Bonjour, mes belles et beaux,

A good friend of mine posted a comment on Facebook recently, saying that she had been raised to not go sleeveless to business functions and wondering if, perhaps, she was out of touch with modern standards.  When I look around at the number of business people who sacrifice style and class on the altar of trendiness, I am equally confused.  When did it become okay for men to wear short-sleeved business shirts under suit jackets?  Since when do women wear bra-exposing blouses to meetings?  The answer, my business brethren, is.........since never.  Having style encompasses having standards and these standards exist to give and receive respect.  Letting them go not only sacrifices style, it sacrifices credibility in the work place.

Advertise style in the office, not your lingerie

While wearing white after Labor Day is now accepted and pants (and even jeans) are fashionable in business environments, there are some old fashioned rules that SHOULD never be given up.  Exposing underwear, even such beauties as La Perla!, is not stylish, it's sexy - and sex is not what the workplace is for unless your job involves a brass pole.   Equally unbusinesslike?  Wearing skirts so short that bending down to pick up your fallen Mont Blanc causes you to worry that you're overdue for waxing.  Another no-no?  Pants or skirts so tight that a deep breath makes you wish you had reinforced those side seams.  And ladies, while a little cleavage may not cause a riot, showing off the perfection achieved by your plastic surgeon is downright tacky!

In short, wearing appropriately conservative business attire is not outmoded, it's an expression of respect......for yourself and your co-workers.  It shows class and true style to make an attractive, modern ensemble out of pieces that don't shriek SEX at the top of their lungs.  Staying au courant shouldn't mean letting down your standards.  And remember, "trend" is today, "style" is forever!