Summer has arrived!  As much of the country has suffered from a heat wave, and record breaking temperatures have been recorded, many of us are realizing it is sometimes hard to look professional in 100+ degree temperatures.  I was reminded of this as I was looking through some old articles in preparation for a presentation I'm doing with a colleague.  One was about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and it mentioned that she never sweats.  What a great asset for a diplomat or a business executive to have, as you negotiate treaties or deals!  

For the rest of us less fortunate beings, we must find other ways to maintain a professional appearance in the summer months.  I tend to wear natural fiber fabrics, loose-fitting clothes, and short-sleeved jackets, when I must wear one. I recently spoke to a group of young professionals and was specifically asked to discuss attire. Throughout the year, this topic generates lots of questions, whether it's how to dress for a holiday office party, a job interview, international meetings, or travel.  I would be interested in hearing your secrets for looking professional and staying cool. Does your office have a dress code? Do you have a summer dress code allowing for casual Fridays?  Do you find that some have trouble understanding what that means?

 I welcome your input.  In the meantime, I hope you stay cool.

Sonia Garza-Monarchi 

Garza Protocol Associates, LLC.

Ask the Protocol Lady: 

When it's hot and humid, are women required to wear pantyhose, and can men remove their jackets?  

If your company has a dress code, I would check that first.  You would also do well to ask your human resource department. If there is no official guidance, then you should consider the conservativeness of your environment, fashion, and of course, comfort.  

In many work settings in the United States, and especially on the warmest summer days, it has become acceptable for women to skip the nylons and expose their bare calves.  I believe that protocol is practical, so if I can avoid wearing pantyhose, I do. However, I also recommend a wonderful product by Sally Hansen called "Airbush Legs" which makes legs look as if you're wearing hose.  My best tip is to emulate the attire of a senior female colleagues or your most conservative female client.  If she is bare-legged in summer, you can likely safely do the same, provided your attire is otherwise professional.   

For men who would prefer to take off those jackets in the heat, the best example I've seen was during President Obama's recent trip to Germany when he was addressing an audience outdoors.  See for yourself how he handled it.

 The Protocol Lady

No one is safe.  Even former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was criticized for what she wore.  If it wasn't for her pantsuits, it was for showing too much cleavage.

Closer to home,  my client, a large company, found that its executive assistants were dressing very casually, and that this was affecting how clients perceived the company. While this company prided itself on its informal corporate culture,  it had now gone to an extreme.  Garza Protocol was asked to work with the executive assistants, and conducted a pre-training survey as to what they thought was appropriate and inappropriate business attire.  They were asked to provide photos as examples. 

During the subsequent training, they voted on the fashion "Mess" or "Success" in each photo, and developed their own guidelines.  We also had a fashion show with executive assistants as models.   Some came dressed inappropriately and others appropriately.  As the final exercise, several assistants had a minute to assemble appropriate outfits from a selection of items Garza Protocol had provided.  Garza Protocol also  presented examples and statistics on how inappropriate attire can negatively impact performance and an individual's success and professional development. 

The enduring benefit of this session was significant: since the executive assistants had developed new dress code guidelines themselves, they were more likely to follow them!  The client was very happy with the result.

Garza Protocol Associates can provide briefings and training for you or your staff.  If your team is having difficulty defining proper attire in the office, we'll give you the tools to feel confident and make sure everyone looks the part.