I attended a conference over the weekend with the usual panels, Q&A, networking session, and obligatory post-event happy hour. What was unusual was the choice of outfits among my fellow attendees that seemed to pass for business casual. Emphasis on the casual.
Their attire struck me as unusual not because I could have babysat most of them and therefore am generationally sartorially out-of-touch, but because the school that I attend is very career-oriented. It encourages students to obtain internships and attend networking events within the first weekend on campus. Consequently, the undergraduates with whom I attend school are networkers on steroids. So it surprised me when I walked into the conference center and the first two women I saw were wearing blazers, but had decked out their lower halves with shorts and a mini skirt respectively. Granted they were wearing black tights, but when you see hemlines that high, they turn heads.
Most of the young men women at the conference nailed it and looked every bit the yo-pro, but there were certain minor things that I felt compelled to tell my young friends are still not appropriate at a professional event. Things like "hooker heels"-- 5 inch heels representing every color of Tropical Skittles that sound so plastic everyone knows you bought them at Forever 21-- or shoulder-grazing earrings and ironic hairbows. I love me some early Madonna and fully believe that you should "Express Yourself," but there is a fine line between personal self-expression and just too personal.
Bro-pros, you don't have much to worry about in this department because it's pretty hard to screw up your uniform (unless you have a thing for deep Vs or don't own an iron). So here are some of my biggest (female) offenders:
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