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Spring and Summer: A Men's Guide to What to Wear to Work

Spring and summer bring to mind images of love, vacations, walks on the beach and evenings by the pool. But you need to get a job in an office. Or you already have a job and you want to move up the ladder of success. What to wear? Contrary to the popular myth, unless you are in a glamour or very artistic industry there is no such thing as summer work casual. You can, though, fine tune your attire for the summer season though. Here are a few ideas.

Shirts

First, unless you are a pediatrician, a chemist or a barber – ban short sleeve shirts from your spring and Summer wardrobe. Long sleeves are the only acceptable style. A variety of fabrics and colors are acceptable. Pure cotton shirts are best (I prefer pima cotton but oxford cloth and poplin are popular too). Polyester can get warm. The collar is more a function of formality and style. English spread collar is the most formal. The American straight collar in the next most formal. The button-down collar is the least formal. Tab and collar pin styles are traditional but on again – off again styles. As for colors – white and pale blue are best. A fine muted blue or gray stripe is next best. Pale yellow and pink are best left to preppy outfits such as law firms and white shoe Wall Street enclaves. French cuffs are best left to the more senior executives and the power brokers.

Ties

Every spring men put on a whole rain forest of bright splashy ties. Avoid the trend. Go with small patterns (neat diamonds or circles) or regularly spaced wide stripes (regimental or old school) in natural colors. While darker colors are more popular in fall and winter, spring and summer open the door to: yellows, purples, reds (vs. burgundy), sky blue (vs. navy) and salmon or pink. Big tropical prints, words, graphics or pictures (with the horsy exception of very small snaffles or stirrups) and heavy fabrics are OUT for spring and summer. Think light weight silk and cotton madras vs. wools and heavy drapery fabric silk. Now that MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson has shunned bow ties – as have the leadership of Nation of Islam – perhaps you should take a wait and see attitude on the classic too.

Suits

The cut for spring and summer suits are the same as for fall and winter suits. The wools should be lighter weight. The colors are the same: medium gray, gray pinstripe, navy blue and blue chalk stripe. Stay away from plaids and more fancy stripes unless you have at least six basic suits in the combinations noted above. The suits should be either two or three button depending on your build. Trousers can be either pleated or flat front depending on build but must be properly hemmed with cuffs. No spring or summer vests. Cotton suits of tan, olive and navy are acceptable once you are in the work force. The question of seersucker should be based on observation of those around you at least one level above on the corporate ladder. Most likely they will fit in on Wall Street or at preppy law firms. Finally, the blazer and trousers is not the spring and summer replacement for the suit. Keep them for the country club and dinner parties.

Shoes

There is no such thing as fall and winter vs. spring and summer shoes for men. Perhaps there should be but there is not. No white shoes except for classic bucks to wear to the club or parties. No sandals with suits and no woven leather shoes - ever. They are just too tacky for words. The classics are for year-round wear: cap toed laced shoes in black and dark brown, tassel loafers (expensive dress ones – not the outlet store types) in black and dark brown, expensive dress loafers of either the penny or snaffle style or the European-styled monk strap shoe in black and dark brown with the buckle on the side (very popular with non-Asian businessmen in Asia by the way). Shoes should be well maintained and polished at all times. No clunky shoes, no flip flops, no sandals, no boat shoes and no white plastic loafers – regardless of what the salesmen say. And if your shoes look more like running shoes than dress shoes then they are wrong for both interviews and work unless you aspire to a career in law enforcement.

Belts

Two belts for suits. Classic leather, thin with brass or silver metal small buckles in black and dark brown to match the shoes. Period. No white. No cute logo belts. And always wear a belt (unless you choose to wear classic braces also called suspenders – and never clip on ones and never with a belt).

Underwear

You are a grown-up now. Pick your own underwear. But in the spring and summer you must wear a WHITE tee shirt under you shirt. No one wants to see your nipples or you sweat stains. As for socks - wear dark ones. They should be black or navy blue or dark gray depending on your suit. No white or tan or creatively colored socks. And unless you are a genius or you work for the most preppy of Wall Street law firms – socks are required at all times.

