How To Transform Your College Clothes into a Professional Wardrobe
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Classy Career Girl provides encouragement and positive advice to young professionals, students and job searchers with hectic and demanding lives. You can read more about her journey at www.classycareergirl.com. |
Today’s post is written by Maggie who is a writer and marketing gal living in Indianapolis. New to the professional world, she likes to help others ease into the career world. Off the clock, she enjoys cooking, spending time with friends, and CrossFit.
A graduating senior is tasked with many things: capstones, grad school applications, job applications, and at the top of the list: finding time to sleep!
One important thing that the typical senior doesn’t think about is transforming their college wardrobe into a professional one. You need more than jeans and a hoodie once you land a job. Once you’re a senior, start thinking about adding professional attire to your wardrobe little by little — then, by graduation day, you’ll hopefully have a collection that resembles a working wardrobe.
If you don’t plan ahead and start collecting business clothes, then you’ll probably be left with sweats, hoodies, jeans, and the occasional sparkly tank top or dress that you wear on the weekends. This leaves you out the night before a big interview, stressed, and searching for the perfect professional outfit, rather than doing your homework and researching the company. Here are five tips to get you on your way to professionalism!
1. Start with the basics.
On a college budget, it’s not reasonable to think that you can go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. However, getting a few basic items, such as black pants, a pencil skirt, a blazer, and a couple nice blouses will get you well on your way.
2. Accessorize.
Once you have the basics, a little accessorizing can add personality to your outfit — and help these basics turn into a plethora of outfit possibilities. Add a splash of color with some jewelry or a nice scarf.
3. The art of tucking it in.
Remember when I mentioned your tank tops and mini dresses? Well, you can’t wear them as is, but try tucking them into a pencil skirt and wearing a blazer over top. This allows you to transform some of the clothes you already have from college to professional style. And the best part is you can just pull off the blazer and you’re ready for a night on the town!
4. Find the bargains.
When it comes to professional clothes, even the basics get a little pricey. Try secondhand shops or browsing the clearance racks. You never know what you might find, and you will be glad you looked (your wallet will, too)!
5. Don’t forget to have fun.
Sure, you are a professional now, but don’t forget what makes you unique. It might be those cat eye shades or a French-style beret. Whatever it is, try to keep your fun fashion pieces. If you can’t work them into a professional wardrobe, then at least you can wear them during the weekend!
