Dressing for work in an American corporation

[CloserToFiftyThanTwenty]

Just that - what is essential to look professional in a US blue chip company? I'm assuming a suit / day dress is standard wear, along with decent shoes and bag. But what about the subtle stuff: manicure / hair / make up / tights?

Any advice much appreciated!

I. Cannot. Type. Look like not like like.

I agree that men are even under more pressure than women.
They have to look fit and healthy, (slim and groomed) wear status items of consequence, and not look like they're not past it, and are still vying and eligible for alpha of the pack.
They spend a lot on anti aging products, and now with video conferencing, getting neck and jowl fat sucked out. I don't think I've ever met a man in business in the US who had nostril hair, or bad teeth.

I find the inverse snobbery of looking shabby with being smart rather sad!

Way! And "not look like they're past it."

Thanks, Bosswitch

Yeah and did you notice how the character was wearing nice jeans of the $200 variety and a very well thought out outfit. She was also perfectly groomed. She fit in.

My friend is a photographer and her work is everywhere. She might be wearing jeans and a plaid shirt but you can bet your bottom dollar her nails are done, her hair is perfect and she always wears make up. Her clothes are always pristine and might be artistic but are not cheap. She wears a lot of Agnes b and 'vintage'. Vintage here is often the acceptable term to something which is really 2nd hand. Her husband is the same way but we joke the hipsters stole his style. He was wearing plaid shirts 10 years ago!

Oh the nostril hair wax is akin to a Brazilian bikini wax. I just can't. We have a shop here called the pretty kitty. There are men and women who go in there. I was joking with DH that many Americans do not see Guantanamo bay as being so bad because what is going on there is marginally worse than having your neither regions and nostril hair waxed (to be clear I am joking). Shuddering at the thought. Quite happy to be stuck in the early 90s when it comes to body hair.

the italians I work with wear anything with designer labels.
generally well fitting clothes, lots of glittery applications on clothes. large designer sunglasses, hair dyed a dark reddish/maroon tint.

Hi, American expat now living in UK here. OP, SenecaFalls has made some really good points (as is to be expected with that username): a lot of this depends on what kind of company and what part of the country. It also depends on whether you are there to represent the UK part of the company, or if you are interviewing for a job there (in that case go conservative and polished). I'd actually suggest you start by looking for someone in that office of the company's website at about an equivalent level to you or slightly above, and see what she is wearing in her photo.

IME, some of what's been described is true for, say, the big accounting/financial firms and much of BigLaw, especially in New York and somewhat in DC. Those are really their own world. But if you're in, say, advertising, marketing, and sales in many corporations, the clothes will be less boring/formal/90s Next and more colourful at the very least.

Also, Manhattan is totally its own glossy world. Someone working in a head office in Chicago or Atlanta or Houston would still be expected to be reasonably polished (clean neat hair, minimal makeup), but with local variations (for instance brighter colours in Atlanta or Houston). I probably would wear nude hose on the first day (if wearing a skirt suit or a dress), just to suss out what's expected, but you may well find they're not needed after. You don't have to have a big shiny manicure either - plenty of women just do short, clean, buffed or clear polish nails. And definitely no need to get a drastic course of teeth whitening, eek.

Finally, on the New-York-is-different thing, in large parts of the country and in many workplaces, it would be utterly gauche to ask questions about cost, etc of someone's engagement ring, especially of someone who is a colleague not a super close friend. Local customs vary lots.

What a fascinating read. I'm shaking my head in wonderment! I'm also really puzzled though. If somebody doesn't care for working in that environment, wants to have another baby without worrying about covering grey hair and who gets gifts of $20K watches and jewels, surely they can afford not to work/take time out to have another baby (particularly taking the American maternity leave into account).

I'm obviously oversimplifying it but I'm truly baffled.

Want didn't say that she doesn't want to work outside the home though... Plus in the US, giving up a job means giving up healthcare and any number of other benefits.

good luck with your interviews this week, Want! fingers crossed for you.

