"Dressing for success" is bullshit.

Look, I’m a proud Southern liberal, so I’ve never had any qualms with espousing an unpopular opinion. But, I know this particular one is going to put a bee in a lot of your bonnets, so, gird your pantyhosed loins, because here goes:

I call bullshit on the idea of “dressing for success.”

“You’ve got to dress for success!” they say, always in an artificially chipper tone, and typically either preceding or following “The early bird gets the worm!”

I’ve heard it all my professional life. I understand it. I’ve examined it. And I reject it outright. 

Some background: I’m a corporate animal through and through. I started my career in public relations working in the business-to-business tech industry, and moved up and on to become an upwardly mobile brand marketing leader for global, multi-billion-dollar organizations. It took 12 years of focus, grit, savvy. It took sacrifice, networking, long hours.

What it didn’t take is a well-tailored skirt suit. 

One problem with this school of thought is that it attempts to tie the idea of success – which already means different things to different people – with one relatively small everyday choice. Oh, how I wish it were that easy. 

Success is a mindset, not a sartorial choice. I’ve sat in chilly interview rooms across the table from spades of graphic designers/marketing communicators/leadership program candidates – all in snappy suits and, occasionally, hosiery (Tangent: WHY are we still subjecting ourselves to this, women of the world?). Still, I’ve found their drive lacking, their sense of purpose hazy, and their confidence non-existent. 

I’ll take these personal success factors over a pair of patent leather pumps any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. 

Don’t worry… I can hear you from here. 

“But Katyyy, the way you’re dressed is the first thing that lets people know what kind of person you are!”

You can miss me with that. All it lets people know is that you live within driving distance to a Banana Republic. It says nothing about your integrity, intelligence, or mental fortitude. And if the folks doing the considering aren’t looking for those attributes and are instead making value judgments based on your attire, then, well, those are not the folks you want to invite on your personal success journey. 

The idea of so-called “power dressing,” from my brief research, seems to have found its foothold in society with the 1975 publishing of John T. Molloy’s book Dress for Success. 1975. Hailed at the time for its research-based approach, the book included the opinions and reactions of more than 15,000 executives.

An excerpt, if you will: 

““Naturally, successful dress cannot put a boob in the board room, but incorrect dress can definitely keep an intelligent, able man out.””

Speaking of boobs in the board room, the women’s version, The Woman’s Dress for Success Book, was released two years later, and included such gems as, “Sometimes this specifically involves dressing to make the right impression on men. This is not sexist.” 

1975.

Please don’t get me wrong – there is a lot from 1975 worth holding on to. Pink Floyd released their album Wish You Were Here. Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girl Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf was published. These ideas brought to life drove the world forward.

“How to pick your most important status symbols: your ties,” this gal would argue, has not. 

Yes, both versions of the book have been updated as fashions have changed, but the fashions were never the problem – the premise is. Pussy bows may have come and gone and come back again, but the idea that people should continue buying into and reinforcing the idea that judging people’s capabilities by their dress is acceptable has enjoyed continuous life.

And another thing. It’s typically, in my experience, women who’ve historically been on the receiving end of this tired trope. In a decidedly not statistically relevant poll I conducted via an Instagram story, nearly 90 percent of women who responded said they’d been told dressing for success was imperative. Meanwhile, only 50 percent of my male followers had received the same message. 

WHAT GIVES?!, you probably for sure ask. 

I’ll tell you what: subconscious bias. In fact, that’s the basis of Molloy’s books… he says it himself in the text. 

What’s more, it’s typically women sharing this “advice” with the women of the next generation, regurgitating the line someone once introduced to them and pandering to the idea that to be taken seriously, showing up and being smart, resourceful and hard working isn’t enough… we need to dress the part, too. 

In a society where women already feel pressured to look a certain way to appeal, or in some cases not appeal, to men – don’t get me started on girls’ dress codes in schools – why do we insist on breathing new life into this moldy notion?

What if we… just didn’t? 

You should dress for you, period. If wearing a collarless black blazer and cigarette pants (my personal fave) bolsters your confidence, get on it, girl. If a full suit gets you feeling psyched, by all means, don’t let me hold you back. If a SpongeBob SquarePants costume ups your determination and drive, then aye-aye, captain! 

Success comes from results. Results come from hard, smart work. Hard, smart work comes from capable people with the wherewithal to work hard and work smart. It’s that simple, and that complicated.

What it comes down to for yours truly: If I’m dressed at all, I’m dressed for success. If I’m undressed, I’m undressed for success (wink). 

“Dress for success” as a concept is dead. Let’s bury it, and replace it with an idea more suited for today’s society and work culture. Maybe, “dress to do your best,” if we insist on a pithy rhyme? How about, “clothes that make pros?” Or, “goals before soles,” for the shoe lovers?

And while we’re at it, maybe we can take a good hard look at “The early bird gets the worm!” too. 

[Editor’s note: we love the organization Dress for Success and wholeheartedly support the cause of helping women find clothing they feel good in as they re-enter the workforce.