As Millennial women, we often have to take advantage of any possible networking opportunities to make a great first impression. But there’s a lot of variation in women’s clothing, and sometimes its difficult to figure out how to maximize your self-presentation. So, how should you dress for a professional event? Should you go with traditional black bottoms and a white blouse? Or can you spice it up with some bold colors and patterns?

In some cases it’s perfectly acceptable to stray from the traditional professional look, but there’s a fine line between jazzing up business casual and dressing for a party. Presenting oneself professionally can be challenging, but it’s imperative Millennial women learn to do so. Appearance and self-presentation go far beyond attire, and Millennials sometimes overlook minor details when preparing for professional events.

I witnessed many young women who failed and many who succeeded in presenting themselves professionally at the National Conference for the Public Relations Student Society of America this weekend. With more than 1,200 college students from across the country in attendance, I began to see a trend in my peers: some individuals truly understand how to present themselves professionally, but many Millennial women do not pay as much attention to detail in their appearances as they should.

While some style choices are obviously acceptable, other self-presentation decisions may negate professionalism. Below is a list of dos and don’ts for building a professional presence for interviews, conventions, conferences, and other professional events.

DO

• Wear modest clothes that cover your cleavage, lower back, midriff, and thighs.
• Wear light, natural-looking makeup, if you wear makeup at all. There’s no need to go for a full-on smoky eye look at the office.
• Bring professional accessories. Bring purses that can fit padfolios or other organizers and devices.
• Hand out your business cards! What better way is there to quickly promote your personal brand?
• Eradicate the use of filler words, for example, “like,” “uh,” or “um.” It’s extremely distracting when listening to someone ask a question in which every other words is “like.” This is easier said than done, no doubt; click here for some tips on how to stop saying “like.”

DON’T

• Wear too much perfume. Walking past someone whose scent is too strong can deter other individuals from approaching that person to talk.
• Wear short, tight skirts/dresses. Professional events are not the time to show off the results of all those squats you did. Skirts and dresses should at least lineup with your fingertips when your hands are at your sides.
• Wear heavy, gaudy or intense makeup. The makeup you wear in professional settings should enhance your natural beauty.
• Wear clothes that are too casual. Avoid wearing sneakers, T-shirts, sweat clothes, and clothes with company logos.
• Let your nail polish chip. Chipped nail polish can send messages that your are lazy. It’s harder to notice chips on lighter, softer colors than it is with dark or bright colors.

At professional events, your appearance is your brand. The way you look is the first information you convey to others about your personality. Thus, paying attention to details and adhering to some typical professional attire standards can help you appear more professional. You can be trendy and professional at the same time–your style may even help get you noticed.

—

Natasha Paulmeno (@NatashaPaulmeno) is an aspiring PR professional studying at the University of Maryland. She is learning to speak Spanish fluently through travel, music, and school. In her spare time she enjoys Bachata music, playing with her dog, and exploring social media trends.

Featured image courtesy of [Vladimir Yaitskiy via Flickr]

Natasha Paulmeno

Natasha Paulmeno is an aspiring PR professional studying at the University of Maryland. She is learning to speak Spanish fluently through travel, music, and school. In her spare time she enjoys Bachata music, playing with her dog, and exploring social media trends. Contact Natasha at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Do’s and Don’ts of Professional Presentation for Millennial Women appeared first on Law Street.

As a young woman, I have been inundated with advice on how to dress myself appropriately for a professional situation for years now. My first introduction to professional dress was in high school when I did Model UN. We competed at tournaments around the East Coast a few times a year, and every time we were told to wear “Western Business Attire.” For boys, that was easy. They had to wear khakis or suit pants with a button down and tie, with maybe a sports jacket. But for us girls, it was different. The guidelines were clear, but finding clothes that were appropriate and still cute were difficult. We occasionally got in trouble for wearing skirts that were too tight or short, but we still talked about other girls’ inappropriate club-like dresses with a certain sense of satisfaction.

In college, it got even worse. I compete in intercollegiate mock trial, where formality is even more intense. Girls wear suits in grey, black, or navy; collared shirts; conservative heels; and pantyhose. I make younger members of my team show me their outfits before we compete. I do this because I have received comments about my appearance before — my skirts are too short, or my sleeves are too long, or I chose the wrong color blouse.

And as it turns out, the pressure doesn’t change when you make it into the legal profession, because we hear things about women needing to dress more appropriately for court all the damn time.

A few weeks ago, Loyola Law School sent out a memo about female students dressing appropriately at their jobs or internships. The school’s externship director wrote, “I really don’t need to mention that cleavage and stiletto heels are not appropriate office wear (outside of ridiculous lawyer TV shows), do I? Yet I’m getting complaints from supervisors.” Last fall, law firm Clifford Chance sent out a lovely memo detailing how exactly women should dress — and act, and speak, and breathe, but that’s besides the point. (If you missed it, by the way, definitely read Hannah Winsten’s takedown on that memo.) Some of the tips were real winners: “Understated jewelry, nothing jingly or clanky.” “Don’t dress like a mortician: if wearing a black suit, wear something bright.” “If wearing a scarf, make sure it stays tied.”

