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The Three B's of Dress

Written by: Dia Sutton

Article Overview: Dress and grooming does matter in the work place. If you want the job, look the part. If you want the promotion, look promotable. If you want respect, dress in a respectful manner.

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The Three B's of Dress

A few days ago, I was at a shoe store in Maryland. The young woman who waited on me showed an awful lot of cleavage. In other words her “boobs” were exposed. I can imagine my husband was amused at such a site but I was appalled. So in hopes of helping young people improve their professional imagine I am sharing the following information.

There are three things we do not want to see when you provide services for your organization – your boobs, your belly and your butt. These are the three Bs to avoid in the workplace dress. For over twenty years I have talked about the prevention of sexual harassment. While the courts have said that provocative dress is not an excuse for sexually harassing someone, when you reveal the three Bs in the work environment, it can create other problems. People may not take you as seriously. People may see you more of a sexual object as opposed to a skillful and knowable employee.

While many employers can no longer tell employees how to dress, I can advise employees about what not to wear. Dress and grooming does matter in the work place. If you want the job, look the part. If you want the promotion, look promotable. If you want respect, dress in a respectful manner.

Below are some general grooming no-nos

• Exposing the three B’s
• Plunging necklines
• Bare bellies
• “Cracks” showing
• See-through clothing
• Clothing too tight and restrictive
• Spandex
• T-shirts with messages
• Clothing not pressed
• Dirty teeth
• Bad breath
• Body odor
• Dirty and/or unkempt hair
• Dirty fingernails and/or chipped fingernail polish
• Smell of smoke
• Heavy scents and heavy makeup
• Big jewelry and/or too much jewelry
• Flip-flops

It is important to look at the effect appearance has on you and others.

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Home > Human-Resources > Dia Sutton > The Three Bs of Dress
Article Tags: Professional dress, sexual harassment and dress, what not to wear, workplace etiquette

About the Author: Dia Sutton
RSS for Dia's articles - Visit Dia's website

Dianne Floyd Sutton is President of Sutton Enterprises, author, trainer, educator, expert witness, coach and actor. She has over twenty years of combined experience in Human Resource Development (HRD) processes, Diversity, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), and Communication training.  Sutton Enterprises (SE) is a full service human resource development organization which offers a variety of Human Resource Development (HRD)services, i.e. training, keynotes, facilitations, EEO interventions, organizational development, etc.  For more information about SE go to www.suttonenterprises.org

Dianne Sutton has the skills to create a safe learning environment where diverse participants are able to ask questions, experiment with new behaviors and development new skills. She also has the ability to present models and techniques in a straight forward, clear and humorous manner.  She started her career as a mathematics instructor in the St. Louis, Missouri Public School System while attending graduate school at Washington University. Before founding Sutton Enterprises in 1987, she held a variety of positions at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in training and employee development.

Her most recent publication is Workplace Etiquette: A Guide to Thriving and Surviving in Today’s Workplace.  In 2010 Dianne was awarded the Spencer Logan Leadership Award from the Training Officers Consortium (TOC) in Washington, DC.  This is the organization's highest honor.  For more information go to www.trainingofficers.org

Dianne is on a civility crusade as Ms. Etiquette Ms. Etiquette offers a down-to-earth, in-depth presentation peppered with real life examples and appropriate humor.  She demystifies the rules and gives insights into behaviors that increase respect, collaboration and trust in the workplace.  Check out Ask Ms. Etiquette for answers to questions about appropriate etiquette in the workplace at www.suttonenterprises.org



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