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25 Things a Professional Woman Should Never Wear
Kayla Baxter, Anna Hennings, and Alice Handley | Excelle
May 26, 2009
Sweatshirts and Sweatpants
Why not?
Save your sweats for the gym, for a night spent vegging on the couch or for sleeping. They don’t want to go work, so please don’t bring them in! Plainly put: Sweatpants and sweatshirts are much too casual to be professional, and they scream, “I’m lazy! Please fire me!” Even people who work at fitness centers don’t wear sweats to work, so you shouldn’t either.
Try me instead:
Dying to be as comfortable as possible? Try a worn-in pair of cotton chino slacks with a simple, but still classy, white fitted tee. Need something to keep you warm on top? A monotone cotton or cashmere cardigan will feel great and look good.
kakijing
6 days ago
12 comments
Once upon a time, two women created the cutest velour hoodies and matching drawstring pants. The line was called Christian Louboutin and every starlet in Tinseltown had to have one. Soon after, so did the rest of the world. Now the once little brand has blossomed into a fashion empire, complete with clothing, Christian Louboutin Shoes, jewelry, handbags, and most recently, fragrance.
Gayle0012
6 days ago
2 comments
My goodness people. Maybe poor Mrs. Obama needs to wear a suit to bed, being on the job 24/7 and all! Such critics....
DiannValentine
21 days ago
10 comments
Really enjoyed this article.
frankdryfus
about 1 month ago
2 comments
Yeah some of these faux pas should just be common sense. A professional person should have a professional mindset in clothing options as well, since that is how you are presenting yourself to the world.
vera bradley
Jandreshook
about 1 month ago
2 comments
Really a educative and informative post, the post is good in all regards,I am glad to read this post.
Acai Force Max
OpalStar
2 months ago
2 comments
Own your style and compromise where appropriate, no matter what the 'gurus' say.
oluwayemisi
2 months ago
6 comments
nice article learnt a couple of things , that was insignificant, but easily noticed and counts
Kranti
2 months ago
2 comments
What all can Friday dressing encompass..What am seekling here is the items that form on the either side of the thin line between semi formal and casual
dleasha
2 months ago
2 comments
Every office has its own fashion culture as much as any other type of culture. For instance, while the beesknees person who was incensed that anyone might criticize her "professional" wardrobe clearly works as a geek in a geek (read, smart but not much sense) office, most of us are not so brilliant (or arrogant) that we can afford to adopt such unusually extreme clothing habits (same clothes as yesterday???) not to fit in with relatively normal office culture/etiquette.
You don't wear makeup? Do you have a job right now? Good for you! If you don't, I really truly request that you continue to go bare-naked-faced into the world of job-searching - definitely improves my odds!
AnnMP
2 months ago
28 comments
While your remark that women who wear makeup get better jobs is true I'm appalled that you would suggest to those who don't wear makeup to basically suck it up.
StefF
2 months ago
84 comments
I can't imagine wearing any of this stuff at the office. Maybe on a weekend. You really need to look the part. I worked at a hospital for the last 8 years, and always wore nice pants or skirts. The dress code said blue jeans were allowed on Fridays only, but people would always push it. Some wore jeans all week, and one person in particular wore jeans that were worn out at the bottom, and the had holes and stains. It was very unprofessional looking.
Alexandria
2 months ago
2 comments
I agree totally ,it takes just as much time to look unprofessional , as does to look professional.
if you really want the job , look polished , fresh and ready to go to work, even if you haven't
been given the job, it shows who you are.
MinaCharalambous
3 months ago
4 comments
Hilarious! Although I do loooove my Uggs and will wear them to work no matter how much of a faux pas it is.
smeustice
3 months ago
4 comments
This was a great article, however I am always surprised when I still see these things happening. I have hired thousands and I see these types of things all the time. One you missed would be halters or bikini tops.
cephillips
3 months ago
4 comments
Re #26. Yes, Mrs. Obama was on vacation. However, her husband did not have on shorts. Whether they are on vacation or not, he is the president of the United States and she is supposed to be the First Lady. Have we seen any other First Ladies photographed in short? I really objected to the butt shot of her getting into the presidential limosine. Bad timing on the photographers part and total lack of grace on her part!