Dress for Success

I grew up in New York, and have always been surrounded by the most fashionable people in the world. 

I walk through Soho and find tons of people creatively expressing themselves through the clothing items they choose to wear. 

I walk to the deli on the corner and see models strutting their model-off-duty looks with cat eye sunglasses and oversized black knit sweaters.

The same even goes for places like grocery stores, nail salons, and museums. Wherever you go in NY, it's always filled with great fashion. 

I used to hear the saying "dress for Success." I now realize what that means and how it applies to our world today. 

When you dress well, you can stand out. I admire people who leave their apartments looking put together in cute clothing. It makes me think highly of them versus if they wore sweatpants to work every day. 

Growing up, after hearing that phrase over and over again, I realized that it all started with my school uniform. Boys had to wear button down polo-style shirts and tan or navy pants and girls were encouraged to wear the same shirts paired with a navy or tan pleated skirt. 

The same went for high school (kind of...). For the majority of my high school experience, the faculty and the students were in a large dispute about the leggings policy. The faculty claimed they, like ripped jeans, were not suitable for school because they didn't look professional. While we did not have a set uniform in high school, we were surely expected to look decent and well-dressed at all times.

Teachers always encouraged my classmates and me to look the part if we wanted to succeed in life, and I think I'm finding out now how true that is. 

When going in for a job interview, I think long and hard about what I'm going to wear. When I recently went to interview for a fashion PR internship, it was one of the hardest outfit decisions I've had to make in a while. (Side note: I completely bombed the outfit aspect and chose a simple black dress... that's it. Nothing unique. What was I thinking?!) 

How you dress at work tends to put a message out to the world that you take the job seriously. My current internship in the beauty industry serves as a perfect example of this. My boss dresses in heels and a pretty dress every day. She had an unexpected meeting last week and would not go because she did not think she looked put together enough. That's how important her style is to her. 

Anyway, after hearing that phrase over and over again, I think part of the reason I love fashion so much is because it can legitimately alter who you are, or at least how you are perceived by the world. Dressing nicely can help you give off a great first impression, which is why I care so much about presentation. 

Thinking back to my school uniform requirements made me realize that fashion can seriously serve as a tool to help you in multiple aspects of your life. I'll always hold on to the phrase "dress for success."