Truth bomb: Regardless of what your Mom said growing up, looks do matter.

Hold up though – I’m not talking in the “one size fits all,” cookie cutter (no pun intended from picture above), plastic surgery required way. I’m talking in the attention to detail of putting YOUR best foot forward and showing up every day to make a positive impression kinda way. Are you following?

Let’s talk work style.

The absolute bottom line is – you have to wear clothes to work every day. One notch up from the bottom line is – your clothes say something about you – good, bad or indifferent. So make sure they are a differentiator, not a discriminator.

Now, I’m not talking here about what to wear for an interview – I hope that’s pretty cut and dry. I’m talking about the day in and day out style that should leave a very faint and positive impression with your colleagues, leaders, customers, etc. I’m also not here to impose my fashion sense on anyone, but there are some basic guidelines that should be followed…

1. Attention to Detail – Tailor, tailor, tailor. You could have on a million dollar suit and look like a slum if it doesn’t fit properly. (Also on that note, iron, iron, iron.)

2. When in doubt, lean more conservatively and more overdressed – This will never come around to bite you.

3. Dress to the season, but only with colors and fabrics – Flip flops and Hawaiian shirts are for the beach, fur coats and Uggs are for a winter carriage ride.

4. Designer everything says just as much as Good Will Fashions everything – Strike a balance.

5. Ensure your outfit is suit jacket ready – This rule will keep you in check and allow you to be flexible if you need to throw one on. (Speaking of…make sure you always keep one in your car/work closet.)

6. Timeless pieces never go out of style – Invest in them and embrace them. I promise it will go a long way.

I’m also an advocate of developing a piece of your style that is uniquely you. Warning: You do have to walk a fine line here. Story time:

I ran a week-long conference last summer with a group of high potential new hires straight out of college. One of the participants wore a red rose on his lapel every single day. He looked ridiculous. I finally asked him the reason, and he told me it was a way to stand out. Yup – he was correct. Right into the next season of The Bachelorette.

On the contrary, there is a guy at my office who wears a bow tie almost every day. It fits his personality to a tee, and allows him to express himself without being over the top. I’ve seen leaders come up to him and say, “Hey, I want to meet bowtie guy! I’ve heard great things about your work.” That is a conservative expression of style that could really pay off.

I’ve included some sample pictures at the end of the post with classic styles which allow for creativity without going overboard. In conclusion though, when it comes to work style – be you, but be the very best you. Let’s cheers to that, with winemelon.

Description: “I’m getting tones of watermelon in this wine…” What better and more FUN way to embrace Christmas in July than with rehydrated WINEmelon? The perfect way to kickstart happy hour on the beach house porch.

Winemelon

Ingredients:
Watermelon
Wine – Clover Hill Concord (Shout out to Mike, my wine guy at Conshohocken Fine Wine & Spirits AND a Buoy follower, who recommended the pairing. P.S. He does informative, tasty and free tastings every Friday and Saturday!)

Directions:
1. Slice watermelon into 1/4 – 1/2 inch slices.
2. Use cookie cutters (Christmas, obviously) to carve out shapes.
3. Arrange pieces on paper towel and rest another paper towel on top. Chill overnight to soak up moisture.
4. In shallow pan, pour wine over watermelon. Remove from wine right before serving.