Dress How You Want to be Addressed

If you were walking down the road (go along with me here) and you come across a man who is dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit and as you got closer to him you start to make out wording on the jumpsuit, it becomes clear that this is a prison jumpsuit. Do you turn and run the other direction? Let me answer that for you... HECK YES! You run as fast as your legs can take you. That man is obviously someone you never want to meet. 

I blatantly judged this fictional man based on his clothing. He could be an innocent person who was wrongly convicted of a crime but my point to this scenario is that the way you dress greatly contributes to the first impression you make.

My advice to you is to dress how you want to be addressed. 

Engineering is a male dominated field and when I first entered the industry I had to prove my capabilities. Dressing professional helped me gain respect and validate that I deserved a seat at the table with the big boys. "Dressing professional" doesn't mean boring or that I had to take my style out of my wardrobe. In fact, I actually have fun putting together looks that are classy but still full of my personality. That personality includes a lot of pink and a lot of neutrals.

Outfit details: Skirt is from Love Culture there is a similar one here, Blouse is old but the laptop case and shoes are both from Nordstrom. These lazor cut BCBGeneration heels are a work of art and because they are so versatile they play well with the other patterns.