Dressing For Success What To Wear To Work [0:00:00]
Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.
It's a cliché saying, but I love it because there's so much truth in it.
Gentlemen, whether you're applying for a job whether you're in a company and you're vying
for a promotion, or if you are the man in charge, you want people to listen to you,
you want people to view you as competent.
The way that you dress the way -- the clothing you put on your back is going to have a huge
impact.
In today's video, I'm going to share with you the secrets of dressing for success.
[Music] Now, I'm going to break this video into three
parts.
In the introduction I talked about three different situations.
First, you're on the outside of the company, you're trying to break your way in, you're
interviewing, so we're going to talk about how to dress for the interview.
Next up, you are in the company.
Maybe you've been working there a year maybe you're just brand new maybe you've been working
there a few years.
In any case, you're trying to dress for a promotion.
Finally, let's talk about you're a mid-level manager.
Maybe you're the CEO, you're the guy running the company, you're in charge.
How to dress so you come off as competent so people will trust you they'll listen to
you they'll follow you.
Let's start this off by talking about dressing for the interview.
Understand when you go into a company for an interview, they are assessing fit.
Fit is incredibly important.
This is the X-factor this is the thing they can't see on your resume on your body of work.
They may have heard great things about you and you may have a solid sales reputation,
but if you don't fit into their culture, they're -- if they're smart, they're not going to
hire you.
They're also going to physically look at your clothes, so you need to make sure that you've
got the right dress code and that the clothing you wear does not instantly just say this
guy doesn't fit with us.
Because if they don't wear suits in their company and you wear a suit to the interview,
you instantly send that signal, okay, this guy is different.
And I know, you may be a suit guy you watch my channel you love this stuff.
The key I'm trying to hit on here is that understand every company has a culture.
You need to find out what that interview attire needs to be before you show up.
You may have to dress down a bit, you most likely will have to dress up a bit, but in
any case, you want to show them that you are the right person and that you can fit in.
What is that dress code?
Do a little bit of research, but once you know what it is, then you want to live up
to it.
So, first thing you're going to do is focus on the fit of your clothing.
I've talked about this before, but you want to take -- know the name of your tailor.
Take that and they can adjust it.
So, let’s start off with the dress shirt.
So, a dress shirt, go with a simple white right here or a light blue.
Either one of these are going to be acceptable.
If you want them more formal, the white is going to be classic and is more formal.
Now, notice dress shirts they don't usually have pockets on the front.
They can have a single pocket without a button.
All of a sudden, when you get buttons and flaps, that's not a dress shirt that's a casual
shirt.
Also, they are solid in color, you're not going to go for a lot of patterns.
You can have an understated palette pattern and that's going to be basically where maybe
there's a twill pattern in the background, something you can't see unless you get up
really close.
Also, we're not going to have epaulets on the shoulders.
We're not going to have any pockets over on the sleeves.
Also, go for something like a simple barrel cuff instead of going for a French cuff.
You don't need to go for two buttons or anything fancy, you're going for simple for classic.
Remember, you want to look clean, you want to look presentable, you want to be wearing
the right attire and you want to fit in.
Next up, let's talk about the classic interview suit.
So, the classic interview suit is going to be solid in color and it's going to be usually
in navy, we’re going to see in gray.
Now, charcoal gray is going to be darker than this.
This color right here is a medium gray and it’s the lightest I would go with an interview
suit.
Now, when it comes to black, I try to avoid black.
I think it's too stark of a contrast when it comes to colors.
And it really isn't just for classic for a suit, it's more for black-tie, but if that's
all you have it fits you properly, then go ahead and if it works, you know, with your
skin tone it looks good on you, you can go ahead and pull that off.
But, I like these colors especially the navy, I think it works great for men it just makes
them look a little bit younger.
If you are a very young looking man, then go for a charcoal gray which, again, is going
to be a little bit darker.
If you're an older man with graying hair, you may find that a medium gray like this
is going to look better for you.
Now, remember gents the definition of a suit is a jacket and a pair of trousers made from
the same material.
They have to match exactly, they can't be close.
So, if you find this jacket and you, oh, I don't have a pair of trousers to match it
exactly, so you find a pair of darker trousers.
It may look good, but understand that's not a suit combination.
They're going to view it as he doesn't understand how to dress properly, he can't be customer-facing
and that's a big deal.
Now, if you're wearing a suit to an interview, you pretty much need to wear a necktie.
You want to look for something that's classic something conservative something that isn't
going to draw too much attention to itself and something that is going to work with your
clothing.
Now, everything we talked about those dark colored suits with light-colored shirts, all
of these neckties are going to work.
So, go for small repeating patterns, don't go for colors that just aren't going to stand
out.
Don't go with anything neon or anything like that.
