Image is everything in the corporate world. Smart dressers will inevitably climb the corporate ladder faster than their less stylish counterparts. No matter how good you are at what you do, you need to dress smart and take on the corporate ladder with your stilettos.  In the corporate world, well chosen, timeless corporate clothing will get you everywhere. As everyone in the business world knows, time is money, so here is your quick guide to corporate clothing for women.

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Dressing for Your Interview

Deciding what to wear for you big interview can be a nerve-racking experience, as  there are rarely clear cut rules when it comes to corporate clothing. Firstly do some research on your prospective employee, and take a look at the company’s web sites and brochures.

This will give you an idea of the company’s image, and whether or not they are casual, formal or smart casual. Based on this you can decide what to wear. It is important to not be too casual, as this will create the impression that you are not serious, or to not be too formal, wearing a business suite to an interview at a very informal company will also create the wrong impression.

But when in doubt, always rather dress too formal than too casual.

Fake It Till You Make It

Corporate clothing should give you a sense of authority and power. It should make you feel confident and strong, even though you may not always feel that way. You should dress according to where you want to be, and not where you are right now on the corporate ladder. Even if you are just an intern, dress smart and choose clothes that exudes an air of confidence, and sets you apart from the rest.

You will be surprised at how far style and appropriate corporate clothing will take you, and it might just be the difference between getting a job or not.

Corporate Clothing That Will not Break the Bank

Quality corporate clothing need not cost a fortune. There are however two rules to keep in mind when buying corporate clothes; style and quality.
Style, cut and color is very important in choosing the best corporate clothing. You need to look for timeless styles, like an elegant two-piece business suite, dress shirts and well tailored trousers. A few well chosen, well fitted items will be the life-long basis of your corporate wardrobe.

When choosing your timeless corporate clothes, take care to choose colors that are also timeless, like black, brown and gray. This will allow you to keep these piece forever, but still mix and match it with fashionable pieces and colors. This is perfect to keep your look up to date, while saving money.

The most important factor to take into consideration when choosing timeless corporate clothes is quality. Quality items may cost more, but they will last a lifetime and eventually save you money in the long term.

Corporate clothing is your best ally in taking on the corporate world. So do it with style and confidence.

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There is a multitude of different office environments out there, and each one of these different environments requires their workers to wear different corporate clothing.

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The first step to deciding what to wear in your working environment is to pin point into which one of the different corporate environments your company falls. Although most companies do not have explicit written rules on dress codes, it is easy to find out what is acceptable by looking at the different office dress code environments.

Business Corporate Clothing

This environment expects you to wear a suit, both men and women.  In this situation your overall image needs to be extremely professional, well –groomed, tailored and stylish. Think dark pin-stripe suits, with ties and tailored shirts and women in elegant pin-stripe skirt suits.

Business Casual Corporate Clothing

In the business casual corporate clothing environment you can relax, a bit. For women this means tailored pants, pumps and twin sets, along with skirts and classical jewelry and accessories.  Men are expected to wear suit pants with button up shirts. Suit jackets are not necessary, but it is always handy to have one close by.

Smart Casual Corporate Clothing

In most instances smart casual is being interpreted as being very casual and relaxed. Unless specifically stated by your boss, it is always better to avoid jeans in this environment. But if you wear jeans dress them up by pairing them with well tailored shirts. Men can also wear polo shirts and girls can dress up their jeans by pairing them with a twin set and pumps.

Casual Corporate Clothing

In this environment you can dress down your corporate clothing and dress like you would going to a kid’s birthday party, shopping or Sunday lunch at a café. In this environment it is appropriate to wear jeans, sandals and even tasteful shorts. The key is to still look smart while being casual.

Formal Corporate Clothing

An invitation to a formal business affaire is your golden opportunity to get dressed up. Women are expected to wear glamorous ball gowns in rich jewel colors, like purple, dark green, navy and reds. Men are expected to wear a full tuxedo.

