How to Look Professional in the Office - Even if You're Wearing Jeans

Today's office environment reflects an increasingly casual society with more and more 9-to-5ers donning jeans and even sneakers. But with so many workplaces now allowing what was once taboo, what does looking professional even mean now? Ultimately, it means looking confident and presentable while feeling comfortable. In more specific terms, here's how to look your best whether you rein over a corner office or a cramped cubicle:

*Groom yourself: This should be obvious advice for all educated adults, yet for as many "bed heads" I have seen, it merits repeating. Throughout my experiences as an intern at places such as The Smithsonian American Art Museum to Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, I have seen interns and full-timers who simply did not appear clean. Others, not quite as extreme, looked too frazzled to concentrate on their work (of course, they may have been frazzled BECAUSE of their work, but not many bosses want to hear about how overwhelmed you feel, anyway.) Please wash your face, brush your teeth, and tidy your hair every morning. If you prefer p.m. showers over a.m. ones, be sure that you still look refreshed by the time you arrive at the office. Otherwise, you might consider taking your showers in the morning instead. Avoid wearing anything with stains, especially on days when you have important meetings. If you are as clumsy as I am, consider keeping an extra shirt beneath your desk...just in case.

*Avoid indecent exposure: The office is not a butcher shop; your meat should not be on display. Regardless of whether they admit it or not, not many people will take you seriously if your breasts spill out of your bra, your thong makes candid appearances, and your navel is visible even when you don't lift your arms up high. You don't have to resort to ultra-conservatism (I don't know of any offices that don't allow you to expose your collarbone, for instance), but it's wise to cover more than you show. If you wear a clingy top, opt for looser pants. If you MUST wear a skirt that falls above the knee, be absolutely sure you have on opaque pantyhose. No matter how you behave after hours, dress the part of a lady at the office. As an added bonus, co-workers are less likely to sexually harass you if you dress modestly.

*Buy flattering clothes: Don't look like a little girl playing dress-up or, perhaps worse, an experimenting and insecure adolescent. Your clothes should not be too big or too loose. They should fit close enough to your body that they just barely graze your skin but don't stick to it. This means no major wedgies, uni-boob effects, muffin tops, or "camel toe." Colors should brighten up your face, rather than drain it and make you look tired. If you look tired, people may assume you don't have the time or energy to get a project done right. Don't ruin your reputation because you regularly wear shirts that make you look sallow instead of alert. Red and purple are always cheery, acceptable colors, so you might shop for pieces in shades that suit you.

*Create your own uniform: If you don't have the time or imagination to put together a new outfit every morning, consider "pre-packaging" an office ensemble so you never have to think about getting dressed again. Buy several pairs of the same pants or skirts in different colors and then do the same for whatever you wish to wear on top (cardigans, camisoles, blazers, button-up shirts, etc.) Then buy two or three pairs of the same shoes, perhaps one in black and the other in brown. Getting dressed from now on will be easy. All you will have to contemplate is color coordination. If you choose a wardrobe entirely from the same color family, then you don't even have to worry about that. Purchase all jewel tones with some black to ground the colors, for example, and every combination you form will match.

*Limit the accessories: The accessories you wear to the club, a friend's birthday dinner, the beach, or the shopping mall are not necessarily office friendly. If it's big and distracting, save it for a non-professional occasion. This includes extra-large hoop earrings (the kind you can fit your hand through), giant stacks of bangles, tingling bell charms, massive millstones, and anything else that could potentially distract even your most focused colleagues. You want colleagues to notice you for your wisdom, motivation, and responsibility-not your blinking red Rudolph earrings.

*Look like you can walk: Choose shoes that make sense for the office. You likely sit at a desk for most of the day, but you certainly have to consult people and attend meetings in other cubicles, possibly on other floors or in other buildings, too. This means you have to be able to move. With that in mind, what you put over your feet is mostly up to you, so long as the shoes are not overly athletic, overly sexy, or overly frumpy (unless you have medical problems and must wear specialized shoes.) Leave your torn-up sneakers for the gym and your platform boots for your 1970s Disco themed party. No stilettos should be so tall and so skinny that you trip every other step. Opt for tame boots, flats, or manageable heels for safest bet. And, yes, this means that you should never wear Crocs with a business suit.