The tech world is well known for being very casual with a "wear what you like" dress code.
However, when you get promoted in a tech job, though you can continue to wear what you want, I find that many men actually want to smarten up a bit - to give them authority and mark the change in their role. It would look odd though if they suddenly turned up to work all suited and booted - so it's smaller, more subtle changes that are needed.
If you've recently been promoted in your tech job (or any job that has a very casual dress code for that matter), here are my ten tips on what to wear to smarten up your wardrobe without looking like you don't belong in the office anymore! Many of these suggestions are things I've bought with clients whilst on personal shopping trips that had this brief.
Last week, by coincidence whilst out on personal shopping trips with 2 separate clients, each of them bought a dark green blazer. It wasn't something I was specifically looking for and in fact it was the shop staff that suggested them in the first place, but both myself and the client were very taken with them.
If you've already got your basic navy and grey blazers in your wardrobe and are looking for something different without being too "out there" then I'd suggest you try out a dark green.
I love something that's versatile and even though it doesn't initially seem it, I think this colour is surprisingly adaptable. Unfortunately I can't find either of the ones I bought with my clients to show you online but I had a look around for some others and these are the ones I came up with.
I've got a challenge to complete for a client in the next couple of weeks - help him to pack for a trip which will include events which he needs a suit for but also swimwear, walking and waterproof gear etc etc and he wants to take minimal luggage.
I'd noticed the Z Zegna suit below, just the week before and bookmarked it in my brain as I thought it might come in handy to know about, but I thought I'd get a bit ahead of myself for other future requests and do some research on other travel suits available.
Here's what I found - ready for you if you travel a lot or have a long commute to work....you can arrive crisp and crease free.
I put this guide together for a recent client to try and demonstrate a beginners guide on what makes items and outfits more casual, gradually going to more formal. It's based on summer wear with some explanations as to what to look out for and other variations you may also want to try.
From what I hear about how some people dress on Dress Down Fridays, I think this is something a lot of men struggle with, so I hope this is a useful guide, particularly around the middle section where it can get more subtle and therefore complicated to achieve.
Last week my client challenged me to find him some smart casual work wear which was crease resistant, as he travels a lot for work and often goes directly to meetings. I researched thoroughly before our personal shopping trip and here are some of the things I saw that were non iron, crease resistant or part of a travel range.
Some men like to have the uniformity of wearing a suit to work every day as it simplifies everything but it can get boring wearing the same thing day in and day out. If you work in a conservative environment and have to keep your look formal there will be limits to the changes you can make but here are some styling suggestions on tweaks that you can easily incorporate.
I was talking to a very dapper chap the other day at a menswear event (the launch of new bespoke service - The Wanderist) who worked in the finance sector. He was telling me how, despite the fact that many of his colleagues had plenty of spare cash to spend on their clothing, they were unsure on how to dress and relied on him for advice on how to do so in a stylish manner.
Here's a synopsis of our discussion and advice on how to give your business attire the edge in order to look pin-sharp.
Inspired by a personal shopping trip where we purchased the jacket below, I've been doing a bit of research on stylish and practical clothes to travel in. Here's what I found that ticked both those boxes.....
What's the alternative when you're looking for trousers that aren't jeans or chinos, but are also not as plain as a lot of suit trousers tend to be?
I like the ones that have some sort of texture to them or a small micro pattern. I find this adds a bit of interest when wearing a plain shirt but is versatile enough to go with lots of things too.
Here are some I found coming up for the new season.
Various studies have been done that prove if you dress smarter you perform better. But how does that fit in with the dress codes of today? Many of my clients work in young creative or tech companies & can wear whatever they like, but when promoted to a more senior role they feel the need to dress up a little more. Here are my 10 tips on how to do it....
I know many of you will start your search for a new Winter coat soon so I've had a look around & chosen some that are slightly different from your regular grey & black and here's what I found.