Dress Code
Looking over her shoulder, I mumble quietly, it doesn’t have to match, it just has to ‘go.’ Advice for my soft-spoken new hire, Amanda. A deceptively smart and proven marketing powerhouse who we desperately needed, unfortunately sported somewhat of a school-marm vibe. Yep, from the button-up floral cardigan down to her patent leather mary janes, this woman was ... fashion-challenged.
After pivoting in her career at 45, Amanda had just accepted a position with us in the world of fashion, and like it or not, she would have to figure out the dress code. Because in the fashion industry, the devil still wears Prada.
Within a couple of weeks she got the call to go visit the corporate office in Hollywood. Often a moment of painful reckoning for the uninitiated, there’s an abundance of patriarchy with a staff of compliant older women that hold power over you, so it’s critical not to be seen as threatening.
To succeed, it was important to earn their trust and be accepted. Make them feel good about choosing her, that she was the right fit for the job. Above all, she needed to be empathetic to their wanna-be fashionista values. Except, she doesn’t know how to do fashion, in the least.
Humbly, she knocked on my door the day before her trip, plunked down in the chair across from my desk and said, “could you help me? I know marketing but when it comes to my look, gesturing up and down, I’m sorta lost. I’m afraid I'll bomb at corporate.” Behind those slumping shoulders, her sullen expression said it all. It was important she begin her job with solid backing from everyone so we put our heads together and formed a plan using the concept of, “match just go.” You know, dots and stripes, paisleys and solids. Well, she didn’t know but with no other option at hand, she agreed to try it.
Together we went to Coach, a well-respected, famous purveyor of fine leather goods. We bypassed the colorful displays of trendy stock at the front of the store moving instead to the Collections area in back where in no time we found a vintage Metropolitan brief. Ah, yes perfect. A classic accessory that spoke of simple sophistication and timeless style. It was just what she needed to crack the code.
Doing a double-take at the whopping price tag she asked, “um, but I don’t know if it will it match anything else I have?” Grinning, I shook my head and said, it doesn’t have to match. It just has to go. Gulping hard, she nodded and took a leap of faith. The next day she flew to California, new bag in tow and pulled off that visit with flying colors. The bag did its magic – easing doubts and boosting her confidence. Moreover, it opened the door to acceptance by the corporate divas proving she was the right person for the position.
On her return, she thanked me and said she could see herself doing great things here. She graciously had asked for help as she took her first steps toward a new language in a whole new industry. In the process she discovered her own fashion curiosity.
After all, it didn’t have to match. It just had to go.