The Guide to workwear part 1: Smart and The City

Photo by jcoldironjr2003 via Flickr

Despite the soaring unemployment figures, this year thousands of UK graduates will be entering the world of work and amidst the worries about commuting, working to deadlines, getting on with their boss, one thought will stand out from all the rest: what do I wear?
I wanted to address this worrying issue, however a minute's reflection showed me that really, I have no idea. So, rather than give up and leave the new workforce to their sartorial faux pas', I called in some outside help- lovely friends from a variety of fields who have offered their observations on the workwear in their environment. Their response was beyond what I could have hoped for, leading me to serialise their efforts over the next couple of weeks.

Part one are the musings of the lovely Annie An, who has considerable experience in looking successful, on what to wear if you're working in the city: law, banking and the more creative callings are covered in impressively thorough detail. So take notes and Enjoy!

Corporate

We've all seen the sea of black barging past us, rushing towards their majorly important appointment in the City, eternally shackled to their Blackberry "Smart" phones, so the obvious first step is to get yourself a power suit, preferably black. This is the most important component for interviews, client meetings and getting wasted at the local watering hole. Try good old Jermyn Street retailers such as T.M Lewin for something simple and relatively cheap. A blazer from Mango and some trousers from Next, however, is not a healthy alternative.

There are differences depending on which sector you work in: for example in Law it is more conservative and ladies should consider the skirt option over the trouser-suit whereas in Banking you could get away with a nice silk top and a pair of trousers. For women shirts, especially white shirts are not always compulsory- you can experiment with not too revealing tops and maybe even a black/dark coloured wrap dress. Just make sure you always have a jacket to hand in case a client or someone important drops in! Banana Republic stocks affordable workwear and Hobbs' City Wear collection holds a plethora of smart stylish clothes not necessarily aimed at middle aged dames who lunch.

Accessories should be kept simple and elegant in more conservative environments, however you can afford to be more liberal with the bling in finance -I know a female associate who isn't adverse to flashing her extensive collection of Cartier wrist wear.

For men, try a different suit and shirt combination: a navy suit and pink shirt or a grey-brown suit with a blue shirt for example. There generally aren't too many rules in Corporate Britain, just keep it professional. Charles Tyrwitt and Pink should be able to kit you out for all your suiting needs, however Bankers do seem to prefer the Salvatore Ferragamo suit and Hermes tie combination, just not before you make MD. The U.S however is a different questions all together. If you are male and a junior member of staff (i.e. analysts beware!)working in finance - DO NOT WEAR CUFF LINKS! What may seem to us mere Europeans as an essential part of work and formal attire, takes on a whole different meaning Stateside - you may not be thinking it but to the powers above know you are overreaching yourself, you are running before you can walk.

Creative Industries

You are the lucky lucky people, who get to wear almost anything to work- even at times skinny jeans and Converse! So experiment, go wild – just don’t dye your hair pink. For women it’s always a good idea to not bare too much flesh, remember this is still a work place. Keep the minis for the beach and the low cut tops for date night. For men, you still need to look presentable, so the hoodie and the “just rolled out of bed” look may have been ok for lectures but does not belong to the work place. In sectors such as Publishing and PR, people tend to be fashion forward and have their own style, so invest sometime into thinking about how you are presenting yourself to your peers as well as your clients. Remember you are also selling a brand/reputation, and who wants to buy the services of a heavily pierced Mohawk when they are promoting their new cookbook. In galleries and auction houses, it is often more conservative. Men are often seen in suits and women in skirt and blouse combos. Try Reiss or Anthropologie for a splash of artistic printing and embroidery.

Next week: Part 2- Teaching in Trousers