Dressing up in my opinion is for three major reasons: One for covering, two for communication and three for comfort. I call them the 3 Cs of dressing. I’ll start with the first; for covering. Covering up is instinctive to any normal human being. It is expected that you wake up every morning and wear clothes to cover up. It is normal, human and common. Just like taking a bath, brushing your teeth, caring for your hair, manicure and pedicure, going to the restroom to ease ourselves, drinking from containers, living in a building and not on the street or in trees, covering up is just as natural a practice for every normal person. When an individual is not covered up according to societal expectations, it takes us to my next purpose of dressing which is communication. I agree completely with the school of thought that says dressing up is about the liberty to express yourself. What you wear and how you wear it says a lot about who you are. Of course any traditional attire worn will immediately tell what tribe or part of the country an individual is from. People read you and read meaning into your dressing. For a lot of us, our self belief and self concept is largely expressed in the way we dress. I can easily tell from the way an individual is dressed if he or she has low self concept or low self esteem. I can tell if the person is frustrated, abrasive, angry, proud, careless, depressed, desperate, daring, manipulative or obnoxious. No wonder movie makers dress up their characters according to roles so that viewers can easily interpret without anyone explaining. A character can be depicted as wayward or conservative in the dressing even before saying a word simply because the dressing communicates. Wouldn’t you find it amusing and out of place if a female colleague in your office shows up on Monday morning in her wedding gown? She’s covered up alright but what’s the communication? This brings us to my last purpose of dressing which is comfort. Anything you wear that makes you uneasy, uncomfortable that requires you being extra careful, cautious and wary isn’t good for the corporate environment. You should dress to feel free to move, smart, fast and elegantly. Not slow you down, limit or curtail you unnecessarily. Your shoes, shirts, blouse, skirts, pants shouldn’t distract you unnecessarily while you work. You must feel good and comfortable not subjecting yourself to even health hazards. The way you dress must be a true representation of your organisation. There should be an alignment between the way you dress and your company’s corporate image. As a sales person, make sure you don’t end up just selling yourself but your products and organisation as well to your prospects and clients. That’s the only sale that is truly sustainable.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 20:13:25 +0000
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