Semi-Formal Corporate Clothing

Semi-formal can also be described as cocktail or lounge attire. In this environment a woman’s little black dress is called for. Pair it with strappy heels and an elegant clutch purse. Jewelry can be bold and making a fashion statement is not frowned upon at such events. Men should wear a suit, with a tie being optional. It is always good to take one with, just in case you feel underdressed.

Informal Corporate Clothing

This is not to be confused with casual. Informal is more like smart-casual; Skirts and heels for women and tailored shirts for me. This is basically what you would wear out to dinner at a fancy restaurant or cocktails at a friend’s house.

You only have one chance to make a lasting first impression. And the golden rule is that when in doubt, dress up, this shows that you value yourself, your job and your co-workers enough to make an effort.

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First impressions are everything in the business environment. And the best way of creating a strong, professional image, is through the use of branded corporate clothing. The use of corporate clothing will dramatically increase product and brand awareness, simply by having your staff wear it. Essentially branded uniforms are a source of constant free advertisement for your brand or company.

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Let’s take a look at how branded corporate clothing could impact on your business.

The Benefits Of Having Branded Corporate Clothing

The first thing that springs to mind when having branded corporate clothing, is obviously the fact that your company will have constant advertising and be visible to the public. This constant visibility will help to cement your company logo and identity within the public.

By providing a uniform to your staff it will immediately identify them as representatives of your company, and this will further enhance brand awareness and recognition. This however could also lead to potential pitfalls of having branded clothing.

The Potential Pitfalls Of Having Branded Corporate Clothing

By entrusting your staff members with branded corporate clothing and making them representatives of your company, you stand the risk of having the public see your employees, and company, in a bad light.

If employees behave unprofessionally, or their uniforms are untidy and of poor quality, they will be portraying your company in a bad light.

All companies need to cut on costs, but one area a company should never skimp on cost is with their staff uniforms. Inferior quality materials tend to fade easy, and soon look cheap and thus creates a bad company image for potential clients.

How To Choose The Best Corporate Clothing For Your Company

Firstly you have to ask yourself exactly what image you want your company to portray to the public. Do you want a casual image, sleek, sexy or very corporate and professional image? Just think how differently airline hostess uniforms are from a bus driver’s uniform or an IT-technician’s uniform.

Corporate clothing can be simple clothes, like polo shirts or T-shirts, or it can be more formal, like a dress shirt or an air hostess uniform. But the most important fact to keep in mind when choosing the best corporate clothing for your company, is functionality. Your employees will be wearing these clothes for long hours and they would need to perform certain task. Choosing comfortable clothes for your employees will boost their morale, as well as improving productivity.

The corporate clothing choices you make can result in a dramatic increase in brand awareness and growth. It can also increase morale and create a sense of unity and pride among workers. When utilized correctly, branded corporate clothing can be a very powerful tool. If not it could lead to a bad public image and a decrease in growth. The use of high quality fabrics and a clear professional design will go a long way in promoting and cementing your business in the public’s eye.

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Corporate clothing dress codes are designed to create a uniform workforce that looks professional and shows a structured unified front to the public. In short, dress codes are designed to make your company look good in the public’s eye.

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But more often than not dress codes can lead to indirect discrimination in the workplace due to religion or gender. If you feel that your company’s corporate clothing dress codes are discriminating against your gender or religion, speak to your boss in private, and tell them how you feel. There are global laws in place that protect workers from this sort of discrimination, so be professional and get your point across without being emotional.

Let’s take a look at a few types of corporate clothing discrimination in the workplace.

Religious Discrimination and Corporate Clothing

A corporate clothing dress code that requires a person to act in a way contrary to their religious believes risks being discriminatory.

For instance a dress code that prohibits a person from wearing hats can be discriminatory to male Sikhs, who have to wear a turban. The same goes for Muslim women who have to wear a hijab, which covers their hair.

In most instances employers are sensitive to the religious views of their employees. As long as the specific religious clothing does not interfere with the safety or quality of the employees work it should not pose a problem.

However, in some instances employers may object to certain religious appearances due to safety reasons. Workers at a chocolate factory where successfully banned from having beards, due to health and safety reasons. This is a rare example, and in most cases courts will rule in favor of the religious views of the employee. Just remember that it is illegal for a company to fire you due to religious reasons.

