly dress for success:

1. Invest in the WHOLE package – while clothing is important, we need to be willing to invest in our skin care, hair, nails, and everything else. Take the time to invest in your grooming. I don’t think you have to wear a full glam beat everyday, but see your hair and nails as a part of your upkeep and not just a luxury.
2. Ask for help – if you notice that some of your girlfriends may be more creative than you are with their attire, ask them for advice on how to spruce up your fashion sense.
3. Don’t be afraid to be trendy – you don’t have to succumb to the basic looks of black, navy, and grey; explore some colours. I have a beautiful cobalt blue dress that ALWAYS receives great compliments. I call it my “power blue” dress!
4. Stay within your budget – you don’t have to go broke to look nice. Budget some funds as best as you can to truly pay for some nice pieces to add to your wardrobe.

Here are a few looks by Styleology 101 to help guide your preparation:

And that’s it. Now, you can show up and show out being the successful, wealthy woman God called you to be. What are your thoughts on dressing for success? What else would you like to share about this topic? Feel free to chat below! I look forward to seeing you guys thrive in all areas. We will all do our best to look the part. Talk soon!