So, small repeating patterns like this dot, you can go with a solid here small repeating
pattern small repeating pattern.
Now, red, you can go with a small repeating pattern on red, but what you want to avoid
is a brighter red.
You don't want to go anywhere in that superpower tie because, again, you're trying to fit in
not overpower your interviewer. [0:05:10]
So, up to this point we've been working to fit in.
Now, let's have a little bit of fun, let's look at the shoes.
So, you can go with a pair of black cap toe oxford.
That will work with either suit we just talked about.
You can go with dark brown cap toe oxford, a little bit different or you can go with
a two-tone cap toe oxford.
Look at this right here.
We've got the slightly different colored leathers.
So, you can have a little bit of fun and hopefully what I'm opening your eyes up to here is in
the interview attire, you can have fun with it, but it has to be in the small details.
Maybe a little bit here with a pocket square go with the presidential fold.
It may be you having fun with your shoes.
Now, here's another oxford here.
We've got a medallion right here on the front an oxblood maroon color here, very nice.
You could actually wear this with either outfit.
This one right here, this is going to push it and I wouldn't recommend this for an interview.
Why?
I love the broguing, but this is going to make it a very casual shoe.
Another shoe you want to be careful of in an interview is going to be the blucher.
Now, the blucher, this may look classic, you may think it's going to go great with that
medium gray suit and it would if it wasn't interview attire.
Now, here we have an open lacing system.
Remember the difference?
We got the back quarter it's been thrown on top of the front part which is the vamp.
Again, you could wear this if it wasn't interview attire.
Now all these shoes I just showed you guys, you can grab over at Ace Marks.
They’re the paid sponsor of today's video and I've been wearing their shoes for two
years and I love them.
Why?
Because they're light, because they're flexible, because they are incredibly comfortable, guys,
and they are beautiful shoes.
I'm going to link to them.
There's a special discount code you can use.
Go check them out, Now, another thing about Ace Marks that separates
them from a lot of the other companies out there is their shoe trees.
Now, these aren't any normal shoe trees, these are shoe lasts and there's a big difference.
A last is actually the form that they use to build the shoe around when they put the
leather around it they shape it.
Why is this important?
Because think about it you're out walking you get your shoes wet.
You put these in there not only are they going to absorb and take the moisture, they are
going to reshape the shoe back to exactly where it should be.
So, something like this I love it when a company and they sell a lot of other products too,
you know, really nice gold shoe horns.
Not true gold.
They've got, you know, brushes to take care of it.
Travel shoe horns, you know, really cool.
All different colored laces.
Another reason I love Ace Marks, guys, when you buy the shoes, you can actually buy a
matching belt.
At the end of the day, Ace Marks is owned by shoe enthusiasts that listen to you.
So, check out this new design.
If you haven't been to their website lately you're going to be blown away.
They've got a whole new collection that you guys gave them feedback on and they develop.
Look at these things.
Beautiful.
Beautiful blue suede in here.
Now, I have the other pair and I've been wearing these and I thought I was like these they
can't improve upon them.
Well, they just did.
And, yeah, these things are beautiful.
Oh, in addition, they've got size E. Gents, I'm linking to Ace Marks down in the description.
Use that link.
Use that discount code.
Go check out the new designs.
Awesome company.
Congratulations, you got the job.
Now, you want to start dressing for the promotion.
You've been working there six months maybe you’ve been working there two years.
In any case, you want to move up at that law firm, you want to move up to the top of that
consulting firm.
To do that let's look at how the people at the top are dressing, how they're presenting
themselves.
You have to look confident you have to look the part.
You've got to have your day-to-day clothing that simply makes you look the part of that
competent banker, that competent consultant.
So, to do that, okay, so this is going to be one of your go-to shirts.
It's classic its casual it's something you can in a pinch dress up with a suit, but most
days you can dress down and not even wear a necktie with this.
This is your classic oxford.
Basically we have white going down blue going across and what that does is it gives it from
a distance that light blue look.
But this is a casual shirt, so maybe you need to dress it up a bit.
In that case, you can still bring in a small repeating pattern, but this one has a bit
of a sheen to it.
This is a classic dress shirt and when I come in here, I see a dot pattern.
Again, this one has a little bit of a spread collar.
I can still wear this with a maybe a half Windsor or a full Windsor necktie knot.
I could dress it up dress it down by not deciding not to wear the necktie.
But this is a classic dress shirt, it's going to look great and especially if I wear this
maybe with that power tie, if I wear this with a dark-colored suit.
This one definitely going to look good, I can stand apart from the crowd.
Look at this one right here.
It's got a small repeating pattern.
This pattern right in here is going to be a little bit of a check pattern.
This is going to be more casual.
