Seattle style consultant provides insight to
professionals on how to dress for the season
With summer on its way out and the chill of fall beginning to settle in, it’s time to put away the short sleeve shirts and lightweight separates that have served you well over the past season. In the workplace, this shift becomes even more apparent.
“Once summer ends, office fashion trends tend to become much more conservative and simple. Classic looks in neutral colors and natural fibers abound. This coming season is no exception,” said Bill Hoffer, an image and fashion consultant who works with Seattle professionals.
Hoffer stresses that even in ultra-casual Seattle, a work wardrobe should differ from everyday “hanging around the house” dress. “There have been studies and polls that show a person’s appearance can directly affect their chances at getting a raise or a promotion. Dressing well impresses on others your level of professionalism and how you feel about yourself and your work.”
So what should a savvy professional wear this season?
WOMEN:
• Wide-leg cuffed pants in neutral colors matched with shorter jackets.
• Separates in graphic and textured prints, as well as blouses and tops in lavenders and French blue.
• Cashmere scarves and sweaters offer a simple, but elegant statement especially in bright, classic colors.
• In handbags, look for satchels in various leather and cloth finishes.
MEN:
• Trousers in basic color palettes that span from black to gray, navy to blue, olive to taupe, and brown to tan. Pair this with a blazer or sport coat for a sharp look.
• Tailored, fitted suits in a variety of cloth choices such as high twist wool, serge, gabardine, and twills.
• Ties that boast subtle patterns or prints. Stripes are not as strong this season.
According to Hoffer, if you can only afford one new item this season, a trench coat or topcoat is where you should invest. This goes for men and women alike. “People spend most of their work day inside. They only need to worry about staying warm and dry when going from location to location, and a good topcoat will do this while still maintaining professional style.
“A well structured wardrobe should transition easily from one season to the next.
With this in mind, there’s no reason that a majority of professional’s wardrobe can’t be comprised of year-round weight suits. If you take care of these, they will sustain you for several seasons,” said Hoffer.
ABOUT BILL HOFFER
With close to two decades experience in the fashion industry, Bill Hoffer is an expert at creating tailored, fashionable, and sophisticated looks for his clients. His services include one-on-on style and fabric consultation, personalized designs, and professional alteration and sewing. His business, Wardrobe Design, works with clients throughout Western Washington.
More information on Hoffer and the work done through Wardrobe Design can be found at www.wardrobedesign.net.
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) – June 29, 2007
by Ben Miller
You want to open a real can of worms? Start a discussion about whether Seattle business people dress more casually than the rest of the country.
And if they do dress more casually at work, does it makes a difference in a business’s success?
A lot of people who have moved here from other parts of the country, myself included, notice that Seattle business people don’t slavishly adhere to a rigid business dress code. “Casual Friday” and “business casual” days in Seattle sometimes take place Monday through Friday.
“So what,” you may say, adding that Bill Gates doesn’t wear a suit and a tie at Microsoft Corp. and he’s the richest guy in America.
Does it really make a difference whether you dress nicely or not?
Here’s a typical local business dress code that doesn’t seem to go too far overboard: “Appropriate” dress includes — “Pants (khaki or Dockers style), skirts, golf shirts, sport shirts (short or long sleeve), blouses (cover shoulders), collared shirts, denim (blue or colored, without frays or holes), and sneakers (clean).”
And “not appropriate” dress includes: “capri’s, shorts, tank tops, halter tops, dresses with spaghetti straps or revealing cleavage, flip-flops, short shirts/tops, sweat pants/sweat suits, overalls, leggings, T-shirts, and skirts inappropriately short … Men are expected to wear socks at work.”
That doesn’t seem overly harsh, and it is one reason I like working at the Puget Sound Business Journal, which is governed by the above list of rules. But most days, I still wear a tie.
Needless to say, there are those who say that “business casual” has gone too far toward the “casual” end of the spectrum.
Bill Hoffer, a Queen Anne-based image and fashion consultant in Seattle, has a vested interest in seeing people dress better, since he creates “tailored, fashionable and sophisticated looks for his clients” at www.wardrobedesign.net.
Hoffer doesn’t come right out and say that the Seattle business community dresses like a bunch of slobs, but he hints that few of us will be winning “best-dressed” contests.
Here’s Hoffer on business dress: “The clothes we wear make a statement. You are the message. Ask yourself: Is that message exuding professionalism and performance or does it reflect mediocrity and lack of focus?”
“How you feel affects your performance,” Hoffer said. “I feel good because I dress up every day.”
Hoffer said when he moved to Seattle in 1994, the economy was being driven by Boeing Co., and it was “more of a blue-collar type city.” Microsoft was adding the “techie” influence to the city’s image. Add Seattle’s flannel shirt-blue jean “grunge” look that took hold later that decade and it was a pretty casual city.
But Hoffer says the city is changing.
He said it would be easy to blame Bill Gates for the city’s laid-back, casual-dressed image but even Gates is looking better these days. “Since he got married, he’s cleaned up his act,” Hoffer said. The influence of women on how their spouses dress can’t be underestimated, he added.
And he sees leaders in the city slowly, very slowly, dressing better.
“It has to start from the top … I do think it’s moving in a positive way.”
Starting July 2, the Business Journal’s online poll (www.seattle.bizjournals.com) will ask readers whether they think dressing better at work affects workers’ performance.
It will give you a chance to express your agreement with Bill Hoffer, or say that you haven’t seen Paul Allen wearing a tie very often and he’s one of the richest people in America.
Contact: bwmiller@bizjournals.com, 206-447-8505×106