Dress The Part

"Dress shabbily, they notice the dress. Dress impeccably, they notice the woman."

--Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, French fashion designer
I'm on a second short trip to Europe in as many weeks and I have to say, Coco Chanel's immortal words couldn't be more on the money (thanks Kristina!) than today. America, we are awful dressers. Awful. Don't say a word, don't talk, open your ears and your eyes! We dress horribly in the US. And it makes no sense. We need to change and today, in the middle of an economic situation that is getting worse, is the best time for it!

I was in Madrid 10 days ago and had a full day of meetings at one of the world's most successful Banks (yes there are still some out there). While I was there on business I found myself distracted by the incredible attire the Spanish wore. I attended 6 hours of meetings with half a dozen people and I toured their campus. You cannot imagine how well dressed and professional these people were. The women were stunning, the men clean cut and neat. I would do business with these people. I liked them before they even said anything to me.

Now if you are being shallow and fraternity-like right about now you are totally misunderstanding my message. I am speaking strictly professionally. And I couldn't tell if these people were wearing Armani, Chanel or just H&M, it doesn't matter. The fact is, in Coco Chanel's words, I noticed the woman (or the man). Anyone who has spent a little time in London, Paris, Rome or Madrid knows what I mean. They inspired confidence and attention from me the moment we met, and as I listened to their words about their business, their roles and how I could help, I wanted to work with them even more. You see, these people didn't dress up for me. They dress for themselves. For who they are, the person they want others to see. And anyone in sales knows people do business with people they like. Period.

In America we think its unimportant. We have poor awareness or understanding of fashion, especially if you move away from New York or LA. Our CEOs generally sport the same blue shirt, blue blazer and switch dress pants between khaki or grey - we have IBM to thank for that. Most of our female colleagues have given up, but the few that still make an effort are frankly ready to jump out the building by mid-day because of the eye-stares they get from their immature male colleagues. I have heard it many times, insecurity and discomfort is why female executives in the US opt for dress pants and business suits instead of a fashionable dress at work. Its ridiculous. We are pathetic. There is very little in my nomadic view that America needs to borrow from Europe, but how we dress is definitely one.

Ok, now that I have all my American readers pissed off (and my Euro readers grinning in agreement) let me opine a little more. Don't dress for anyone but yourself. I don't care if you grew up on the farm or your parent's walked around the house in a t-shirt, baggy jeans and baseball cap when you were growing up. Anyone who is a professional knows how great it feels when you wear something that is 'nice'. Expand on nice and get some fashion advice. There are actually people out there who will gladly consult you on how to dress. Nordstrom's and other department stores have personal shoppers. Get to know them and explain what you are looking for. Let them take you around a store and show you what you should be wearing for your body type. And I know times are tough, you don't have to actually buy what they make you try on, but it will give you a sense of what to look for down the street at the Marshall's or TJ Maxx, or at one of the many Outlet stores across the country (I actually saw a Zegna Outlet store in Austin last week - go figure).

We have no excuse in America, clothing is widely available and much cheaper than in Europe, yet we opt for bad fitting, bad matching threads when we go to work. Suggestion to all managers and executives: take your team out for a half-day outing to the local fashion mall and get some of the fashion gurus in your area to consult your team. They will be happy to do it. Make it a team building exercise. Arrange for the store to provide coffee and juice, or better yet do it in the afternoon and crack open a bottle of wine (assuming your HR policies don't object), and get everyone to learn about the importance of fashion, and some personal advice. A previous CEO I worked for took the Executive team out for Christmas and gifted a tailor-made suit, shirt and tie to each of us - it was both a classy gift and a great team exercise. And as we found out that day, you just might learn a thing or two.