Now, I can still dress it up with a necktie with maybe a medium colored suit, but this
is something that you wouldn't want to wear into the board meeting, but it's definitely
something you can wear day to day.
So, this next one may be a little bit controversial, but I think a man that's looking for a promotion
can stand out in a positive way with a pink shirt especially if it complements his colors.
So, if you have darker colored skin you have darker colored hair, pink will work great
for you.
Again, focus in on the fit and wear it with confidence.
[0:10:07] So, this last shirt I'm showing you right
here is the most casual of all the shirts I'm showing you because of the pattern.
The pattern is very strong, it grabs attention.
Now, you could throw a jacket over this and you can wear this maybe on a casual Friday.
If you're in a more casual work environment, you could definitely throw a sports jacket
on this and it would look great.
But, in a very conservative business environment, understand this may not pass for a dress shirt,
but it's still a great looking shirt that I think many men can wear in many situations.
So next up, let's talk about sports jackets, blazers, and odd trousers.
And when I say odd trousers, I'm talking about jeans, I'm talking about chinos, I'm talking
about a wide range of different pants here, but none of them actually match with the suit.
Now, you can actually pull off a casual suit at this level especially if it's a company
that's going to be a bit more formal and it's going to be let’s say a casual Friday, then
you can wear that casual suit maybe even not even wear a necktie, have a nice pocket square.
Yes, if you know what you're doing.
But, for most guys I think that they can step up their game they can separate themselves
from the crowd when they're vying for a promotion in a company maybe that's a bit more casual
by donning a sports jacket.
We assume authority when we see a man in a jacket.
It almost looks like a suit, it's not to the level of a suit.
Now, let's talk about what to match with this.
So, getting into odd trousers, there's a wide range of trousers that you can pull off.
So first off, we've got khaki.
Khaki, very common, many of you guys have seen that.
Then, we're going to start going into browns and tans.
Browns and tans are -- and khaki, they're all in the same family.
Now, all of these are going to work with gray because gray is a non-color.
Now, if I wish to go over here to the green.
Notice, they're all going to work with this and then even with the blazer over here, all
of these are going to work.
So, that's why I really like when you're building your trouser collection, all of a sudden you
look at a few variations.
I like these because they simply work with a wide range of jackets.
Now, when it comes to grays.
Grays are a non-color.
When you're matching gray and gray, you want to be careful, I don't really like it as much.
I think you can go if there's a big shade difference you can make it work, but gray
will work with the green it will work with the blue it will work with any shade of blue,
again, because it's a non-color.
So, when you have a non-color matching with colors they work well.
Now, we're getting into casual, so jeans.
Where do jeans fit in all this?
Now, if you work for a company in which jeans are acceptable and we're not talking about
the interview.
Guys, you want to be very careful when it comes to jeans in interviews.
But, I think that jeans can be pulled off in the right business environment.
And guess what?
Because of the color, they’re going to work with any of these jackets here and match almost
any of those shirts which by the way have you noticed I've been building an interchangeable
wardrobe?
So, jeans if the culture accepts them, I think a dark indigo may be going in with a dark
gray may be finding black even.
I'd be careful about black, usually it turns into a dark gray after a couple washes.
Now, casual pants.
This is where a lot of guys don't know a whole lot about, but let's talk about cords.
So, cords are casual by their very nature, but these trousers right here could go with
any of those jackets right there and look pretty good I think and, again, because we're
bringing in that brown tan color.
Now, a color like this, what do you think?
Now, if you're going to wear this, you're going to stand out you're going to grab attention
because of these pants that you're wearing right here, the color is just going to stand
ou.
But, it's actually in the same family as the browns and the tans and because of that guys,
it's going to work with any of the jackets over here.
Now, let's talk about pants like this.
This is going to be made from a canvas material and these are not ever going to be -- you
shouldn't confuse these with dress slacks.
Anything made from a canvas from a moleskin, that is going to be more casual.
Now, depending on the business environment and, again, this is where you're looking for
the promotion, you're looking to stand out a bit, but still fit in still be trusted.
Well, you could probably pull it off and look good.
Now, let me talk a little bit about each of these jackets.
So, this is going to be the most casual of all the jackets you're seeing here.
This one's going to be a little bit dressier than this one simply because it's got the
classic herringbone pattern and it's darker in color more solid.
This one right here is going to be a blazer.
Now, if you're going to wear a blazer, I would be careful with the nautical buttons or the
white button or something like that.
I like it where it almost looks like a suit top.
This is something that many men pull off.
This blazer right here just works, it's a great travel blazer, but understand this is
going to be the most formal, this is going to be mid-level, and then this one right here
is going to be the most casual.
Now, let's talk about the shoes you can wear when you're dressing for a promotion.
