It’s personal

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

I was so happy to stumble upon this article in the Wall Street Journal, “The Relentless Rise of Power Jeans: World Leaders and Executives Wear Them (Mostly Well); How to Get Denim Right.”

I love, love, love to wear jeans, and for nine or ten months out of the year I wear them pretty much every day.

While I know that a lot of some people are going to might disagree with me on this, I believe that jeans can have a place in the workplace and other professional environments, and that they don’t have to compromise your image. In fact, worn well, I think they can enhance your image and allow you to make a statement.

I always wear dark jeans because they are dressier and I think they just look nicer, and for networking and other professional situations that don’t require a suit or even dress, skirt, or pants, I like to pair them with a dressy top and heels, or maybe a sweater, suede jacket, and a pair of boots in the wintertime. I like boot cut and trouser cut jeans that allow for a heel and still have a nice leg that’s not too tight or casual looking.

“Power jeans are increasingly common in high-ranking business and political circles. Indeed, jeans are now a legitimate part of the global power-dress lexicon, worn to influential confabs where the wearers want to signal they’re serious—but not fussy—and innovative.

The look started with the young but has crossed into gray-haired circles. In preparation for a meeting with the U.S. president of Swiss watchmaker IWC, Larry Seiden, a 56-year-old fine-watch collector from San Jose, Calif., bought a pair of black Agave jeans from a high-end boutique. “They tailored them for me and I have to tell you, I really love them,” he says. “Now I’m thinking of getting another pair in blue denim.”

The author goes on to talk about where jeans can have a place, and where they may not be so appropriate.

“Jeans are recruiting new fans among even dressy executives…chosen well, jeans can suggest the wearer is confident and modern. Traditionally cut blue jeans carry a whiff of the laborer about them, so denim on a leader suggests a willingness to roll up the sleeves and dig in. There’s also something of the rebel in a pair of jeans. In the boardroom, that can read as creative.

But jeans must be carefully paired with a pressed shirt and good shoes to be elevated to business class. And some industries haven’t (yet) become open to denim as power wear. Banks and accounting-firm boardrooms, for instance, remain decidedly woolen. New York-based career adviser Jonscott Turco says jeans are generally a “no-brainer” in the media, manufacturing and creative industries, but not in financial services and law firms.

Power jeans may best be left to the executives in mixed-rank groups. Being a junior person wearing jeans in a room full of pinstripes could spell “youthful blunder.” Perhaps the best rule is that of the high-priced boutique: If you have to ask, you can’t afford to wear them.”

The WSJ article provides some excellent tips on how to get jeans right in the workplace:

“…getting power jeans right involves lots of no’s. No distressed jeans at work. No metal studs. No acid washes. No lavish embroidery. No boot cut. No skinny. No pedal pushers, shorts or cutoffs. No baggy high-rise. No super-low-rise. No holes. And no fussy ironing.”

If you want to wear jeans, I think you can in certain situations. Just like with anything you’re going to wear in a professional environment, be sure that they fit well and are flattering – and not tight! Have them tailored if you need to.

Your professional wardrobe always requires thought, care, and investment. Denim is no exception!

Tagged as: Attire, Get a life, I work in HR, It's personal, Stephanie A. Lloyd, Yes I am actually being serious

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