How to Dress..When You Have Absolutely No Idea What the Dress Code Is

Dressing for business functions can be difficult...especially when you aren't quite sure what the dress code will be.

This week I've been attending Social Media Week and since it's a conference, and I've never been to one before, I was pretty stumped on what to wear. But there was no need to stress.

Here are my rules for dressing for things when you're unsure of the dress code:

1. Do a little research
    The first this I did was go to the Social Media Week website and look to see if they had any pictures from past events. They did! It was easy to see from the pictures that the attire was definitely professional.

2. If that fails...try to find a bit of a middle ground
    You'll never be embarrassed for dressing too professionally but you will be embarrassed for dressing too casually. If you're worried about overdressing you can always wear a cardigan instead of a blazer or dress pants and a simple, nice top. You don't need to be wearing a business suit but you definitely shouldn't be wearing jeans or a cotton t-shirt either.

3. Keep it classy
    I shouldn't have to say this...but I will anyways: no matter what you wear, make sure it's appropriate. Not just business appropriate, but appropriate in general. Don't wear low cut tops, spaghetti straps, short shorts, have your bra showing, wear a t-shirt with anything silly on it, or just generally call any inappropriate attention to yourself. Notice how high my neckline was? I kept it that way all week. Fashion is fun and can help you define yourself but it should never take away from your work and the perception of professionalism that you send out.

4. Think about all aspects of your appearance
    See my little bunny iphone case? Do you think that's business appropriate? I didn't, so I decided to take it off at the conference each day. I also took other steps to make sure everything about me was appropriate as well. I changed my phone and laptop backgrounds so that they were more "neutral." It's really not professional to have a picture of you with your friends at a party every time you open your laptop or check your phone. Instead of possibly finding yourself in an awkward situation where someone ends up judging you and your professionalism, it's easiest to just keep everything on your technology neutral.

It may sound exhausting to put so much worry into your appearance but presentation is very important. Would you rather risk being seen as immature or irresponsible or take 5 extra minutes to make sure that it's your work that's being judged and not you? Take those extra minutes, plan ahead and you can save yourself embarrassment in the future.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Outfit Planner, Appropriate Dresser, Secret Owner of a Bunny Iphone Case