Expertise: Fashion & Lifestyle
Jessica’s Web site
Jessica Delfino has been featured by Time Out New York as one of the city’s most stylish people. You can see her perform in “Skits ‘N’ Tits” March 10 at 10 p.m. at the Bowery Poetry Club.

There’s an expression you may or may not have heard before. It goes, “Clothes make the man”, or is it, “Every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man?” No, wait – that’s a ZZ Top song lyric. Either way, both are true — and for the ladies, too.

There is a reason soldiers, cops and firemen get free drinks at bars, and if you think it’s because they are saving people’s lives, you’re only partially correct. It’s the same reason people stare at airplane pilots with awe, and stop what they’re doing for a moment when they see a woman out in public in a wedding dress, or a man wearing a pair of tiny swimmy skivvies.

It’s a simple equation: People love fashion. Clothes are fascinating. Therefore, people in amazing clothes are downright impossible to resist.

You may not work at a job that requires you to wear a uniform, and you may not get paid to strut down a fashion runway, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have fashion expectations. Each environment develops its own typical style set, and you are required to chime in. Casual Thursdays or Denim Fridays are an example of how fashion intertwines its way into the workplace. If you work in an office where everyone wears a suit and tie, you might feel silly, or even get fired if you repeatedly show up wearing jeans and a tee shirt.

However, there are ways that you can, and should, even, add your own style to the world of workplace fashion. In a universe of grey slacks and white shirts, just the slightest adjustment can set you apart in a way that can only generally either help or hurt. Why not give it a whirl and see which one it does for your career? Bright pink and aqua shirts or ties offset grey and black suits.

And it’s ok for men to wear pink now – just ask John Waters (below, left). If you’re in a job that you don’t like and don’t plan to stick around too long, have a little fashion fun. It’ll spice up your environment and is like giving your boss a finger made of fabric — harmless, yet satisfying.

Related Posts

1. 
   
   Oil-Conscious Fashion For The Summer
2. 
   
   Functional Friday: Take Control of Your Cash Flow
3. 
   
   Suggestions to Keep The ‘Ice’ in The ‘Office’ This Summer

---