Summertime and Your Executive Presence

We have spoken before about executive presence and one of the prongs to forming a good reputation as a leader involves your looks. Making sure you look appropriate goes beyond just looking nice, but rather it helps increase your gravitas by showing colleagues and partners that you have enough insight and judgment to do what’s expected of your position.  More importantly, when you look put together and polished, people will assume it’s the same with your work product.  I will always remember an outside training I did a few years ago with other local legal aids.  One attorney made a side comment about how you could always tell who worked at a certain legal aid because those attorneys always looked disheveled and inappropriately dressed.  This wasn’t some fancy Big Law partner making a judgment but rather a fellow poverty law attorney.  The comment helped me realize that how I presented myself in my attire also impacted my agency and clients because, whether I wanted to be or not, I’m viewed as an extension of my work. After that, I became more conscious about my clothing choices.  And being more aware of clothing options is why I have a love/hate relationship with Chicago summers.

Chicago Summers are so pretty and a great reprieve from the harsh winters, but commuting in public transportation can be brutal because of the heat (and mass of people). Around this time, I stop reaching for my all black everything and add lighter pieces to help with the heat so that I don’t feel like death by the time I reach my office.

However a trap we may fall for is that we only think about being comfortable because the heat is so harsh. We then become too comfortable and opt for pieces that just aren’t right for work. A few years ago I was at a presentation with a person who wore a cotton dress—except the cotton dress was the exact same bathing suit cover-up I had purchased that month. Bathing suit cover-ups are not appropriate for work, even if you think you can make it work! They’re too short, usually too low-cut, and also they’re bathing suit cover-ups; that’s why they’re so comfy.  There are plenty of cotton dresses available that help alleviate the heat, but still look appropriate for work.

Start switching to lighter blends now that can also be easily layered once you’re in the office (because another hassle is that it’s sweltering outside, but frigid in the office). I also use thinner slip-on shoes to commute because I keep many of my work-appropriate shoes in the office to help with wear and tear, though I make an effort to not commute in flip flops…

The other important thing to do as you gear up for summer is to try on your clothes now! If you have some go-to pieces that you wore last summer and expect to pull out in the next few weeks, make sure it still fits. There’s nothing worse than thinking you’re going to wear something only to realize the day-of that it’s no longer the right fit for you.  No one wants to start the day that frazzled!

Finally make sure you avoid the other warm weather pitfalls of being too tight, too sheer, too short. Summer is about skin, but not in the office.