It never ceases to amazing me what people will wear into the office these days. The corporate culture of business casual has been taken to the extreme and if a manager does have the audacity to speak to someone about how they are dressing – it flirts with HR and individual rights.

MSN has an interesting article here which discusses how dress impacts productivity and people’s opinion. For myself, it was driven home to me at a very early age:

As a young sales rep I often worked from home. While at home I would dress casually as no one saw me. I was not one of those reps who would dress up at home to get in the ‘right frame of mind’. One day I had to jump into the office to photocopy mailers, so I went in wearing jeans.

Our corporate VP saw me in the photocopy room and promptly joined me, explaining in no uncertain terms how our professional sales force needs to uphold an image with both customers and internal staff and that I was never to make that mistake again.

A few tips from the article:

Suit:  Every professional man or woman needs at least one traditional, well-tailored suit in a classic color.  Women who choose a skirt suit should also have a pair of pants as a coordinating piece.

Button-down shirts:  Classic white is a must because it looks good with anything, but buy a few in different colors that match your suit.

Shoes: Women should invest in black leather pumps and walking shoes, such as a good, comfortable pair of loafers or ballet flats in leather.  Men should have at least one pair of black leather shoes and a black leather belt to wear with them. 

Accessories: Women should accessorize with a few pieces of jewelry and a good leather tote bag, and men should wear a watch and have either a black or brown leather wallet.

Like I always say, you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes.