What to Wear
Just got finished spilling my tea down the front of my shirt. Thankfully, it was just tea. Chamomile mint to be precise. A cup of hot tea is a nice way to ease into the day, highly- recommended. Spilling it down the front of your shirt like a spaz, not highly-recommended.
6 months ago, it woulda been coffee and my shirt would have looked like I vomited down the front. Every client would notice. Their impressions of my competence, tainted. I could be wearing freshly-pressed Armani, but with a coffee stain down the front, I might as well be wearing toughskins and a wife beater.
I like to present myself as reasonably put-together. My rationale: If I look like I know what I’m doing, it will help clients accept what I have to say about their advertising and marketing. The truth is, I’d give them the same advice if I were wearing a speedo and an Indian headdress.
“The clothes make the man.” I have to agree, but I don’t like to. We are a judgmental species. We have to be. How else would we make decisions?
I’m kind of caught between two worlds. Part of my job is being creative, coming up with new, interesting ideas. The other part of my job is selling, helping people feel comfortable with our service.
If I show up looking like a “creative” at a “sales” meeting, that’s not going to go over too well, and may be a bit disrespectful. If I show up as the “sales” guy, then how many good ideas are you going to get from a conformist? So, I have many different ways to dress depending on the kind of meeting I’m having.
Today, for example, I’m meeting a potential new client through some friends of mine who are brand strategists. They are doing an interactive session with this company to help them create an elevator pitch. They want me to join in. This is no job for a suit, it’s creative, improvisational, and fun. But there is a possibility of this going further into more business for my company—a sales opportunity, where a suit might be considered.
Partly creative. Partly sales. Partly Vans. Partly Florsheim.
So where does that leave the wardrobe today.
A pair of faded brown jeans, an ironed, striped button-down shirt, black leather belt, black Blundstone boots. Creative, without being too laid back. Business, without a stick up my arse.
6 months ago, it woulda been coffee and my shirt would have looked like I vomited down the front. Every client would notice. Their impressions of my competence, tainted. I could be wearing freshly-pressed Armani, but with a coffee stain down the front, I might as well be wearing toughskins and a wife beater.
I like to present myself as reasonably put-together. My rationale: If I look like I know what I’m doing, it will help clients accept what I have to say about their advertising and marketing. The truth is, I’d give them the same advice if I were wearing a speedo and an Indian headdress.
“The clothes make the man.” I have to agree, but I don’t like to. We are a judgmental species. We have to be. How else would we make decisions?
I’m kind of caught between two worlds. Part of my job is being creative, coming up with new, interesting ideas. The other part of my job is selling, helping people feel comfortable with our service.
If I show up looking like a “creative” at a “sales” meeting, that’s not going to go over too well, and may be a bit disrespectful. If I show up as the “sales” guy, then how many good ideas are you going to get from a conformist? So, I have many different ways to dress depending on the kind of meeting I’m having.
Today, for example, I’m meeting a potential new client through some friends of mine who are brand strategists. They are doing an interactive session with this company to help them create an elevator pitch. They want me to join in. This is no job for a suit, it’s creative, improvisational, and fun. But there is a possibility of this going further into more business for my company—a sales opportunity, where a suit might be considered.
Partly creative. Partly sales. Partly Vans. Partly Florsheim.
So where does that leave the wardrobe today.
A pair of faded brown jeans, an ironed, striped button-down shirt, black leather belt, black Blundstone boots. Creative, without being too laid back. Business, without a stick up my arse.
posted by Greg Monaco at 9:54 AM
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