Throughout London Fashion Week we were bombarded with fantastically creative designs innovative trends which reflect the inner workings of that particular industry’s greatest minds. However the majority of us, who don’t quite have time to clamour around catwalks and thumb through look-books, are still getting dressed every day and going to work, or going out looking to find work.
Surely ‘fashion’ takes on a whole new, more serious and more tangible meaning for us when we do it day-in-day out – choosing outfits that strike precarious balances between comfort and style; professional vs approachable etc. We’d all agree this takes the skill of seven Vivienne Westwood’s and when you factor in the laundry and our families sartorial needs then we’re all a one person fashion stage show.
So why do we do it? Why do we care what people think about how we look? We recently asked around and it became apparent that we weren’t so much ‘dressing to impress’, as we were tailoring our confidence, mentality and attitude to prepare us for our daily ‘catwalk’ - our place of work:
Julie-Anne Murphy of Working Super Mum said:
“I always dress smartly and professionally in the office, I work for a large corporate organisation so it's expected, but equally (and terrible that I feel like this) I also think dressing sharply demonstrates my commitment that my part time hours might otherwise suggest.”
Emily; another commenter on the Pitman Training Blog added:
“I personally think that the more casual you are in the office, the more casual you are in your attitude to work, but if you wear suits all week, then your attitude will be more professional.”
In an article on Mother’s Who Work, Joycellyn wrote about even how working from home it’s important to dress in a way that inspires confidence and professionalism even when no-one can see you:
“We have all seen the advertisements on the internet about working in your pyjamas, setting your own hours, and other things that entice us to want to work from home. But even though you aren’t going anywhere, you should still remember that you are a business person.”
So whilst the models parade down their catwalk; backed by teams of attendants; united under a single designer’s vision - we too must remember the importance of what we wear. We represent the front-line of fashion; and for all our efficiency and admirable displays of taste and balance of tone –we’re not really doing it for anyone but ourselves, and we’re certainly not doing it for only one week a year!
See some examples of 'Office Fashion' from Memo Magazine (1970's) on the Pitman Training Facebook Page