Seminars, I don’t know how I feel about them. If they are free, they often are too much sales pitch, too little real tangible interesting content. Great for networking for sure. But I suppose it’s mandatory to at least attend a few per year just for networking purposes.
The autumn seminar season has begun, and my first pick was a HYPE 2014 The Digital Revolution seminar by Gartner and a few other partners. It was pitched as the “Event for REAL future leaders” for ICT and business management.
This was not purely an ICT seminar and it also wasn’t free of charge, so I had to take it quite seriously. So the major problem “what am I going to wear” hit me. I hadn’t figured it out even the night before the seminar! I woke up really early before the alarm went off and just thought about it.
- I wanted to feel comfortable
- It was going to be a warm and sunny day
- I could not wear heels because of a sore ankle
I quickly decided on the black jumpsuit (the one I wore at the Big Bust Clothing Swap last month) because it’s super comfortable, goes well with flat shoes, and with its leather detailing and simple look it’s professional enough – but only with a formal jacket. So black jacket? White jacket? I was worried that I’d not feel comfortable in a white one and I could wear my colorful Marimekko accessories with the black to make it less dull. BUT I’d still be wearing all black in a sea of dark suits. So white it had to be. Black and white is always a classic! And I LOVE how Kerry Washington’s character Olivia in Scandal wears white jackets and coats all the time and looks so chic.
I’m glad I did! The seminar was a huge success and partly because of what I wore. I got complimented on my outfit by other professional ICT leader women and got to know people through that. I’ve always been a bit doubtful over the phrase “dress for success”, but hmm, maybe there is something to it after all. I made some pretty impressive new contacts there which I hadn’t even dreamed of and it was a busy and fun networking day full of great ideas.
I love your outfit! I will keep it in mind though I haven’t found the right jumpsuit for me yet. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Kate! I was actually looking for a maxi dress but this jumpsuit was in the maxi dress rack and I just thought I’d give it a try since I liked the leather trimming around the pockets and shoulders. Surprisingly it worked on my curvy body. Hope you can find a jumpsuit too! They are actually quite brilliant after all.
I’m impressed by 2 things. First, that you could get away with loafers and still look so polished. Second, the reasoning that went into choosing the white jacket over the black. So smart!