These are by no means isolated incidents. In fact they’re more common than you probably think. And they’ve once again started a debate about what female lawyers should be wearing, who is allowed to comment on their dress, and why we care. So as someone who someday hopes to be a female lawyer, here are three things I think we all need to keep in mind.

3. ‘Lady in the streets, freak in the sheets,’ anyone? 

This entire thing reminds me of that saying, because that’s what women are taught. Women are expected to dress conservatively in the courtroom, but still retain femininity. They’re expected to be professional in the work place, but not dress too masculine — after all pantsuits have only become acceptable for women in the last couple decades. Think about how women and men dress up throughout their young lives in Western culture. Little boys wear little suits to say, a cousin’s wedding. Girls wear puffy, pink frocks. Young men wear nice suits or tuxes to prom. Girls wear ball gowns. Men wear tuxes to their wedding. Women wear gigantic white dresses.

For every single part of our lives, we’re taught that different things are acceptable, while men wear essentially variations on the exact same outfit. And that’s because women are taught that their roles are different at each of those events. At prom, be a princess. At your wedding, be a pure virgin. In court, be strong and masculine.

2. Pop culture and societal pressure.

Think about youngish female lawyers on TV and in movies. They’re all gorgeous. We have Reese Witherspoon’s immortalized portrayal of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. Casey Novak, played by Diane Neal on Law & Order: SVU. Calista Flockhart’s Ally McBeal.

The only way female lawyers are ever portrayed otherwise is the sort of elder stateswoman type, but still incredibly attractive. Think Diane Lockhart in The Good Wife, for example.

Now, it is pretty fair to say that everyone on TV and in Hollywood is attractive. But the men on legal shows usually wear pretty basic suits. The women wear incredibly expensive and well tailored outfits, all beautifully put together. This just continues to propagate the issue of balance. Most women don’t look like the fictional lawyers we see on TV, and that’s completely okay. But that fine line between feminine and too sexy, or between professional and stuffy is not helped by the images of female lawyers in the media.

1. Apparently men can’t control themselves. 

Now, women should dress appropriately in the courtroom. There are  no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It takes some effort, but it’s not that hard. I absolutely judge grown women who cannot dress themselves appropriately. When you walk into a courtroom, you need to impress the judge, and you need to impress the jury. But judges are mostly men — women usually make up roughly 1/3 of the bench. But one of the big issues, as XoJane points out, is that women’s clothing in the courtroom is not standardized the way men’s suits are. Every judge has a preference: “Some never want to see pants, for example, while others abhor specific hemlines or colors.”

And some of these male judges say BS, like District Judge Richard Kopf. He recently published a blog post in which he described how he leers at one of the attractive young women around the courthouse, and suggested, “You can’t win. Men are both pigs and prudes. Get over it.”

I can win. I can look professional, despite all the ridiculous double standards that abound in women’s clothing choices. But that doesn’t mean that I have to get over the fact that I’m held to those double standards. Why do I have to accept that a male judge is either going to mock me for being too frumpy, or eye me for being too sexy? And, most importantly, why in this day and age do we focus more on how smart, capable women dress than what they say?

So new rule, everyone. Let’s all dress appropriately…and all treat each other like respectable human beings. Deal?

—

Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Martijn Schornagel via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Three Reasons to STFU About Female Lawyers’ Clothes appeared first on Law Street.

Heading out to a job interview? First, congrats! Secondly, please rethink the crop top. You might have your own style and swagger, but the interviewer might disagree and *gasp* judge you. It happens. So, let’s keep it classy.

I know that the standards for interview attire aren’t as conventional as they used to be. However, there is nothing wrong with going for business casual. Better safe than unemployed amiright?

So let’s go over the don’ts first.

1. Don’t wear tight clothes. You want to give your prospective employer a good impression, but your interviewer doesn’t need to see everything about you.

2. Don’t have any visible undergarments. Come on, people. Do I even need to elaborate? Good.

3. Don’t wear jeans, shorts, or god forbid — jorts.

4. Don’t wear anything too risqué. This includes low-cut tops, super short skirts, and anything generally inappropriate for a professional environment.

Now, a few dos.

1. Do know where you’re applying. In general, business or business casual will almost always be the best option, but there are exceptions. If you’re in the fashion or art industries there is a little more wiggle room; however, the rules above about appropriate attire still apply.

2. Do make sure you iron! Looking like you put some time into what you’re presenting is important. You don’t want to look like you just rolled out of bed — even if you just rolled out of bed. Wrinkles aren’t cute.

3. Do wear something you’re comfortable in. You’ll feel more confident if you feel as though you look your best and you’re not preoccupied with your outfit. It will show!

Happy hunting

xo The Capitalista

PS – If you did just get a job interview, you know what will really impress them? A customized online portfolio to showcase your work and talents. We’ll make you one! Read about The Capitalista Contest to learn how to enter!

—

Alexandra Saville (@CapitalistaBlog) is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

Alexandra Saville

Alexandra Saville is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

The post What Not to Wear to an Interview appeared first on Law Street.