Dress Code Dilemmas at Goldman Sachs

This weekend Goldman Sachs made the front page of the Financial Times, however this time it was to do with the clothes their staff should to wear to work, rather than fluctuating markets or share prices.

 An internal memo was sent to all staff last week which specified that staff should now “dress in a manner that is consistent to your clients expectations”. 

For many of my clients ‘casual Friday’ is enough to cause panic, but being given free-reign to interpret your daily outfits on the basis of your client’s expectations is understandably confusing and headache inducing.

What if you’ve got multiple meetings, with different clients, discussing different projects in different locations… IN ONE DAY? Then what do you wear?!

 A clear dress code makes your life easier.

Being told what you can and can’t wear makes your mornings simpler when you’re getting dressed, and shopping less stressful when you know what you’re looking for.

However, formal uniform guidelines don’t allow room for your personality to shine.

First impressions are so important, we judge a person by what they look like within seconds of meeting them.

A good wardrobe gives you a sense of confidence, while also immediately communicating what type of person you are to your audience: authentic, successful, approachable, creative, supportive…

Doing this in a black shift dress or grey suit is near impossible.

 The simple answer is to identify your own uniform guidelines, but how do you do that, and where do you start?

Contact me if this resonates and I can share how I work with professionals who want to build a cohesive wardrobe of great quality stylist clothes that communicate their character, mirror their work environments and connect with their clients.