A man dresses professionally at work.
Courtesy | Unsplash

In an effort to raise interest and offer practical guidance about business fashion, sophomore Carlie Steele and junior Adam Gaddy are developing a digital and printed publication called “Fashion in Business” in coordination with Career Services.  

Steele and Gaddy are looking to provide students with practical advice on how to feel more comfortable about clothing choices. This guide will provide recommendations on different outfit options for men and women.

“Every career coach in the Career Services office is responsible for planning and executing an impact project each year they work in the office,” Gaddy said. “In short, impact projects are meant to either improve upon some current process within the career services office or create an entirely new resource for students and staff members to use. This year, Carlie and I wanted to create a resource to help Hillsdale students learn how to best present themselves when they begin off-campus employment.

This fashion resource will complement some of the other culture awareness training that career services currently provide including “Pathway to Professionalism” and “Dining Etiquette.” Appropriate dress and fashion advice for the business environment are not addressed in detail in these trainings, so this will provide further guidance. 

Junior Merrit Pope took part in the photoshoot for this publication. He shared that his experience with modeling for this project was both novel and enjoyable.

“I think modern fashion, especially in its day-to-day expression, is on a steady and pitiful decline,” Pope said. “Trends like athleisure and fast fashion are incredibly damaging to the contemporary conception of dressing well, and the mainstream sartorial taste in menswear is especially bad.”

Steele described how young adults can create a work-appropriate closet for when they go out into the job place. 

“Having a formula for your wardrobe makes the process less intimidating,” Steele said. “This includes having the basics: classic shirts, pants, and shoes. Once the staple clothing items are acquired, then you can move on to different clothing items that are more creative.”

Steele explained how fashion is one of the basic skills that every employee must adhere to, no matter what career they’re pursuing. 

“A lot of the time, we have a lot of very ambitious students at this school that have a lot of lofty career goals, which is awesome,” Steele said. “But in order to achieve these career goals we need to get some of the basics of fashion down. I’m hoping this will help it become a less daunting task.”

Resources explaining how and where to shop will be provided, along with links to helpful websites and coupon suggestions. According to Gaddy, the publication is particularly aimed at sophomores and juniors who are starting their first internships and seniors who are getting ready to start their first full-time job. 

“I’d encourage everyone to look through it when it’s released and I’d also urge men to stop wearing sneakers with dress pants—wear real shoes made with leather, and no rubber soles,” Pope said. 

Steele said that many college students do not have a lot of money to spend on clothes. This should not keep them from building a business wardrobe. She explained that thrift shopping is a great way to find vintage pieces and name brands for a fraction of the price.   

Steele also said that students need to be aware that there are many different types of work cultures. She recommends that students do research about their intended field of work to make sure that they do not make wrong fashion choices. 

Thinking ahead about fashion is a good thing to do while in college because you can start preparing for the workplace. Pope explained how he thinks this publication will help students to start thinking ahead. 

“I think this publication offers a starting point for people to discern a general standard for business casual in an objectively elegant manner,” Pope said.   

A great way to start research for any specific field of work is to make observations in different internships and work experiences. Seeing what people wear, and what they do not wear, will provide you with a general idea of what type of clothing culture you can expect looking down the road. 

“We want students to feel more confident when entering the workforce for the first time,” Gaddy said. “I remember preparing for my first internship, and there are plenty of stresses that come along with it apart from figuring out what to wear on your first day to make a good impression. It’s our hope that the fashion magazine, and the other professionalism guidelines getting published alongside it, will help students enter their first job confident in their professional abilities.”