So, something like this is classic is conservative and it's going to work with all the outfits
I just showed you, but it's not really going to grab too much attention.
Instead, maybe you look at something like this that has beautiful broguing on it and
is definitely going to get you compliments.
It's going to be something that people like this guy has style.
You don't want to wear this with a suit, but you can wear this with those outfits I was
just showing you.
[0:15:02] Now, when you bring in something like this
that has nice suede on it a little bit of a contrast to the leather with the broguing,
understand that these are casual as well and these are going to get compliments.
These are going to grab attention.
These are going to send that signal.
Again, this new pair right here just beautiful with the wingtip on this with suede, beautiful.
Now, you could dress it down a bit.
And if you're in a position where you know that, hey, everyone else is wearing shoes
that aren't really looking that great or you see other people wearing loafers, you could
bring in a monk strap, you could bring in something like this a classic penny loafer.
This is something that actually I love it for travel.
You can slip on slip off.
So, I think that this would work great with any of those combinations I just showed you.
Congratulations!
You got the promotion.
You're now the man in charge, you're the manager, you're the CEO.
You are the guy running the company, but you still want to dress in a manner that people
take you seriously.
That whenever you go to meet with a client they view you as competent because now you've
got even more responsibility on your shoulders.
So, when you're in charge, how do you dress?
You dress you could say however you want, but I still think that you need to dress with
style.
You have a lot more freedom at this point, but understand the way you dress the way you
present yourself will actually have an impact on the entire company.
So now, let's get into the clothing specifics.
So, I'm the man in charge of my company, I can wear whatever I want.
For this video, I decided to wear, you know, some peak lapels, so you could pull off a
casual suit like this.
With nice peak lapels structured shoulders going for the nice pocket square in here with
a shirt with a small repeating pattern, go for a nice half Windsor tie.
Again, understand you're sending a message throughout your company.
Maybe you want to go for something that's more casual, so all of a sudden, you're bringing
in a sports jacket something a bit louder.
This would – it’s something that if I was going in for an interview, I wouldn't
wear it.
It's just too large of a pattern it's a little bit too loud, but if you run the company,
you're a mid-level manager you want people to see that you're the man in charge, always
wear a sports jacket.
I think that it's just something that separates you from the crowd.
Now, you could also bring in a fun shirt.
This shirt here uses bolder colors.
It's got a bolder stripe in it.
Notice, it's got actually a contrasting stitching here right on where the button goes and it's
got French cuffs to boost.
So, this shirt right here definitely is one that says it has a power feel to it and you
can wear this when you're in charge.
Now, let's say you want to mute it down you want to bring it down.
You can still always go with a pattern like this.
Normally, this would be casual, but because it has an absence of color it's actually got
a gray almost like a blue in it, this right here is going to be something that you could
pull off as well.
And just because you're in charge doesn't mean you have to wear anything outlandish.
I love going with basically understated elegance I like to call it.
And here we've got just a small what?
Various -- I got light blue, medium, blue, black, and all that mixed in with here.
It's actually going to be a suit, I got my nice little pocket square.
You’ve probably seen me wear that in a few videos.
So, when it comes to the shoes, you can wear all the shoes I showed you.
Any of these are going to work.
I really love these right here, they have that beautiful medallion on them.
Shine those up nice.
Again, these brogues and as you guys know I am in love with these new wingtip with a
blue suede on them.
This would look really good.
I could even wear jeans with that -- with that sports jacket there and wear these boots.
I probably wouldn't wear these boots with that little bit of suede with the wingtip
and the broguing.
I’m -- I probably would not wear these with any of the odd trousers I was showing you
the dress slacks, but I could definitely wear that with jeans.
Guys, at the end of the day, when you're in charge when you're going for that job when
you are looking to move up, understand your clothing sends a message.
Control that message because when you do that, all of a sudden you – it just gives you
a power and advantage over those that don't know how to do this.
Guys, go check out Ace Marks.
I love this company.
For two years, I've been talking about them.
Again, matching shoes with matching belts, beautiful shoes which I just can't get enough
of, fit, the overall -- the fit is very comfortable.
They're a very lightweight built.
They've got actually a specific type of flexible sole that they use.
And I mean, when it comes down to it, they just really care about their customers.
I mean, who else is going to develop a last type of shoe tree one that actually is going
to reshape it whenever you get your shoes wet if you ever because I know I've got my
shoes wet and I'm worried about damaging them or you just sweat a lot in your shoes.
Yes, that can damage and destroy your shoes.
Guys, they're going to take care of you.
Go check out their website check out their new collection.
I'm linking to them down in the description with that new discount code.
Go check it out, guys.
Take care.
I'll see you in the next video.
Bye.
[0:19:37] End of Audio