Page 75 - How To Sell Yourself

74 How to Sell Yourself
Mark Twain said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Well, neither do inappropriately dressed people. Clothes should fit well, look comfortable, and be appropriate for the occasion.
I also think you’re at your best when you feel comfortable in what you’re wearing. I don’t function as well in a heavily starched shirt collar, so I don’t wear starched shirts. Do what works for you.
I remember the book Dress for Success had a warning to busi- ness people that brown was out—until Ronald Reagan appeared regularly in brown suits. He looked terrific, and brown made a triumphant return. The colors you choose should look good and help you feel good about yourself.
I like leaving the question of the buttoning of the jacket to you and your comfort factor. I hate watching the politician get up, start to walk to the microphone and automatically button the jacket. It looks robotic. Here again, whatever works best for you is usu- ally easiest on the eye.
Looking good while seated
When you’re sitting, it’s usually best to leave the jacket un- buttoned. Television anchors are about the only ones who look like their clothes were tailored for the sitting position. Most of us wind up looking like we left the hanger in the jacket when we put it on that morning. Seated, the jacket tends to crawl up in back and the top of the jacket winds up a couple of inches above the shirt collar. It looks sloppy.
The film Broadcast News had a wonderful scene showing how the tail of the jacket is pulled down and sat on to keep the collar from traveling up.
Bare skin will get all the attention
Bare skin that isn’t supposed to be bare is distracting. Bare skin is for the beach. We should never see more than we ought to see from the speaker in any professional situation.
For men, I advise long-sleeved shirts and over-the-calf socks.
When short-sleeved shirts are appropriate, it’s probably also appropriate to shed the jacket, but a lot of bare arm under the jacket sleeve looks underdressed, if not undressed. The same goes for socks. We don’t want to see the skin under the trouser leg.