Smart dressing involves sending subliminal messages,
particularly when a serious job is at stake. This is something that even
high-ranking business leaders can underestimate.
In commerce, unlike in Hollywood, fashion plays a largely
uncredited role. Business schools train graduates to shine their shoes for
an interview. But once established, apart from avoiding the obvious gaffe --
a coffee-stained shirt or a visible rhinestone bra strap -- many executives
spend little time contemplating what to wear to a job interview. At their
peril.
I recently suggested to Dorothy Waldt, a New York executive
recruiter, that CEOs and other high-level job candidates must know what to
wear by that stage in their careers. "You'd think!" she
said when she had stopped laughing.
"People don't understand the messages that their
clothes send," says Ms. Waldt, a recruiter with CTPartners. Women
sometimes don't realize how often a tight shirt or a low neckline comes
across as seductive. People who meet them are likely to assume the sexual
innuendo is intentional. It's harder for men to goof, but they do -- for
instance, by being sloppy with untucked or wrinkled shirts or wearing
beeping sports watches to staid business events. Sagging socks, dangling
earrings and obvious designer logos all send messages that register with the
people on the other side of the table.
To complicate matters, things aren't as cut-and-dried as
they were in the days of strict blue-collar and white-collar work uniforms.
Following the old dress-for-success rules, with ties and starched white
shirts, would create suspicion and awkwardness at Google's dressed-down
headquarters today. Executive job seekers have to study more than the
balance sheet these days -- they have to suss out a company's fashion ethos.
Candidates may want to call the hiring manager's assistant or ask a
recruiter about the appropriate look before they show up for the interview.
Ms. Waldt recalls a candidate sent to interview with a
retailer that had a casual culture. Unfortunately for him, he dressed up.
"The clothes that he was wearing were so polar-opposite of what the
company did that they thought he just didn't get them at all," says Ms.
Waldt. They never bothered to interview him. "He sat in a holding pen
all day and flew home."
Possibly, that job candidate wouldn't have wanted to work
at a company that dismissed him so summarily. Yet boards of directors
routinely size up executive-level candidates by inspecting the clues in
their clothes. Hal Reiter, an executive recruiter and chairman and chief
executive of Herbert Mines Associates, recalls meeting with a CEO candidate
for a mainstream retailer.
The man, chief financial officer of a major big-box
retailer, showed up in a navy-blue necktie with a gold circular symbol
surrounded by what looked like leaves and red blotches. Upon closer
inspection, Mr. Reiter discovered that the red was blood dripping from a
crown of thorns. The tie isn't the main reason he didn't get the job, but
the distractingly graphic religious imagery didn't help.
Mr. Reiter, who leans toward Brioni suits himself, rails
about "horrible footwear -- unshined, rubber soles, acrylic socks"
that he sees frequently. He isn't shy about dressing people down, according
to Larry McClure, senior vice president of human resources for Liz Claiborne
Inc., who once hired Mr. Reiter to locate a senior-level recruit. In the car
on their way to the interview in Newark, N.J., the executive recruiter
glanced at Mr. McClure's feet, which were ensconced in worn, pilled socks.
"I gotta help you out here," Mr. Reiter announced, according to
both men. "You need some better socks. They're horrible."
"I guess I never
figured that people would look at my socks," says Mr. McClure, who has
since invested in new ones, as well as Donald Pliner shoes.
Mr. Reiter's parting shot
for aspiring executives at businesses with a formal ethos: "It takes
$1,000 to buy a suit that looks good." And when you wear it, "you
can't look like it's the first time, either."
For ideas on looking
authoritative but approachable, look at politicians -- the most practiced
job candidates of all -- who are savvy at flashing messages with their
clothing. In the ultimate employment interview, for U.S. President, Hillary
Clinton wore a looped red scarf in New Hampshire earlier this week that
looked decisive and framed her face, while her dark suit hit that
nice-not-loud note that signals that we're supposed to be paying attention
to her brain, not her designer.
While sweaters aren't a
go-to look for most job interviews, Joe Lieberman last month wore a warm
crimson sweater under his blazer to endorse John McCain (likewise encased in
a sweater and blazer). Their well-knit choice recalled the old opinion polls
that found that television viewers regarded Dan Rather as more trustworthy
when he read the news in a fuzzy sweater vest, than when he sported just a
crisp shirt.
Female politicians know
what a tightrope fashion can be: Smart clothes might not win votes, but the
wrong style can lose them votes. The wardrobes of female political
candidates are so closely scrutinized that the media has reported who shops
for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (her husband Paul) and that former French
presidential candidate Ségolène Royal buys at Zara.
We haven't yet taken
fashion analysis as far with well-known business executives. But job
interviewers don't miss much, says Ann Marie Sabath, a business etiquette
consultant and author of One Minute Manners.
She is relentless about
getting interview clothes right. Her advice includes ironing creases into
your pants, investing in a good watch, and wearing a collar. "A collar
projects authority," says Ms. Sabath, who has consulted for Citigroup,
Fidelity Investments, and Procter & Gamble. Her company, At Ease Inc.,
operates a hotline for business-etiquette emergencies.
