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Returning to Work – Wardrobe Anxiety

If you have had a career break, returning to the workplace can be a daunting thought. Are your skills up to date? Is your childcare reliable? How will you get out of the house on time? What should you wear?

What should you wear? Yes, that’s a question that women returners often torture themselves with, and because they feel it is a trivial concern, they do not share their insecurities with anyone else. If this is you, then let me help you – and nobody else needs to know!

First up, try and get a feel for how your co-workers dress. Are they ultra smart power dressers or is it permanent dress down day? The truth is likely to be somewhere in the middle, which is actually the biggest challenge. Where men can use chinos as their standard “smart casual” attire, women often strike an uneasy compromise with frumpy skirts and trousers that they would never usually wear.

If you’ve been mooching about in scruffy jeans and crocs for the last few years, then it is a big jump to power suits and padded shoulders! Think about what you feel comfortable wearing – trousers or skirts? Blouses with buttons or a pull-on top? For most items there is a smarter version, so you will blend in to the corporate environment without feeling trussed up and unnatural. Try to avoid having everything labelled “Dry Clean Only”. It’ll drive you nuts, eat up the time when you are off work and cost you a fortune!

If your new job really does mean looking smarter than smart, then a jacket is a must. You’d be amazed how an average outfit can be taken up a notch with a great jacket. Even if you never wear it, you’ll want to hang it on your chair to mark your territory!

If your workplace is more casual, then you may feel you have more options. Be wary however, of dressing down too far. Your clothes need to be practical, clean and in good repair or else you will look as if you aren’t serious about your work. For a large number of jobs jeans are a no no, but you won’t go far wrong with black trousers and a range of nice tops.

If you are freelancing or working for yourself, then consider the image you want to portray. If your business is creative – fashion, web design or marketing for example, then you have to look the part as part of your company’s branding. This doesn’t mean forcing yourself into the latest offering from Miss Selfridge, but putting together a look that says you care.

All of this is great advice, but how do you actually put it into practice? Here are 6 tips to help you through:

1. Do not shop when you are feeling fat/miserable/lacking confidence. You will hate everything and feed the insecurities that you already have.
2. Do not try to replicate great outfits from your past. Even if the shops still stocked Lycra bodysuits, time, fashion and your body have moved on.
3. Do some research before you go out. There are plenty of online blogs that will help with style tips, and they are especially valuable if you are still getting used to a new body shape after a baby or weight loss/gain. You might even consider a session with an image consultant if your budget will stretch to it.
4. Take a really trusted friend, or better still a digital camera. Try on lots of outfits – even ones you think are not going to suit you, and take pictures. Be brave with colour and colour combinations. When you have a good selection on the camera go for a coffee (and a cake, of course!) and review them. You’ve seen them do it on TV makeover shows, and it really works. What you can’t see in the mirror in front of you, you will see on a photo. Do not buy anything until you have done this!
5. If you are still feeling unsure and are in a panic that you will look ridiculous, then you can chicken out and go for a safe option. Nobody will think any the worse of you, I promise. If your comfort zone means black trousers and a white top, then do whatever makes that first day back at work easier for you. You can assert your personality through funky shoes, bags and jewellery, and then as your confidence grows you can develop your work wardrobe.
6. My final advice comes from my Mum. All through my childhood and early teens she would say, “Stop worrying. Nobody’s looking at you!”. And she may have been right!

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