According to a recent study, the average UK woman spends £1042 a year on clothes, owns 95 items of clothing, and yet only wears 59% of them (the Great British Wardrobe Report by Ariel, 2017). What’s more, we spend 100 hours a year deliberating over what to wear! As a top London PA and secretarial recruitment agency, we’d love to help people save time and money choosing clothes, so today, we’ll take a look at the work wardrobe.
Ditch what you don’t wear
Whether you work in a PA job or as an office manager, the last thing you want is to spend ages deciding what to wear for work every morning! So, the first thing you need to do is limit your choices. Do a wardrobe clear-out and if you don’t wear it—ditch it!
Don’t forget to ditch them responsibly though. In the UK, a staggering 350,000 tonnes of clothes are sent to landfill every year! Instead, consider donating them to charity or to someone who needs them. For those in busy PA jobs, saving time on choosing can be a great way to save time that could be better spent elsewhere.
Create a work uniform
The easiest way to save time thinking what to wear every day is creating a “work uniform”. This means considering your particular job, the office dress code, and your personal style—and creating a “uniform” that you can wear every day, with slight variations. For example, if you work in a top London PA job, your uniform might be a nice top, an optional blazer, smart trousers, and heels. If you work in a receptionist job at a casual office, your uniform might be jeans, a pretty shirt, a jumper, and brogues.
Mix and match the items
Once you’ve decided what your personal uniform is, ensure you have enough of each item in your wardrobe to mix-and-match. When doing this, you can play with colour, pattern, and style combinations so it doesn’t look like you’re wearing the same outfit every day. You might have a blouse in every colour or jumpers in different styles. If you work in a manager job, you might want to buy formal and casual versions to suit the range of events you often attend.
Vary it up
To keep it interesting, you can vary your “work uniform” outfits by switching your bag, jewellery, accessories, or hair style a few times a week, or even every day. This way, it will seem like you always look different and unique—even though you’re essentially wearing the same thing every day! This is ideal if you work in client-facing roles such as receptionist jobs, where you don’t want clients or customers to think you wear the same outfit every day.
Balance it
To create a work wardrobe you’ll actually wear, you need to choose clothes that balance your personal comfort level with the level of smartness that your office requires. You also need to balance a professional look with displaying your personality. To achieve this balance, it usually means having a mix of formal, casual, professional, and relaxed items to cover a range of workplace events depending on your role.
For more tips on workplace clothing etiquette, stay tuned to the Love Success blog. If you’re hoping to find your next temp or permanent PA job, get in touch with the team at Love Success today.
Love Success is a leading PA and secretarial recruitment agency in London.
Our recruiters can help you find secretarial jobs, office support jobs, and top PA jobs in London.
View our latest job opportunities here
PA Jobs l Executive Assistant Jobs l Office Support Jobs l Top PA Jobs
Secretarial Jobs l Marketing & PR Jobs l HR Jobs l Finance Jobs