Work Appropriate for Who Featuring Hannah, the Financial Associate

Hannah

25

Registered Financial Associate

I work with investment management in the financial industry.

 I work for a small independent financial company.

Business Casual

I love dresses when it’s not too cold, but otherwise I live in skinny ankle-baring trousers with a blouse and a tailored blazer.

I love shopping on a budget so my favorite places are Express, Zara, ASOS, Dorothy Perkins, and even Old Navy! I have a few staple pieces from J.Crew because their Blazers are incomparable!

I started out wearing really plain Jane, ill fitting outfits because I thought I had no other choice. It took me years to develop a style that is professional but represents me as well. I keep my outfits neutral colored for the most part, but I am a colorful person so I like to incorporate color in a necklace, scarf, blouse, or a jacket. I think you can get away with the sort of “louder” pieces if the rest of your outfit is pretty subdued. I have at least 15 patterned blazers which is probably overkill, but they keep me happy and are very “me”.

Since a lot of what I do entails with meeting with clients face to face, I would say no leggings and no oversized sweaters. (Which by the way, are my favorite weekend clothes!) It’s tempting to want to wear leggings because they can look like pants from far away sometimes, but I don’t think they are appropriate for my office, as they are a little to casual. Also while oversized sweaters are the best invention ever, they can give off a relaxed, effortless vibe which is not the vibe you want to give off in a fast paced and uptight industry like finance.

I would say the best advice I received was to not feel like I needed to wear the standard, ill fitting suits that you are tempted to buy right out of college so that you have something “professional”. Dressing professionally certainly doesn’t mean you should compromise your personal style, it’s about finding ways to polish your style to make it appropriate for your industry. Your outfit tells a lot about you, so you want it to convey the right message!

I would play it as safe as possible at first. There’s no downside to overdressing – it shows you take your new job seriously! Once you have been there for awhile and are settled, look around and take notes on what the fashion culture is in the office.