Looki - I've talked about my set up on MN quite a bit. For me working is a choice and a damn good insurance policy. DH and I are still in love but I am realistic to know that there are plenty of women throwing themselves at him all the time. I mean DH is Danish and fits into the stereotype. Who do you think talked him into spending stupid amounts on gifts!?! I happen to know exactly who it was and she isn't invited to our BBQs anymore.

Also I quite enjoy working. I make enough to cover childcare expenses and it keeps DH on his toes. There is one female who is in sales and she has worked on the polish market for the past 20 years. I challenge DH to promote women.

Fair enough Super, I'm unaware of your individual circumstances. I like working outside the home too, find being at home all day every day with children very stifling. I guess when you are in a high powered job, it is harder to move around (not that I will ever have a high powered job).

I so wouldn't last a week in ny corporate world. On Friday I wore shorts, a waistcoat, bright red lipstick and Mary Janes to work. Sounds like this would trigger a heart attack in New York!

I work 3 weeks in London and a week in Atlanta each month. For the past year I have been working a couple of days in NYC and DC each month and still look kinda kookyso my colleagues tell me but I do not give a toss

Attended a meeting in January in DC wearing a gorgeous (so I thought) paisley dress with peacock blue opaque tights and patent black stack not too high heels. The comments I got was " oh look at Aesops in her blue/green legs!". That was from a man? Also, "ooh Aesops you are so edgy in your style" Believe me, I am not 'edgy'

When in the Atlanta office I am told "you would make a great Southern Belle as you always wear nude pantyhose in the summer" Seems most ladies go bare legs down there.

Overall though the main difference I have noticed is without doubt the engagement rings, I have yet to see a modest diamond worn by my USA colleagues/clients and I too wonder how they can afford them as they are all great big rocks. The ladies in my team in USA (who work for me so I know what they earn) have diamonds 4x the size of my modest eng ring and that is just what they have as ear studs! They are immaculate and made-up beautifully every day.

aesops that would certainly be considered extremely quirky and edgy in our DC office! Nobody ever even wears opaques, not to mention coloured tights. Grey, black, beige, navy boring suits and shoes, plain boring (but designer) handbags.
I'm also in no way edgy, but even a bright scarf makes you stand out.

This has been a fascinating read and I am fretful for those who have taken time to write about their experiences.

Dress code is a matter close to my heart. As children, we were quite seriously abused, although amidst a middle class background. We wore full choos uniform when not everyone else did, long socks, said mummy and daddy etc. s we grew up, we became known as square kids and it was hurtful.

In terms of being abused, I won't go too far into that, but suffice to say I let the issue of what clothes I wore go in the face of far more serious matters.

However....not so now!!!

Now, I have dealt with the fallout and moved onwards and grown up. In the past 15 years or so tho, I have begun to assess my 'look' and enjoy crafting it. It is important to me that I look outwardly as the same person I feel myself to be inwardly. Therefore I wear flag shoes mostly, thumb rings in silver, have wild curly hair cut amazingly, only do cats eyes and not much else. I feel uncomfortable if I wear nicely nicely plain clothes. I like black nail varnish and it is always a bit chopped because I belt songs out on an acoustic guitar. I'm also a feminist and have had to balance what I do and why coming from that perspective.

So I am completely with those who are a bit bohemian and free spirited in their image.

From there, I guess I'd steer clear of the smartly suited pearl wearing sorts as I'd imagine we don't have much in common. It's all live and let live really. I just think perhaps we shouldnt project images onto people as they have the right to project their own.

Fabulous read tho.

Fantastic thread, I'm fascinated by the regional variations. I've worked in the City of London for more than 30 years and have always dressed smartly and quite conservatively, but my grooming certainly doesn't meet NY standards. Just looking at my stubbly legs and ragged cuticles now..... I definitely need to make more of an effort, maybe not to those standards though!

This has been an interesting read - I work in the UK for a US (1st company in Silicon Valley as it happens) based company.

I visit the offices a few times a year (Virginia and SF) and apart from the chinos, you wouldn't massively find a difference between the dress there and in the UK/ other EU offices.

