I was recently asked to contribute to an article in Dynamic Business called What Women Wear to Work. Now, I don’t really care what women wear, but I decided to participate in the article because of the personal journey that I had from being a 26 year old business woman without a college degree who was terrified that she would not be taken seriously in business and who used dress as a way to prop herself up and build credibility. Now, Trinny and Susanna from the UK tv show What Not to Wear, may be all about the wardrobe, but if you’ve watched the show you could have been moved to tears by the pain some of their clients go through with their image, their body shape, fear of changing their look.
As a teenager I had a mohawk-style cut, I wore lots of black (was a heavy metal fan), had multiple earrings and lots of jewellery and then in my early 20s I went to work in fashion and then music so my style was in line with my workplace.
What Women Wear to Work | Dynamic Business
What Women Wear to Work | Dynamic Business
It was only when I decided to start my own business and would have to front up at meetings looking like a ‘serious’ businesspereson that I lost my identity to a ‘corporate’ look that was not me. Sure, on weekends I’d still ‘be me’ but at work (I had an events business) I would suit up. I remember when, a few years later, I was successful enough, and had earned my stripes and made my mark in my industry, that I threw out with glee the suits that I’d worn in my early years of business. These days I get around in pretty much what I like. I am wise enough to dress up when I need to, but in my own way, and to dress down when I can (which is often). What participating in this seemingly frivolous article allowed me to do was to reflect on how far I’d come and how nice it was to be in my own skin being me and knowing that I could express myself fully.
My tip: Do what you need to get the job done (ie. no point turning up your nose to convention if it’s going to work against you), be the best you can be and express yourself as best you can. I don’t regret where I’ve been… I’m just glad about where I am.
-Suzi Dafis
