Wow, it has been 7 days since my last post and my mentor, Nora, has pointed this out to me, subtly a few days back.
So let’s get this ball rolling shall we?
This time around, my thoughts have brought me to my wardrobe.
You see, I’d like to think that I have a rather decent sense of dressing.
I ADORE fashion.
Ties, coats, sports jackets, tuxedoes, shirts, oxfords, wingtips, bracers, bowler hats, wayfarers, pinstripes, leather belts, sling bags… the whole shebang.
I constantly get colleagues asking me why I dress the way I dress when all you can wear to the office is a simple tee and a pair of jeans.
I reply, “Because I can.”
I love being formal.
A crisp white french-cuff shirt under a black slim-cut single breasted suit jacket accompanied with a nicely folded white handkerchief in the breast pocket and a matching pair of trousers, tailored to fall perfectly above the rim of the black laced-up leather shoes.
Peeking through the shirt cuff is a shiny pair of silver cufflinks and a black leather-strapped wristwatch with a white face.
A double knotted slim black satin tie that sits perfectly still thanks to a ½ inch shiny silver tie bar.
Hair trimmed and slicked back, face clean shaven with a dash of aftershave, a pair tortoiseshell Ray-Ban Clubmaster resting on the bridge of the nose and the perfect smile on the face to finish the look.
To me, all that I’ve written above reads like a steamy scene in one of the books you hide from your parents back home.
But of course it comes with a price.
Literally.
I burn a hole through my wallet whenever I go shopping.
And when I see people breaking certain fashion faux pas, I turn anal.
Especially when it comes to the belt not matching the shoes.
A fellow ex-colleague had the liberty of being greeted by me with a “Your belt does not match your shoes.”
Seriously! C’mon! Brown shoes, brown belt; black shoes, black belt! How hard can that be?
*deep breath*
Okay, so.
I dress the way I do because it gives me confidence.
I feel good when I look good. I have had people telling me, “Wow! You look like a manager. Even THE manager doesn’t look as good as you!”
I’ve had colleagues joking with our juniors by telling them that I am their manager and they took it seriously because of the way I looked.
So, how bad can that be? You get a free boost of confidence, you get great comments and it helps you through the day.
And eventually one day, someone might just think you’re worthy enough for that managerial position just because you look the part.
By the way, if you wanna know how I dress, just refer to GQ, I bought a year’s subscription through my iPad and I get all my tips from there.
A big thanks to Kel Li for helping me improve on my first draft.