Putting it all together

Wearing a crisp cotton shirt, a spring toned but traditional tie, a classic suit in light weight fabric, traditional shoes and belt and the right underwear will not necessarily get you hired or get you promoted once you are employed. But it will not hurt you either. Follow these steps on spring and summer attire and you will have an advantage over 90% of men whether you want to get hired or be considered for the big promotion.

George F. Franks, III is the founder and President of Franks Consulting Group - a Bethesda, Maryland based management consulting and leadership coaching practice. He is a member of the International Coach Federation and the Institute of Managmeent Consultants (USA). Franks Consulting Group is on the web at:

http://franksconsultinggroup.com

Are You a Leader or a Manager?

Manager

• A good day is one when you can get all your paperwork done.
• A manager looks forward to meetings with the boss and peers.
• A manager checks e-mail frequently throughout the day.
• A manager will visit customers when required by the higher-ups.
• A manager spends time with the front line people who support and talk to customers only when absolutely necessary.
• A manager gets a personnel forms in complete and on time.
• A manager volunteers for personnel, quality and event-related task forces.
• A manager eats lunch in the office to catch up on e-mail and paperwork.
• A manager never misses a conference call.
• A manager gets objectives and accomplishments into the boss before they are due.
• A manager looks forward to company outings and retreats as an opportunity to get face time with the boss.
• A manager delegates customer calls to others.
• A manager spends more than 50% of the time in the office.
• A manager notes what peers and subordinates do as it relates to company policy.
• A manager is up to date on company news and the latest organization chart.
• A manager always sits toward the front for company broadcasts and major announcements.
• A manager keeps performance objectives on hand.
• A manager networks within the company or corporation.
• A manager encourages subordinates to take internal company courses and programs.
• A manager relishes keeping on top of who got promoted, transferred and fired – and why.
• A manager loves to keep on top of the latest office politics.
• A manager will kill to play golf with the boss or the boss’s boss.
• A manager wears all forms of company pins, hats and other paraphernalia and decorates the office with the same.
• A manager reads the latest business book provided by human resources or the boss.
• A manager seeks out those who think like him or her and have a similar background or education when hiring new people.

Leader

• A good day is one when you spend time with customers and your front line employees.
• A leader looks forward to meetings with customers, competitors and front line workers.
• A leader checks e-mails at the beginning and the end of the day at the most.
• A leader lives to visit customers and learn from them.
• A leader spends time with staff people only when absolutely necessary.
• A leader spends time developing subordinates and mentoring people rather than obsessing over paperwork required by human resources or personnel.
• A leader creates and leads task forces to get things done in a timely fashion that are focused on action and measurable results.
• A leader eats meals with customers, competitors, industry leaders and front line workers.
• A leader schedules conference calls only when absolutely necessary and keeps them short and to the point.
• A leader makes sure the boss knows what he or she has accomplished through the significance and impact of those accomplishments.
• A leader creates outings and retreats as opportunities to learn from customers, competitors and front line workers.
• A leader will drop everything to deal with a customer personally.
• A leader spends more than 75% of their time with customers, industry leaders and front line workers.
• A leader could care less about company policy but lives by a higher code of personal ethics and standards.
• A leader could care less about office politics and organization charts but knows who to go to when things need to get done for customers or front line workers.
• A leader sees company broadcasts and major announcements as a waste of time unless he or she is the one presenting about how to move the company forward.
• A leader always knows their mission and objectives but does not need to have them in writing.
• A leader networks with other leaders, visionaries and innovators outside of the company and even outside the industry.
• A leader encourages subordinates to constantly learn and to look for new challenges.
• A leader fires those who do not perform and promotes those who deliver real results.
• A leader disdains office politics but may be active in real politics.
• A leader will kill to play golf with a customer, competitor or front line worker.
• A leader wears what is appropriate to the occasion whether it is the first day on the job or the day he or she leaves for the next challenge.
• A leader does not need an office but rather a mission and objectives and can work anywhere at any time.
• A leader writes books and articles about the next big thing in their field or any other topic related to innovation or change.
• A leader seeks out those who are smarter, with different backgrounds and with differing views than himself or herself.
  

Are you a manager or are you a leader?

George F. Franks, III is the President of Franks Consulting Group a Bethesda, Maryland management consulting and leadership coaching practice. His web site is http://franksconsultinggroup.com. His monthly e-zine is http://careerandleadership.com. George can be contacted at gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com