I have always been pleased that I earned my master’s degree at Villanova University.
It offers a strong academic program in both science and liberal arts. It boasts a gorgeous tree-lined campus on Philadelphia’s Main Line. It attracts a diverse collection of students from throughout the world.
I was especially happy to be a Villanova alumna while living years ago in San Francisco and Seattle.
For reasons unknown, people on the West Coast regard the school as Ivy League, right up there with Harvard and Yale.
I never told them differently.
During this year’s March madness, I became even more delighted than usual to enjoy a strong connection to Villanova.
I bet you’re thinking I’m bursting with pride over the basketball team’s phenomenal exposure as winners of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) men’s finals, right?
Wrong. I’m over-the-top proud of Coach Jay Wright’s increasing renown as a classical fashionistus. I rarely get to show off my four years of high school Latin, but I’m pretty sure I have used the proper ending for a man with exquisite taste in clothing.
Anyway, in my view, Wright typifies what appears to be renewed popularity for the concept of dressing up on the job.
In a recent article in Philadelphia Magazine, Emily Goulet, author of a column called Shoppist, noted as much:
“CBS profiled Jay King in its NCAA Men of March series, and while the majority of the episode was about the Villanova basketball program and Wright’s coaching techniques (yada, yada, yada), the real highlight was a quick segment on Wright’s suits and the friendly, white-haired Italian tailor and suit-maker who sparked his rise to sartorial dominance.”
For the Gentleman’s Quarterly (GQ) record, that man is Gabriele D’Annunzio of Newtown Square.
As you probably know, business suits – for both men and women – in the past generation have taken a major hit in the workplace.
Leading the downward charge were computer pioneers such as Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, both fans of on-the-job golf shirts and over-the-head hoodies.
Tie not required. Not even desirable.
Zuckerberg, who lives in California’s Silicon Valley, even balked at wearing a button-down shirt 10 years ago when he first visited the New York Stock Exchange, then one of the last bastion’s of traditional menswear.
The dress-down trend was so persuasive that a savvy handicapper might have bet pre-Wright that female lawyers would soon be wearing revealing tube tops in court and male surgeons equally revealing Speedo swim trunks in the operating room.
But then along came new research that getting decked out at work may not be such a 20th century idea, after all.
And not for the reason you might think.
While earlier studies about the impact of clothing on work focused on the reaction of observers, several newer efforts have looked at self-perception.
A paper published in August 2015 in Social Psychological and Personality Science, for example, reported that subjects wearing formal clothing performed better on cognitive tests than those wearing casual apparel. Researchers theorized that the difference was related to feelings of power created by upscale dressing.
A year earlier, the Journal of Experimental Psychology released a study in which subjects also were divided into two groups, suits or sweats, and put into negotiating situations. The more formally attired people obtained better deals.
In July 2012, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, a third publication noted here, detailed yet another self-perception study indicating that subjects made half as many mistakes on an attention-demanding task if wearing white physician’s lab coats instead of ordinary clothing – even if the work had nothing to do with medicine. Participants apparently felt smarter when they saw themselves in mirrors as doctors.
Of course, as in any social phenomenon, dressing habits change slowly.
And there are always outliers and exceptions, making your decisions about work clothing more exasperating than ever.
So what to do? Here are some ideas to ponder about a seeming return to up-dressing, whether you are a job-seeker, an employee or an entrepreneur:
* Consider your field. In the world of business apparel, as you choose your style, you need to ask yourself a myriad of questions about your industry. Are you working in finance or law, two of the most conservative of work worlds? Or are you an advertising or marketing guru, known for permitting more flamboyant apparel? Whatever the case, err on the side of quality basics rather than here-today-gone-tomorrow trends. Handkerchief hems on skirted suits, for instance, are unlikely to make it into the 2020s.
* Factor in gender. Despite vast inroads made in recent times by women in the workplace, differences still exist. One is clothing. I think female professionals of all ages and body types look better in suits. Just saying. On Fridays, a tailored vest, sweater or jacket atop your dress or blouse may suffice. By wearing traditional apparel instead of denim jeans, I swear you’ll feel better about your ability to compete in the ever-competitive marketplace.
* Rethink your generational views. Many professionals under age 25 of late have considered formal business dress a relic of days past. Last week, in fact, the New York Times ran a story noting that many younger people have viewed the suit “as relevant as a toga.” Yet the very same piece quoted a fashion insider as saying high-end consumers under age 30 seem to be tiring of looking like relative slobs and are reverting in droves to traditional garb.
* Rent instead of buy. Although you may earn a $2.5-million-dollar salary like Villanova’s Wright, I’m not there yet. That said, I still can wear $10,000 outfits complete with accessories without breaking the bank. One method: access Rent the Runway, an online fashion service created a few years ago by two female Harvard MBA’s. For a fraction of the original cost, you can lease a designer suit for 30 days. At the end of that period, you return the item for the next power dresser.
* Buy low. You’re undoubtedly familiar with this concept in investing. You can do the same thing with suits by buying clothes off season when they go on huge sales. Joseph A. Bank for winter wool, anyone? Another way to look high on the hog without earning a lot of bacon is watching for special designer promotions at mass-market stores. Starting Thursday, for instance, Kohl’s in Exton and at its other locations will launch a new women’s line created by Reed Krakoff, a luxury brand worn by First Lady Michelle Obama and actress Julianne Moore.
* Study successful people. Villanova’s Wright certainly is a case in point. But so are nationally known politicians such as Donald Trump. Whatever you may think of the Republican Presidential hopeful’s views, you would be hard pressed to fault his unflinching self-confidence. I suggest his $5,000 custom-made suits give him enough confidence to trump his clearly out-of-the-mainstream haircut.
* Remember the suit-mind connection. My Irish-born Aunt Roseabelle, who died last year at age 101, was a wellspring of sage advice about business clothes even though she never worked in a traditional office. On several occasions, particularly when I sank into a deep depression following my husband’s unexpected death in 2010, she told me that the more down I felt, the more effort I should make to dress up. If you believe the recent self-perception studies, her comments were no blarney.
Kathleen Begley of East Goshen owns Write Company Plus. She gives communications seminars and writes for business publications. In entertaining and informative training sessions, Begley helps clients achieve success by teaching them ways to present with confidence, write without stress, deal with difficult people – and more. She has taught at 12 colleges and universities around the nation, including the MBA program at Penn State. Begley produces this column packed with news-you-can-use tips every Sunday in the Daily Local News. She responds to all reader feedback. You can reach her at KBegley@writecompanyplus.com.