In the business world a person’s attire matters, and that’s particularly true for professionals who interact in person with their clients, as Realtors do. But clothing styles are not just about looking nice and wearing what’s considered suitable. As professionals, dress codes should be about making other people feel comfortable and confident enough to want to work with you. Ideally you want your personality and abilities to be enhanced by your style, rather than have your clothes or hair steal attention away from you.
Context is important as well. You might wear gumboots to show farm and acreage properties, but expensive leather shoes when you’re showing a high-end residence. Both are appropriate to the location.
Balancing what we are comfortable with, and meeting the world’s expectations of us, is a negotiated trade-off that all of us make when we choose our attire, regardless of our profession. Some people feel that if they are being judged for their appearance, the person judging them is not worth their time. Others may go to great lengths to try to achieve a look they perceive is attractive and on-trend, even if it doesn’t express who they think they are. At the end of the day, style is a very personal statement. But sacrificing some aspects of your personal style for the sake of your career may be worth it.
In our multiple answer poll, we asked what items would not be appropriate for a professional business event. Overwhelmingly voters concurred that men should forget wearing cargo pants or loafers without socks, and women should leave their spaghetti strap dresses and designer sneakers in the closet. Go ahead and take this week’s poll!
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