Sexism and Corporate Clothing

Gender specific discrimination in the workplace is a minefield of tricky questions and dilemmas. For instance, corporate clothing uniforms that require men to wear pants and women to wear skirts can be seen as discriminatory. Forcing women to wear skirts is seen as old fashioned, and skirts are not always the most comfortable work attire.

Keep in mind that if your company’s dress code treats one sex less favorably than the other, you might have a valid claim against sexism in the workplace. For instance, if your company enforces a rule where women must wear skirts, high heels and make-up, but does not enforce the same type of strict rules with regards to male employee’s appearances, you might have a valid claim.

Disability Discrimination and Corporate Clothing

For obvious reasons, disabled employees may not be able to comply with certain dress code criteria. For instance, an employee with a neck injury will not be able to wear a tie. Or a female employee in a wheelchair might feel more comfortable wearing pants, rather than a skirt.

Dress codes should never be strict and uncompromising rules. Dress codes should be flexible and take into consideration each and every employee’s individual beliefs and constraints.

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In these modern days, many organizations, as well as company’s, use standard corporate clothing for their workers. Having corporate clothing for staff members, helps people to recognize your company brand. This also sets the standard of your company. In today’s latest trends of apparel, corporate work wear is not limited when it comes to designs and style. Corporate clothing and uniforms are also used in both large and small organizations. There are huge benefits and returns to be gained from corporate clothing.

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Dress the business

As we all know, the competition in the business world is very competitive. It is a foregone conclusion, that corporate clothing can promote your company, in terms of quality, standards and reputation. An initial outlay in budget, for your corporate clothing, will repay the company ten-fold.

Corporate clothing, if chosen seriously, will ensure that your employees look professional, which will also motivate the staff. Employees will also consider themselves, part of the team and will work together to achieve company goals. The corporate clothing will save staff from the frustration of finding appropriate outfits, to wear to the office each day.

Deciding on image

Corporate clothing suppliers usually offer a wide range of various options, which does not make the decision easy; on what items best suit your requirements and budget. A corporate clothing supplier will usually offer bulk discounts for large orders, of personalized items. It is a very wise idea, to obtain input from staff, who will be wearing the corporate clothing, as one style does not suite every body shape.
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One can conveniently, acquire corporate suits, designed by online professionals, who exclusively deal in this attire. The internet makes life easy, although there are other avenues accessible, such as, retail stores and specialist clothing suppliers and manufactures. Since almost any item of clothing, can be adapted into corporate clothing, both male and female corporate clothing, are freely available.

Corporate clothing is often used as a form of uniform for staff, with the company logo and slogan embroidered or printed by the corporate clothing manufacturers. This corporate clothing can be used to create a professional, uniform look for your staff at work or at seminars and promotional events.

The distinguishing uniform

Corporate uniform does not mean only shirt and trousers, but it also includes accessories, such as jacket, jersey, socks, shoes, tie and belt. Big companies take the initiative in the designing of corporate uniforms and their accessories, Accessories can also be embroidered with the company logo.

Corporate uniforms help to bring out the real personality of each employee. Many large restaurants, hotels, medical professions and offices have their corporate uniforms, which could vary slightly in accordance with departments. Corporate uniforms, just as the term implies, means every employee is in unison, all have the same facade and belong on the same team.

Some companies allow wearing corporate uniforms, only in the office, but they could be, required to be worn, at company related functions. Several big companies offer various corporate clothing, one for the office and another for office related events.

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A successful business means investments in image, advertising and corporate clothing, these aspects combined, start the journey, on the road to success.  Corporate clothing and uniforms are considered a sign of professionalism and add value to the image of the company.

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Internal corporate clothing

Internally, corporate clothing helps to develop a sense of unity and corporate identity amongst your staff. A full staff complement, sporting corporate branded golf shirts looks, and therefore, feels more professional. People will trust representatives wearing smart, crisp corporate clothing and uniforms, long before they’ll trust someone dressed in ripped jeans and a T-shirt. Your front line staff should always be perfectly presentable and branded corporate clothing can help to achieve this.

