Business attire dos, don’ts addressed at AWC show
By Deanna Kerslake, Staff Writer
May 24, 2007 | 5:10 p.m.
The sound of mellow music mixed with a rustling chatter filled the Baker Center Theater 7 p.m. on Tuesday before the Association for Women in Communication-sponsored night of business fashion tips commenced.
The approximately 50-member audience flipped through the “Dress for Success” Fashion Show program, soaking up some fashion dos and don’ts illustrated on an “Extreme Interview Makeover” sheet that pointed out qualities on both woefully unprepared as well as sharp-looking young males and females set to be interviewed.
The actual event began with the emcees introducing the speakers that would bestow their wisdom on the audience for the next hour of the night.
The first speaker was Ken Hartung, executive director of the Sales Centre, who spoke on the art of interviewing in the form of a “Top 10 Interviewing Tips” list.
As Hartung casually walked through the audience, he said with a smile that one of the reasons he was at the event was because, “the wife says I can use all the help I can get when it comes to fashion.” From this he segwayed into interviewing tip number 10: Show up 15 minutes early. The rest of the tips included the need for a business card or portfolio and the need to be well-groomed and confident.
The final tips that Hartung imparted to the audience were to do homework on the company, to decide on key “take-aways,” or points an interviewee should use to make an impression, to prepare for anticipated questions, to have a personal kit of useful portfolio items, to skillfully use the words “we” and “I” to show both team and personal abilities, to have great questions to ask and know how to ask them and, finally, to make an impressive “close” so that one will leave the interview confident.
Stephanie Craddock, Graduate Assistant for Outreach to Regional Campuses in the Office of Career Services, gave the audience some good-old-fashion advice on “personal polishing” a.k.a. grooming. Her advice appealed to common sense, such as the need to bathe or shower, brush teeth, wear deodorant and to not wear too much cologne.
Craddock said that clothes must be ironed and stainless and that little details like missing buttons or strings must be taken care of. When it comes to the hairdo, Craddock had some “hair-don’ts” as well as general advice.
“If men have long hair, it generally hurts your chances when getting a job,” Craddock said. For women, she suggested analyzing what sort of job one is aiming for when deciding on hairstyles. “If you’re going into the corporate world, wearing your hair up—it promotes a power image. If you’re going into a more humanitarian field, such as teaching, wearing it down so it gives you a softer look that projects sincerity and kindness.”
Her final advice was that it is better to err on the side of being conservative when interviewing for a job—a common theme presented throughout the night.
The final guest speaker addressed how to make a work-appropriate wardrobe on a limited budget. Michelle Price, an assistant professor of retail merchandising at Ohio University, discussed the importance of fit over brand name. She said that many women fall victim to “vanity sizing” when a more expensive brand makes the sizes of its clothes smaller to make women feel better about themselves.
“Don’t let this break your bank account,” Price said. “The numbers mean nothing. There is no national standardization in women’s clothing sizes.”
With this thought in mind, she stressed shopping at less expensive venues, such as Target, TJ Maxx and Wal-mart and to really take the time to try on many different sizes and items until a perfect fit is found.
There were some items she suggested not cutting corners on, however. The “investment pieces” she suggested were a nice blazer, shoes and pen. Finally, she stressed the importance that small details, such as bags or scarves, can have when dressing for success.
After some humorously delivered quick tips compiled by AWC that reiterated much of the previous advice, the projection screen slowly rose, the spotlight brightened and the actual runway show began to display the fashion tips in the flesh.
With Christina Aguilera, Aerosmith and “Shake Your Groove Thing” blasting in the background, the 10 models strutted their business-ready selves down the runway. Brandon Long wore a classic black suit, a crisp, white collared shirt and red tie as he mimed shaking hands with a future employer while Courtney Miller’s black heels took her down the runway in a grey and pink striped pant suit.
Andrew Speicher was a bit more casual, wearing no tie with his black suit and blue shirt with navy stripes. Model Meredith Jensen wore a tan suit over a white collared shirt with matching tan stripes and hair swept back from her face. With a black suit and strikingly blue tie, Nick Stewart impressed as he danced at the end of the runway. The show took a more casual turn with Stephanie Mislevy’s black capris and green vertical-striped shirt, set off by her coral heels.
Nearing the end of the 10-minute runway portion of the night, Tyler Gray decided to stray from his surname and wear a blue suit and blue and purple tie, along with black shoes—a choice made by all the other male models at the show as well. Melanie Barnes wore a flattering black and white striped dress with black heels and short-sleeved sweater. Alan Levin sported charcoal-colored pants, a red collared shirt and a purple tie while he walked jacket-less down the runway. Finally, Jaclyn Lipp ended the show wearing black capris with a white and black sweater adorned with bejeweled buttons and black heels.
AWC President, Tashira Tierney-Houze said she felt the show was a success.
“The speakers gave some really great information and worked off of each other’s tips. The models also demonstrated exactly what the speakers said,” Tierney-Houze said excitedly. “This was an awesome turnout, too—much better than last year.”