"Not the gumdrop buttons!"

Last night, my fraternity held elections for the new Executive Board for the upcoming school semester.  One requirement of all the actives is that they wear "pin attire" or a suit and tie.  I couldn't help but notice that although all of my brothers looked great, they failed when it came to buttoning their jacket. 


There are two main tips that I have learned about buttons on suits.  (these go for men and women)  First and foremost, if at any point you find yourself standing, your jacket should be buttoned.  The jacket should then be unbuttoned when you sit down, and vice versa.  Sometimes its tricky to stand, button, and shake someone's hand all at once.


Practice this before interviews and meetings so that its natural when actually put into practice.


The other piece is to know which buttons to button on any suit jacket.  There are many tricks to use, but the one that I use the most is the saying "sometimes, always, never".  On a three button suit you can say one word for each button as your work your way down.  This way you know which are and aren't appropriate.  For a two button jacket, you just start with "always".


These tips should help you get through most situations.  If you would like to know anything else feel free to comment on the article and I'll help you out!

A thought on knots

A staple in almost every business professional's dress is the necktie.  Some prominent figures are known to wear ones that are flashy and stand out while others just wear one because everyone else does. 

I find that I look nice in them, but they make me stiff and uncomfortable.  I figured I just had to suck it up and deal with it until recently.  An article by Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Empire has taken a new stance on the fashion piece. 

His thoughts were that the traditional dress was too uptight and was limiting to his employee's friendliness and customer service.  Interesting thought in a time when customer service seems to be key. 

In some occupations it is still a necessity in order to be taken seriously.  If given the option, I am going to lose the tie every time from now on knowing that Sir Richard is with me on this one.  What do you think?

Don't dress to impress

"What can I wear to impress my interviewer?"  This thought runs through virtually every candidate's head the morning of their interview.  "Do I look better with the red shirt, white tie, or white shirt, red tie?"

Zig Ziglar, a motivational speaker suggest differently.  He believes that you should dress averagely so that you DO NOT stick out.  Flashy clothes calls attention to your outfit, and not your attributes or qualifications.  Which would you prefer?

Instead, wear something forgettable.  If, after you left, the interviewer can describe extremely accurately what you wore, you dressed incorrectly.