More and more corporate companies are introducing corporate clothing and uniforms, clothes created for their employees. This helps to boost moral and give staff the sense of belonging to the same vision and mentality.  The corporate uniforms are personalized solutions for every client, their originality being a strong quality. When manufacturers are creating these corporate garments, they take into account all the aspects such as: trends in fashion, comfort, elegance and durability of clothes. Corporate clothing and uniforms, give the certainty that the imposed dress code is respected and the staff is wearing elegant and comfortable garments.

Promotional corporate clothing and accessories

Your corporate image is how your public views you, how much trust they have for your brand and how well associated they are with your company.

Promotional clothing has more of an external effect and promotional giveaways, such as shirts, caps and jackets are a great way to get your brand into the public eye. Clothing is exceptionally effective, as when worn, it gives your brand powerful reach. People will become accustomed to, and comfortable with, your brand, as they are more regularly exposed to it. Never underestimate the power of a good corporate image.

Distributing freebies with corporate logo at annual events, promotional events, seminars, workshops and industry gatherings is another great method.  Advertising, through corporate and promotional clothing, is considered to be one of the most affordable, yet effective means of communication. Many corporate houses have realized the importance of going in for this option, to build and promote the company’s identity

Choose wisely

With the large number of promo companies, in South Africa, offering a large range of branded clothing, it can be difficult settling on which company to use.

It can be tempting to go with the company whose prices are reasonably cheap. This is especially true when looking into promotional clothing with a potentially very limited lifespan. It has to be mentioned, though that the cheapest option is very rarely the better option.  T-shirts that fall apart without much provocation, is not the standards you hold yourself to.

Both promotional and corporate clothing are representative of your corporate personality, as viewed by the public. Whether corporate clothing, with the logo emblazoned across the chest of staff; or promotional clothing, worn proudly by customers, the wearer effectively becomes a walking, talking advertisement; the branding power of clothing cannot be denied

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Pregnancy is one of life’s most wonderful experiences, and while you are on the road to becoming a mother you will come across many tasks and obstacles that need to be taken care of.

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If you are a working mom to be, you will find that sitting behind a desk all day, running errands or standing on your feet will become absolutely exhausting and excruciating as you progress with your pregnancy, therefore you need to find the right kind of corporate clothing which will still make you look professional and also keep you comfortable.

What to wear when you are pregnant

The number one thing to think about before you purchase any piece of maternity clothing is comfort; if something doesn’t look comfortable then don’t even think about it. While it is very hard to spend money on shoes that do not come with dainty high heels or skirts that are not tailor made to make your but look smaller or curvier, it is extremely important to remember that your body during pregnancy is expanding and constantly trying to keep up with your needs and the needs of your baby. Therefore you need to buy clothes which will help to keep you comfortable and cool. Look for fabrics that will help your skin to breathe and won’t leave you flushed and sweaty by the end of the day. Opt for pant suits or loose dresses with tights, but make sure that the dress is suitable for work and not for the beach.

Where To Shop for Maternity Corporate Clothing
Most stores have a maternity section and sometimes the clothes in this section are so stylish that you will not even know that it is the maternity section. The best thing is to shop around and ensure that the clothes you buy will fit your needs. Also remember that every women has a different body type and when it comes to pregnancy this is even more so.  What looks great on other women while they are pregnant might not look that great on you, or might make you even more uncomfortable.
Go online and look for companies that specialize in maternity wear; they are bound to have endless options when it comes to corporate clothing for the mommy-to-be.

Pregnancy Shoes
Even though pregnancy shoes sound anything but sexy, you might want to talk to your doctor about what the best options for you would be. Many pregnant women have trouble with swollen feet and wearing either socks or shoes that constrict blood flow can be very bad for your health. If you don’t have swollen feet or legs and are not in need of medical care then opt for flat pumps which come in a large variety of designs and colours.

