2019 Gumbo final - Book - Page 30
First Impressions
Learning How to Dress
to Impress
ob interviews are important, especially for college
students looking to start out in their dream career. With
all the preparation you’ve done with school and building
your resume, the last thing you want is to lose out on a
great opportunity because you didn’t dress properly for
the interview.
The Dress for Success Fashion Show hosted by the Office of
Diversity and Inclusion within the E.J. Ourso College of Business
prepares students for the professional world by showing them the
do’s and don’ts of professional attire so they can make a great first
impression.
The fall 2018 event marked the fourth Dress for Success show
since it started in 2014. It is an annual event held in the Business
Education Complex Rotunda, but the 2016 show was canceled
because of the flooding in Baton Rouge that summer.
Diversity and Inclusion Director for the Office of Business Student
Success Angela Guidry came up with the idea for a fashion show
featuring business clothes following a discussion with an accounting
student on the difference between business casual and business
professional clothing.
“We also wanted to make sure the students were prepared and
were able to make that great first impression for their job interview,
because that’s a big part of it,” Guidry said. “The moment you walk
in, people are looking at you and your appearance.”
The outfits are pulled from either department stores or stores that
specialize in work-wear. In the past, stores like Talbot’s, Jos. A.
Bank and Banana Republic have provided clothes for the Dress for
Success Show. This year’s show included clothes from White House
Black Market, Dillard’s and JC Penney. Guidry said it’s important for
them to feature a good balance of options for men and women in
the show.
The show highlights the variety of options for students to make
the task of shopping for a professional outfit less daunting. Models
walked down the runway in purple, yellow, pink and bright blue,
proving there’s more than just the plain black, gray and blue clothes
that may come to mind when you think of businesswear. Even in the
more conservative business professional outfits, a pop of color or a
faint pattern on a shirt or tie can make the look more interesting and
well- put together.
The models for the show are mostly students from the College of
Business, so they get to put their Dress for Success skills to use.
Guidry said the models get to have some input on what they wear in
the show because it’s important they feel confident and can exude
that confidence when they’re walking in the show.
“I look for a lot of really simple things, like right now I have on
just a navy dress, but with something kind of funky about it,” said
marketing senior and Dress for Success model Symone Lacour.
“I like to be daring sometimes with color but keep it simple at the
same time.”
Guidry said the difference between dressing business casual
and business professional can all come down to how the outfit
is layered. A business jacket like a blazer can take almost any
business look from casual to professional. She said it’s important for
students to go into any interview dressed in a business professional
style, even if the day-to-day wear for employees is more casual.
“Get the dress for success part done and out of the way,” Guidry
said, “so you can focus on doing the research on the company and
preparing yourself for those interview questions that are going to
come your way.”
Story // Michelle Gauchet
Photo // Reveille Photographer
Design // Catherine Carpenter
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