Ms. Sabath advises men to
have their shirts professionally laundered and to button one or two jacket
buttons when standing in order to look neat and well-assembled. These are
details that can boost or diminish a career without leaving a trace in the
memory of either party.
David Goldhill, president
and chief executive of the Game Show Network, has been overhauling the
television network's senior management lately. He highlighted the subliminal
nature of the interviewing process when I asked if his decisions have been
influenced by what a job candidate or subordinate wore, for better or for
worse. "Probably," he responded, "but I'm not aware of
it." - 2008 January
10 WALL
ST. JOURNAL
Cost of dressing to kill on Wall St:
US$63,000
Dressing for success on Wall Street
can get expensive
Consider Christiana Stamoulis, a former investment
banker at Goldman Sachs Group, who said in court papers that she spent more
than US$63,169 on designer shoes and clothes in 2002. Her spending, on
earnings of US$114,819 that year, came to light last week when the US Tax
Court disallowed most of the deduction she claimed for donating the clothes
to charity.
Sixty-three thousand-plus dollars to make yourself
presentable to colleagues and clients?
Barely enough, according to luxury analyst Jim
Hurley. To prove it, he led a reporter on a shopping trip to Manhattan's
Bergdorf Goodman.
'We're going to economise,' said Mr Hurley, who
does regular weekly luxury-store checks as part of his research at Telsey
Advisory Group in New York.
He started on the sixth floor and worked his way
down, looking for 'bread-and-butter' wear-to-work offerings with labels
well-known to fans of fashions like the ones seen in The Devil Wears Prada:
Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana.
Moving quickly, he selected 10 suits, 20 tops, one
dress and some separate pieces including pants, mostly in black, navy, gray
and khaki. No red pantsuits for the high achievers on Wall Street. A
US$3,290 Giorgio Armani pantsuit in gray windowpane is more their style.
The picks weren't entirely monochromatic. Mr
Hurley suggested a US$5,745, pink plaid Chanel skirt suit shot with gold
thread. 'Very Barbie,' he called it.
There was also that US$1,235 fragola (strawberry)
satin tailored shirt with a US$865 black pencil skirt from Prada for dinners
with clients. And don't forget the US$1,500 Ippolita crooked gold-wire
bangle with pale yellow citrines. No faux jewels if you want clients to
believe your sales pitch.
A large black Loro Piana cashmere cape with suede
edging added US$1,695 to the imaginary shopping tab. Then there was a black
Ralph Lauren trench coat for US$998 and a shorter, lighter black coat with
off-centre buttons for US$1,990 from Derek Lam, whom Mr Hurley tips as the
next big thing.
That left the items few high-powered women can be
without: drop-dead shoes and handbags. He selected 10 pairs of shoes at
US$465-895 a pair. His choices included five pairs from Christian Louboutin.
He chose three handbags, including a US$2,495
Jumbo Classic quilted Chanel bag in black 'caviar' texture with a leathered
gold chain. For that item, there's a waiting list at least a month long.
'The classics are the classics,' the saleswoman
pronounced.
And instead of a briefcase, Mr Hurley recommended
a US$970 Goyard tote in green, which he calls the hottest colour.
Add in few other items, and the whole shopping
spree took only 2 1/2 hours. The bill: US$63,148.
Across Fifth Avenue in Bergdorf's men's store, Mr
Hurley zeroed in on the US$425 Charvet shirts. He chose 10, with point
collars and cuffs, a few solids, some patterns, none white. He then added
three Kiton striped shirts and three Brioni shirts, checked. The price:
US$450 each.
He only wanted three brands of ties: Charvet, 10
in small geometric, repetitive patterns, at US$170 each; Hermes, five woven
twills at US$155 each; and six Salvatore Ferragamos, half in flora and half
in fauna designs, US$135 each.
Mr Hurley now zigged over to Loro Piana and
snapped up the navy blue cashmere overcoat, US$2,935. 'The best bargain of
the day,' he called it.
Next came the shoes. His first pick: a US$450 pair
of black Gucci loafers with silver horsebit buckles.
At the cuff-link counter, he didn't hesitate:
Deakin & Francis bull-and-bear, blue enamel on gold, US$2,200, and black
onyx and gold bars from Trianon, US$625.
The saleswoman brandished a neat white cuff on
which she displayed his choices, to excellent effect.
Ignoring the complimentary Champagne bar on the
balcony, Mr Hurley headed to the second floor, where he selected his Italian
suits. He decided he could only afford off-the-rack goods, not
made-to-measure, which can cost 20 per cent more.
In quick succession: four Kitons, US$4,495 to
US$5,895 and three Brionis, at US$4,695 each. A Burberry tan trench coat,
US$895. Now he added a US$1,895 plaid sports coat, with dune-colored pants,
US$325, from Ermenegildo Zegna. He also picked up a pair of US$475 brown
lace-up shoes.
On the third, more contemporary, floor, he
selected a US$4,150 suit from whimsical designer Thom Brown, whose current
collection is unusually lined with seersucker.
He returned to the first floor to select a
briefcase - a US$2,150 house brand - two belts, US$370 total, and pick up a
third pair of shoes, black Testoni lace-ups, US$890.
Total 'cost' of the one-hour visit: US$63,170.
- BLOOMBERG
17 March 2007