Extras
There are many products out there which are designed to keep pregnant working women comfortable and to make life after having your baby easy and resourceful. These products are definitely worth looking into and the sooner you get them the better. No one said you can only be one thing: so why not be a super employee and super mom!

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More and more companies are opting to use corporate clothing in their offices. There are many benefits to using corporate clothing at your company but you have to be sure to choose the correct type for your business needs. Only then will you reap all the benefits of using corporate clothing in your business.

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Corporate clothing can be implemented in just about any office environment. It is basically a standardized uniform that is branded with the company name and logo. There is a huge variety of corporate clothing available in today’s market.

The Benefits

One of the major benefits would have to be that you would be ensuring that all of your employees are professionally and appropriately dressed for work every day. This also removes stress for your employees because they no longer have to stress about what to wear to work every day.

Corporate clothing also helps you establish a professional brand identity. Your employees will essentially be advertising your business everywhere that they go during the work day. This is why you should make sure that your branding is clear and visible and that the type of clothing that you choose is a good reflection of the company.

By covering all the costs associated with corporate clothing, your employees will feel like a valued part of the company. This will inspire them to be more productive and they will be much more likely to go the extra mile for the company. This will also promote a better work environment for everyone.

Corporate clothing has also been proven to improve communication in the work place. Better working relationships are built and this also encourages teamwork. All these benefits end up improving the productivity and corporate image of the company as a whole.

Choosing The Right Type

Choosing the correct type and design for your corporate clothing is vital. A good place to start would be to speak to your employees. Find out what types of designs and materials they would be comfortable with. You can then work out your budget and start contacting different suppliers.

The quality of the clothing is very important. You should always buy the best quality possible as your employees should be comfortable and the clothing should be able to last for a reasonable amount of time. Also, the clothing that you get will be a reflection of your company. Remember that you should sacrifice quality for price.

When looking for a supplier always try to contact as many as possible. This way, you can shop around for the best deal. When speaking to the supplier you should brief them of what your needs are and then request a quote as well as a sample of their work. This will give you an idea regarding the quality of work that you can expect from them. You should also ask them questions such as how long it would take to complete the order and whether or not they deliver.

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More and more companies are looking into implementing corporate clothing at their offices. This is because many will agree that the pros of corporate clothing far outweigh the cons that are associated with it. You should carefully consider all the facts before you decide whether or not you should implement corporate clothing at your company.

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Corporate clothing is basically a standardized uniform within a company. It is then branded with the company’s name and/ or logo. The company orders these garments as needed from a supplier.

What To Consider

The very first thing that you should consider is what your budget is. You should determine exactly how much you can spend on the implementation of corporate clothing. This will determine whether or not you would be able to cover the full cost of this or not. If not, you could discuss the possibility of splitting the costs with your employees. Ideally the company should cover all costs during the implementation of corporate clothing.

You should also speak to your employees to find out how they feel about corporate wear. It is very important that they are comfortable and not opposed to the idea. You should also involve them in the whole decision making process with regards to the design, style and materials that will be used.

The Pros

There are many pros associated with implementing corporate clothing in your company. The most notable of which is that if you cover all the costs associated with this your employees will feel like a valued part of the company. This will result in them being more productive. A uniform in the office has also been known to encourage teamwork as well as lead to better communication and working relationships. This leads more efficient work as there will be better inter- departmental communication.

Implementing corporate clothing will also ensure that your employees will always be professionally and appropriately dressed for work. It would also benefit employees because they would no longer have to stress or worry about what to wear to work every day. Another pro is the fact that your employees will essentially be advertising your company anywhere that they go during the work do. This is why you need to make sure that corporate clothing that you choose is high in quality and professional. The branding also needs to be clear and visible.

The Cons

There are only cons if you implement corporate clothing at your company without proper planning or research. If you employees do not like the idea of corporate clothing or if they are not comfortable with the corporate clothing that you ordered, then their productivity is likely to drop. This is because they would no longer have a positive work attitude.

Also, if you tried to save money by opting for poor quality clothing just because it was cheap then your company’s image is likely to suffer. The public will associate the poor quality clothing and branding with a company that offers services that are poor in quality.

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