Is There a "Dress Code" for Public Relations?

The following is from an e-mail from Margie Fisher. Good stuff!

It has been said that "you never get a second chance to make a first impression."

And first impressions are made, in part, based on how people look. Thus, an important factor is your personal dress code. What you wear is a part of your public relations, because your dress code communicates messages to the world -- and, in particular, the business people you meet with on a daily basis.

For instance, I know a (male) printing salesman who dresses in a nice shirt, tie, slacks and great shoes. I know he cares about how he looks, and that translates into the care he takes in his printing jobs.

I also work with lots of "creative" types who wear jeans and sweats while they're in their own work environment but wear suits or nice shirts and pants when meeting with clients. While they want to have freedom of self-_expression while doing creative work, they also realize they must have, as Marketing guru Dan Kennedy says, a "selling wardrobe."

This dress code issue is a very personal one to me. Now that my husband, David, is about to join the business full-time, we've been talking about his wardrobe. Coming from an industry where he wore khakis and polos every day, he obviously has wardrobe gaps. Living in Florida and dealing with 90+ degree heat doesn't help, either.

So we're going shopping soon. And if any of this makes you think about your own wardrobe, be aware of this: people prefer to deal with successful people. Your wardrobe (and my husband's) should reflect the fact that you are a successful person with whom others want to do business.

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