But at our big user facing conferences, booth dress code is v strict and women are expected to wear nude tights (my colleague got pulled up for bare legs), heels, manicured nails and formal suiting. The US women all seem to have highlights and 'big' hair is still quite common.
The men will all be wearing boring ties (in comparison to UK), plain white shirts, and plain suits if from the US. Of course the brazilians will be manicured and cologned

I have worked in the City of London for 20 years and the changes in what is seen as appropriate dress has changed a lot. Someone remarked earlier that the business dress in the UK has relaxed a lot in the last 10 years. I agree with this, but, it's nuanced in the City. In the 90s it was very formal dress, I remember being told off for wearing a trouser suit in the mid 90s.hmm At the time of the dot com bubble, 1997 to 2000, the old staid institutions wanted to freshen their image and keep up with the technology companies and hedge funds. That's when Casual business dress hit the City and everyone had at least dress down Friday and at Andersens it was total dress down. As the dot com bubble burst and wrapped up Enron, worldcom and Andersens, people in the City became very worried about their jobs and overnight formal dress became the norm again.

The hangover from that 5/6 year period, the bubble and the aftermath is still felt in the City today. We still have casual Fridays, institutions are less staid about defining formal business dress for women but I would definitely say that there is a subtle shift towards New York style thinking for both men and women. Some people have recognised that, and others haven't. I would also add in that the new generation of female leaders (those of us in our 40s) ignore the old rules about appropriate female business wear that we grew up in and are much more glamorous and stylish, if somewhat less groomed than our New York counterparts. My personal style is classic and feminine but still conveying authority, so I wear mostly dresses but solid colours rather than prints. I do think younger people (of both sexes!) in the City need to be cognisant of these things if they want to progress.

Interesting to note the implications of technology on dress codes as well. When I first came to the City nobody wore formal (lined, wool, structured) day dresses because you had to dry clean them every day. Nowadays they're ubiquitous because the younger women can wear polyester machine washable ones while more senior women can afford the drycleaning bills.

And the advent of gel nails that last forever has increased the quality of manicures on display.

Can I have an answer from the New Yorkers please: what do you wear as outerwear in the winter? Is it just super good quality heavy wool coats? If I were commuting in New York in February I'd want a North Face parka over my suit, (and thermals underneath my blouse) but I'm guessing that's not acceptable - or do dress codes only apply once you've undressed and closed the door of the coat cupboard? I wear high end high street formal wool coats in winter but it never gets very cold in London so that's fine.

I also have a couple of questions for the American/working in USA people please.

Supermum I feel quite exhausted reading what you have posted. It seems like you have a complete understanding of 'the rules', but does playing by them make you happy? Are there some options you could pursue where you could be yourself a bit more? Also, and this is not a judgement AT ALL as we all have reasons for being/doing certain things but I feel sad for you that a major reason for you working seems to be that your husband won't leave you/have an affair.

Generally - for women who have to dress so formally and within narrow constraints for work, do you feel like you are just putting on a work 'uniform' but you remain yourself underneath it all? Even though I wear smart clothes for work, wear make up/nail polish (never chipped, ever!) every day, I still feel like it's my style IYKWIM? Like at weekends, I wear a more casual dressed down version of my work clothes. And I enjoy putting outfits together for work. Do you feel like you have to suppress your style completely, if even a bright scarf marks you out as being different as a PP said?

I agree with others, this is a very interesting thread.

Inspired by this thread I put a coat of clear polish on my nails yesterday. I also dyed my hair.

But suspect this still wouldn't enable me to cut it in the boardroom.

This was an interesting read. I work for an American law firm in England. Most people who work there are British, maybe 1 in 6 people are Americans so in a big office there are a few around.

Generally speaking it is much more corporate in dress than my previous firm which was a solely english non-international firm. It has a casual Friday but everyone wears suits. Most women wear black skirt suits. I have a grey suit that would raise eyebrows. Surprisingly people wear less make up but they definitely all have great hair, eyebrows, nails etc. Heels are weirdly lower than in other firms I've worked in but usually are designer. It's quite understated.

Saurus, I quite like wearing suits to get into lawyer-mode me, and I do wear interesting tops, always nail varnish, good make up etc. I feel most me in jeans and nice tops and I really miss casual Fridays but generally manage to feel me enough at work.